Sending this out as a Midweek Message, (rather than one of the End-of-Week variety), does give me the chance to remind you of the second in our series of Lent Seminars on looking at the Sacraments and those ‘commonly called sacraments’.
Thursday 4th March at 7pm – Communion
What are we doing when we participate in a service that is variously known as ‘Breaking of Bread’, ‘Holy Communion’, ‘Eucharist’ or ‘Mass’? What did Jesus mean when he told his disciples at the Last Supper, “This is my body, broken for you” & “This is my blood, shed for you”? How should we understand what happens to the bread & wine when the Prayer of Consecration is said?
These are some of the questions we will explore in our second seminar. The venue will be the small meeting room on the first floor of Klimentská 18. This is both a central location and also one that is warm!!!! We will start at 7pm and probably finish around 8.30pm.
Topics and dates for the other three seminars are
Thursday 11th March – Marriage
Thursday 18th March – Ordination
Thursday 25th March – Confession/Absolution/Reconciliation
Next Sunday 7th March at 11am – Sung Eucharist for the Third Sunday of Lent
Our Gospel Reading this coming Sunday is Luke 13 v1-9. It is a passage unique to the Gospel of Luke and does touch on the issue of so-called ‘innocent suffering’, a subject which I am sure is in the minds of many after the recent earthquakes in both Haiti & Chile. As I usually suggest, why not read the passage in advance of our worship on Sunday. There will be Coffee Hour in Klimentská 18 after the service.
Annual Church Meeting
This was originally scheduled to take place on Sunday 14th March but has now been postponed, (at the suggestion of the Archdeacon & with the consent of the Church Council), to Sunday 25th April immediately following our worship that morning. Therefore, new applications to join the Church Electoral Roll can still be received until Friday 11th April. The current Church Electoral Roll is displayed at the back of Church & underneath it are Electoral Roll Application Forms. Completed forms need to be handed in to me or the Churchwardens.
At the Annual Meeting, the Churchwardens and members of the Church Council are elected for the following twelve months. Please give serious thought and prayer as to who you want to serve in these capacities and whether you might offer yourself for election. All nominations need to be in writing, proposed and seconded by members of the Church Electoral Roll and with the consent of the person nominated and completed in advance of the Annual Meeting. There will be a form to do all of this on the noticeboard at the back of Church in the near future. The new Church Council will almost certainly face some difficult decisions in the coming year and it is important that it is fully representative of the views of the congregation as a whole.
Sunday 21st March at 11am – Sung Eucharist for the Fifth Sunday of Lent
As some of you may already know, Their Royal Highnesses Charles, Prince of Wales & Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are making a state visit to the Czech Republic between Saturday 20th – Tuesday 23rd March. As of this afternoon, more details of their visit programme has been published on the British Embassy website. You can find it here Programme of the Royal Visit
Now this information has been released, I am finally allowed to tell you all that the Prince and the Duchess will be joining us for our 11am Sung Eucharist on Sunday 21st March. As you will probably realise, I have known about this for several weeks. Since then, I have had a series of meetings with diplomats, private secretaries, staff from the Office of the Czech President, together with police and security personnel, sorting out the logistics and details of the visit.
What will this mean for you?
* Firstly, whatever you do, don’t use the Royal Visit as an excuse NOT to come to Church that day. The whole idea is that the Prince and the Duchess should join with all the regular congregation in their normal Sunday worship.
* Secondly, many of you will need to break a longstanding habit and actually be at Church BEFORE 11am!!!!! The Royal Party will arrive just before 11am, be greeted by me and the Churchwardens and then the service will commence promptly at 11am sharp! If you do arrive after the service has started, you may still be able to come into Church though I cannot guarantee that the Czech police will let you do so. But for reasons of etiquette, logistics and security, please leave home half an hour earlier than normal in order to reach St Clement’s Church no later than 10.50am.
* Thirdly, a short section of Klimentská will be closed to traffic before and during the service. Therefore, can I strongly suggest to those of you who normally drive themselves to Church, that you seriously look at using public transport on this occasion. If you do still choose to drive in, please recognise that you may have to park far further away from Church than you normally would do.
* Fourthly, try and avoid bringing any big bags to Church that day. Sadly, there are inevitable security concerns and if you do bring more than a small handbag, police may well ask to see all the contents.
Any questions – please just ask. There will be reminders and updates in the next two Midweek messages and also on our website Anglican Episcopalian Church Prague.
Midweek Activities Questionnaires
1) If you have completed one and handed it in – Thank you!
2) If you have completed one and not yet handed it in – please do so.
3) If you have a copy but have yet to fill it in – please do so and then continue as in 2 above.
4) If you have not yet received one, ask for one as you are welcomed at Church this Sunday – then proceed as in 3 above.
Best wishes
Ricky
