Dear Worshippers and Friends of St. Clement’s
Please read the entire message carefully as it contains a lot of important information.
Firstly, Wishing our members and friends from Ghana, a very happy independence day especially to our very own H.E. Madam Virginia Hesse, Ghana’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Secondly, tomorrow i.e. Saturday 7th March 2020 starting at 14.30 hrs from outside St. Clement’s Church there will be a mini pilgrimage to Old Prosek and the 1st ‘Wenceslas’ Church in Bohemia. 4.5 glorious miles; up the Vltava & across Old Liben. The coordinator for this mini pilgrimage is Gordon Truefitt. You can contact him for full details on his email gordontruefitt@yahoo.co.uk.
Sunday 8th March 2020 at 11.00 hrs – Sung Eucharist for the Second Sunday of Lent
Four of the five Sundays in Lent in the year of Matthew are made up of passages from John’s gospel. Thus, over the next four Sundays of Lent, our Gospel reading comes from the Gospel of John rather than the Gospel of Matthew. This coming Sunday we hear the story of Nicodemus who came to visit Jesus at night as recorded in John 3. 1-17. The supporting readings are Psalm 121 and Romans 4. 1-5 & 13-17.
Hymns are :- We give immortal praise Croft’s 134th; Christ triumphant, ever reigning Guiting Power; From heaven you came The Servant King; To God be the glory To God be the glory
There will be parallel Children’s Ministry.
There won’t be coffee hour as the hall on the third floor of Klimentska 18 is unavailable.
Tuesday 10th March 2020 from 18.00 hrs to 20.00 hrs – Lent Study Course
Our Lent Study Course – ‘Gospel According to Mark’ continues. Even if you missed the first two sessions, you are still welcome to join us this coming Tuesday when we will study Mark 9 -Power over suffering. Itwill beled by David Hellam. This will be held in the hall on the first floor of Klimentska 18. If the outside door is locked, please press the bell marked Sborový Kancelář & we’ll buzz you in! A simple meal will be made available. If you have any dietary restrictions please do let me know in advance making it easier for us to plan.
Other important things..
Those of you who attended worship service last Sunday may be aware of the hygiene related measures we introduced including the availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and paper tissues placed on the welcomer’s table. There are a few important additions to the same that we will be taking until the decline of Coronavirus – Clovid 19 and as we continue to pray for the health and well being of everyone in the world. As we care about everyone who worships with us, following Bishop Robert (Diocesan Bishop) and Bishop David (Suffragan Bishop) advice received this afternoon, there will be following changes in our worship –
- The exchange of a gesture of peace prior to sharing Communion is for many, a much-loved moment in the service. However, for the time being, this gesture is restricted to a smile and words of peace to those in closest proximity rather than physical contact (kiss or handshake) with everyone in the church.
- The communion will be distributed in the form of bread/wafer only. Both elements will be consecrated but the wine will not be distributed. Please be assured that this does not diminish the nature of the Eucharist. It is a clear principle of Anglican theology that the sacrament of Holy Communion is present and complete in either of the consecrated elements.
My sermon from last Sunday is available to read on the church website. The link to access the sermon is http://susanaj10.sg-host.com//1st-march-2020-the-first-sunday-of-lent-revd-nathanial/.
The Annual Church Meeting (ACM) will take place following worship on Sunday 19th April 2020. During the meeting important decisions regarding the chaplaincy as well as election of the churchwardens and council members. In order to vote or to stand for the election, you need to be a member of our Church Electoral Roll(CER). The current CER is displayed on the noticeboard at the back of the Church. If your name appears there, you need to do nothing! The Church Council will be meeting again on Sunday 15th March to review the CER and would be deleting, (as we are allowed to do), names of people who we know no longer live in the Czech Republic, the area of our Chaplaincy. I will add more information regarding the CER review and ACM after this service.For now, it is important that if you are not on the CER but would like to be, then application forms are available in a folder pinned to the noticeboard at the back of Church. Alternately you could download the form from this link http://susanaj10.sg-host.com//wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ER-New.pdf and send it to me via post. To apply, you need to be baptized and a member of the Church of England or any of the other Anglican or Old Catholic Churches in full communion with the Church of England & be normally resident in the Czech Republic. Or, you need to be baptized and be a member in good standing of a Church which subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and to have ‘habitually attended public worship’ with us for at least the last six months, and be normally resident in the Czech Republic. Application forms need to be completed and returned by no later than Saturday 4th April 2020, fifteen days prior to the ACM. Please feel free to speak to me or drop me an email, if anything in the previous two paragraphs is unclear.
Finally, Happy International Women’s Day in advance to all the ladies receiving this message. I wish and pray for God’s abundant blessings in your life on this special day and always.
Yours in His Service,
Nathanial
