Dear People & Friends of St. Clements,
I thought that this week was going to be quiet before our Autumn activities recommence next week. But it has been far from quiet! I’ve had a whole series of meetings, loads of emails to write & reply to, & suddenly it is Friday lunchtime & I haven’t compiled and sent out my Weekly Message. So here it is, compiled rather rapidly!
Sunday 4th September at 11.00 – Sung Eucharist for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity
As well as a reading from the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel 33. 7-11, our other two readings will be Romans 13. 8-14, & Matthew 18. 15-20. The Romans passage contains more of St. Paul’s practical advice for Christian living whilst the reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel explains how we should respond when a fellow Christian does something that we think is wrong. As I regularly suggest, the passages are well worth reading in advance of coming to worship.
Children’s Ministry/Sunday School resumes on Sunday & will be led this week by David Hellam. For those of you new to St. Clement’s, this means that the children join us for the first part of the service and then, following a short children’s talk, leave for their own time together in the small meeting room on the first floor of Klimentská 18 across the road. They then rejoin us in time for the administration of Communion.
This Sunday, we are going to continue our practice of July & August and serve cool refreshments after the service in the back of the Church, rather than go across the road to the large meeting room on the third floor of Klimentská 18 for Coffee Hour.
Your Church Council will be meeting on Sunday & one of the issues for discussion is whether to continue with cool refreshments in Church each Sunday until the weather gets really cold or to resume holding Coffee Hour in September as has been the pattern in the past. More people always stay behind when we offer refreshments in Church but, because of the lack of facilities, we can only serve cool drinks & cleaning up afterwards is more difficult. If anyone has an opinion one way or the other about this, please let one of your Church Council members know in advance of our meeting. If you don’t know who they are, click here
Then in the following week….
Tuesday 6th September 6.30-8.00pm in the small meeting room on the first floor of Klimentská 18
Welcome to Prague – What every English-speaking expat needs to know when living in the Czech Republic.
We resume our regular Tuesday evening get-togethers over light refreshments. The aim of this first evening is for ‘old hands’ and newcomers to talk together about the joys & pitfalls of living as English-speaking expats in Prague. For the ‘old hands’ to share their experiences of what to do or not to do & for newcomers to be able to ask questions. Many of the group who have met on Tuesday evenings previously, have often gone on to a bar-restaurant for a meal afterwards & I’m sure this tradition will continue allowing the conversation to also continue!
Thursday 8th September 7.00 – 9.00 in the large meeting room on the third floor of Klimentská 18
The Relevance of Faith in a Modern World – a course in seven sessions exploring the meaning of Christian Faith.
Full details of this course & particularly the first evening entitled, ‘Out of Date, Out of Touch & Out of Order’ can be found here & on the noticeboard at the back of Church. The course is being led by David Hellam and because part of the evening involves eating together, he would like people to book in advance for the course so he knows how many people to cater for. It will be suitable both for someone enquiring about the Christian Faith and for existing believers looking for a refresher course.
Looking further ahead……..
Sunday 11th September at 11.00
Our worship will be supported & enhanced by the visiting Røros Chamber Choir from Norway.
Tuesday 13th September 6.30-8.00pm in the small meeting room on the first floor of Klimentská 18
Understanding history – Why is the Czech Republic one of the most atheistic nations in Europe?
I will conduct a brief historical survey of events, political, cultural & religious, that have contributed to the way the Czech Republic is today. Contributions & contradictions from other attendees will be welcome!
Thursday 15th September 12.30 – 2.00pm
Ethics at Lunchtime – Our next lunchtime discussion will take place at a new venue, Bellevue Restaurant, located across from Charles Bridge at Smetanovo nábřeží 18, Praha 1, with the following topic: “The Big Society – is civic participation essential to a properly functioning democracy?” Because of limited size of the room, we have had to restrict the numbers attending and interest from members of the British Chamber of Commerce in the CR, with whom we jointly organise these events, has been very high so there is only one place left! So if you would like to come contact me ASAP!
Thursday 15th September 7.00 – 9.00pm – venue to be confirmed depending on numbers
A Real Redeemer – Who is Jesus? The second session of our course on the basics of Christianity – The Relevance of Faith in a Modern World
Sunday 18th September at 11.00am – Family Eucharist for Harvest Festival
More details about this and another Church Family Picnic in the Park following the service in next week’s Weekly Message.
Two other things for this week…..
We are going to produce a St. Clement’s Banner to be used to publicise our Church at various events, the first of these being the Expats Expo Exhibition on Saturday 8th October being organised by Expats.cz, Gordon Truefit has produced a couple of sketches for the banner which are a jpg attachment to this email. He has asked me to circulate these with this message with “an invitation to folk to `do better` by the 11th September when we`ll all choose the design we like best”. Any sketch will need to be photo`s and fonts manipulated in a art-graphics programme before being reproduced. If anyone would like to respond to Gordon’s invitation, please do so ASAP.
And a reminder about how you can help St. Clement’s if you shop at Amazon. If you do, you can now support St.Clement’s every time you do so at no extra cost! Simply use always this link http://www.amazon.co.uk/?tag=stclemail-21 every time you want to go to Amazon.co.uk and when you buy something, St.Clement’s receives a small commission! For more information see http://susanaj10.sg-host.com//christian-book-store/ or contact the Chaplain with any questions or suggestions you might have. The webmaster asks me to remind you to click on the link first, before you start ordering.
And finally……
This Sunday, for the first time in three & a half months, I will be able to travel from the Chaplaincy Flat to Church in one tram journey on the Number 8 Tram as the work to extend and relay the tram tracks between Podbaba and Vítězné námĕstí has finally been completed! Wherever & however you travel, I look forward to seeing many of you at St. Clement’s on Sunday.
Best wishes
Ricky
