St Nicholas Parish Church Fleetwood. Week beginning 21st January 2024
We seek to be a church that lives by faith, is known by love and
is a voice of hope to the community we serve.
Website https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/11671
8.30 am Holy Communion in Church
9.30 am Worship on Zoom
10.45 am Holy Communion in Church
4.00 pm Family & Co in the Broadway Rooms
Tuesday 23rd January
11.00 am Singing for pleasure – Jubilee Room
2.00 pm Holy Communion in Church
Thursday 25th January
10.00 am Coffee Morning in the Jubilee Room
Friday 26th January
9.00 am St Nic’s Little Gang – Broadway Rooms
8.30 am cancelled
9.30 am cancelled
10.45 am Holy Communion in Church
4.00 pm Family & Co in the Broadway Rooms
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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: Takes place annually from the 18th – 25th January. It has a history of over a hundred years, in which Christians from around the world have taken part in an octave of prayer for visible Christian unity. By annually observing it we move toward the fulfilment of Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper "that they all may be one." (John 17:21). Each year a Christian community is asked to pick a theme. This year the theme is ‘You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbour as yourself’ (Lk 10:27), and the parable of the Good Samaritan. The theme has been chosen by Christians in Burkina Faso in West Africa. The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the best-known passages of Scripture, yet one that never seems to lose its power to challenge indifference to suffering and to inspire solidarity.
If anyone knows about suffering, then it surely is the Christian minority in West Africa. Christian churches have been expressly targeted by armed attacks. Priests and pastors have been killed during worship and the fate of others who were kidnapped remains unknown. Christians can no longer openly practice their faith in these areas. Because of terrorism, the majority of Christian churches in the north, east and north-west of the country have been closed. There is no longer any public Christian worship in many of these areas. Where worship is still possible, with police protection, usually in large cities, it has been necessary to shorten services owing to security concerns.
We may not be gathering formally as Churches Together this week, but might we take some time to pray for peace and healing in Burkina Faso? The people there are confident that God’s love will overcome the violence that currently afflicts their country. Let us be confident too!
Lord Jesus Christ, may our eyes not look away, but be wide open to the world around us.
As we travel through life, may we stop and reach out, bind up the wounded and in so doing experience your presence in them. Give us a renewed commitment to journey with you towards unity. Amen
Please remember in your prayers: Dorothy Cox, Louise Clark, Rev Martin Keighley, Mark Price, Rebekah, Jan Risely, Craig Abson, Rev Jane Everett, Jeanette Norman, Joe Robinson, and Barbara Sharrocks. Please also remember the families of Jason Moran, Ronald Scantlebury, Maria Mellor and Julie Gill whose funerals are due to take place.