Dear friends,

I hope you are well and enjoying engaging with this Lenten season. We are just over halfway and the anticipation of Easter is growing. There are always lots of ways to engage with the message of Easter at St Martin’s and this year each of our licenced ministers will be taking a service along with myself and Rev’d Simon. As you might imagine the flavour of each will be slightly different as we follow the journey Jesus made to new life via the cross and the tomb. Details of all our services in Holy week can be found in the long, Lent & Easter booklets as well as on our emails. I will also include a brief description along with a few reflections in my next Friday message.

With all this rich symbolism and ritual to engage with I hope that many of you can find me during Holy Week and on Easter weekend to join us at church. Several people come to each of these services as they all offer something different, a different part of the story and journey. Those that have engaged with it in this way find that there is a richness and depth to their experience of Easter. Perhaps consider putting some dates in your diary now for you and your family to come along to something you have not seen before?

This Sunday we celebrate Mothering Sunday, a day which marks a variety of things for a variety of people. For many the celebration of mothers and caregivers will be central as we acknowledge the hard work, sacrifice and dedication of people who care for others all year round. There is also room for us to contemplate our heavenly parent, God, asking ourselves how God is a mother to us all. Finally, the traditional roots of the day are in the middle ages as people visited the church where they had been baptised, acknowledging its part in their life and faith. For many it is a day of celebration and joy but we also acknowledge that, as with many celebrations, it has difficulties for some in our community. Whether it is because they have been unable to become a mother, did not have a good relationship with their mother or child or because they have lost a family member recently, there are many reasons it might not feel like a celebration for some. Therefore, as we gather on Sunday to reflect on all of these things, as we give flowers and celebrate let’s also pray for those who might be struggling. If you would like to talk with someone, do find myself or one of our ministry team after the service and we would be happy to chat, pray and light a candle with you.

As it is a fifth Sunday (a rare occasion), our 8:30 service will be a service of morning prayer led by our licenced lay ministers. At 10:30 we will have a service of Holy Communion which I will take at the Nave altar with hymns and an activity for children and young people. Every blessing,

Phil