Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,

This past week has given us time for sombre and grateful remembrance as we have marked the 80th anniversary of D Day. Amongst all the formality and history, what struck me most was the humility and grace of the various veterans that were interviewed. Alongside this was the power of grief and loss that was still raw after such a vast amount of time. For those of us born after these events it can be too easy to lose that reality of human suffering amongst the details of history and sadly also a nostalgic narrative that can soften the sad reality with a patina of acceptable memories. These dignified veterans were and are the core of this period of commemoration.

Listening to them and their please for peace for the future gained extra power by the coming together of people and leaders from a diversity of countries, sharing in a common humanity. They were united in this commemorative act.

It would be wonderful if humanity could simply be united in genuine love and grace, and this is the vision Jesus gives us in this weeks text. When his family come for him, waiting outside and concerned about his sanity, Jesus radically redefines the definition of family. The shared value is the acceptance of God, but this forms a new family that welcomes all-there are no barriers, no exclusions. He is not rejecting his blood family-he is expanding it, so we too are part of this vast, diverse and dynamic human family, and this is the good news that we can reflect upon this week.

The services and events for the coming week are:

Sunday 9th June

8.00am: Holy Communion at All Saints
10.00am: Holy Communion at St. Mary’s
10.30am: Muddy Messy Church at All Saints
7.15pm: Generation Youth Group at All Saints Community Hall

The Week Ahead

Monday 10th June at 10.30am: Tiny Tots at All Saints Community Hall
Tuesday 11th June at 10.30 am: Music for Toddlers at St Marys Parish Room
Wednesday 12th June at 9.00am: Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church
Thursday 13th June at 10.00am: Holy Communion at St. Marys Church
Friday 14th June at 11.00am: Living After Loss at St. Mary’s Church
Friday 14th June at 6.30pm: Choir plus at All Saints Church
Saturday 15th June at 12 noon: Saturday Lunches at St. Marys Church

Sunday 16th June

10:00am – Sung Service of the Word – St. Mary’s
10:30am – Holy Communion – All Saints

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen

Blessings

Revd Kester de Oliveira