Quote of the Week
‘When the Spirit of God descends upon a man (or woman) and overshadows him with the fullness of his outpouring, then his soul overflows with a joy not to be described, for the Holy Spirit turns to joy whatever he touches.’ (St Seraphim of Sarov)
Thought of the Week
Bank Holiday Monday was a gloriously sunny day so I decided to take a few photographs of St Laurence Church. When I returned home and began to view each frame, I noticed one particular photo included the guest appearance of a bird descending onto the roof. I don’t think that this was a coincidence and conceivably God was trying to say something! Although it was a pigeon rather than a dove, it reminded me that the Holy Spirit is described as a dove and I was immediately reminded of the baptism of Christ when:
‘As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased”. (Matthew 3: 16-17).
This Sunday is Pentecost when we celebrate the birth of the church and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles baptizing them with the presence of God and anointing them with power to be Christ’s witnesses to the ends of the earth. My prayer is that during this Novena, each one of us will prepare our hearts to receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our lives so when we eventually come out of lockdown our churches and the communities in which we live will be transformed and renewed.
Worth a read...
‘Flame of Love: a theology of the Holy Spirit’ (ISBN 0-8308- 1590-2 InterVarsity Press, Illinois 1996) is an excellent book on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit for anyone who wants to delve deeper in to some of the key doctrines such the Trinity, creation, Christology and the church.
Daily Hope
Daily Hope offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of a telephone line.
A Church of England initiative in partnership with CONNECTIONS at Holy Trinity Claygate, and Faith in Later Life
The line – which is available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044 – has been set up particularly with those unable to join online church services during the period of restrictions in mind.
YouTube
Parish Holy Communion services are now available to watch on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/feed/my_videos
With my love and prayers,
Andrew
Rev I Andrew Jacobson Priest in Charge
P.S. If anyone would like to be taken off the mailing list for Parish News please let the Parish Office or myself know.
