Dear People & Friends of St. Clement’s,

As I pointed out in my ‘Weekly Message’ last week, today is Ascension Day, an important though much neglected festival in the Christian Year. Therefore….

Tonight at 19.00 – Ascension Day Sung Eucharist
Although not a public holiday in the Czech Republic, despite being so in every neighbouring country, I do hope many of you will still join us to mark this important day in the Christian Year and celebrate the ascension of Jesus into heaven at the end of his forty days of resurrection appearances.

Then follows the one Sunday that falls between Ascension Day and Pentecost Sunday…..

Sunday 8th May at 11.00 – Sung Eucharist for the Seventh Sunday of Easter/Sunday after Ascension Day
Our first reading, Acts 16. 16-34, follows on from the Acts passage we heard last Sunday, and tells of how Paul and Silas end up in jail in Philippi; how they experience a miraculous release from their chains and the resultant conversion of the Philippian jailer. We will also say Psalm 97 responsively, declaring that ‘The Lord is king, most high in all the earth’. Our Gospel reading will be John 17. 20-26, part of what is known as Jesus’ ‘High Priestly Prayer’, where Jesus prays that his followers ‘may all be one’. There will be parallel Children’s Ministry and following worship, Coffee Hour in the hall on the third floor of Klimentská 18.

Following Coffee Hour, your newly elected Church Council will be meeting for the first time since being elected at the Annual Church Meeting held on Sunday 10th April.

Saturday 14th May: MINI-PILGRIMAGE to KUTNA HORA.
We had a wonderful outing last week at Stara Boleslav, thanks mainly to TerriAnne Novak and the excellent guide she organised to take us around the 10c basilica of St. Clement, the 11c church of St.Wenceslas, and the 17c Church of the Assumption, and heard facts and legends bumping into each other as various religious and political interests vied for dominance in this delightful town.  This outing should be not dissimilar as we visit the equally significant historic UNESCO town of Kutna Hora and especially the Cathedral and monastery of St Mary and St John of the cross, All Saints Church and ossuary, containing the bones of 40,000 who died during the 30 Years War, and the magnificent cathedral St. Barbora.  We plan to leave at noon from Prague Main Station and be back again by 6pm; having had a very pretty train trip, lunch, visited the three churches and had a look around the town.  If you like full details; contact Gordon at gordontruefitt(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk or by phone/text to 606 190 604.

Sunday 15th May – Pentecost Sunday
As we have in the last three years, I invite you to come to Church on Pentecost Sunday, wearing something RED, the liturgical colour of the day. And again, I want to hear the words, ‘The Lord is here. His Spirit is with us.‘ in as many languages as possible. If you can say those words in any language other than English, please let me know by email or speaking with me tonight or on Sunday.

Two other important notices
The sermons from the last three Sundays are now all available to listen to on our Church website. Just follow this link, and click on the one(s) you want to hear. Our technical wizard David Hellam, apologises that the sound quality on the sermon from Sunday 17th April by Rev’d Dr Karen Moritz, is not what he would like but you can still follow it without any real problems. I’m most grateful for the way David does seek to record the sermon each Sunday as I know many of you like to listen or re-listen to past sermons.

When I came to Church last Sunday, having been away for nearly two weeks, I discovered that the red wheelie bin at the back of the Church, where we collect clothing to support the work of the Salvation Army with the homeless in Prague, was full to overflowing. I have been in touch with Petr, my Salvation army contact, and the contents should be collected tomorrow morning. However, I also noticed that some things in carrier bags left by the side of the wheelie bin, which were NOT clothing. Please remember, it is ONLY clothing, for both men & women, that we are collecting. It is not a place to dump other things you no longer want!

There is still a large amount of room in the other red wheelie bin, where we collect tinned food for the same cause. It would be great to hear some more clunks from tins being deposited, either tonight or on Sunday. But please remember it is just tinned food – NOT bottles or packets.

Wishing you a Happy Ascensiontide!

Best wishes

Ricky