Dear friends in Christ,As you know the Chrism Masses have had to be postponed and we are unable to gather together for the renewal of our Christian commitment and the blessing of the oils. For all of us this is very disorientating and disappointing and something none of us could have planned for. As it happens, for this year I’d ordered luminous green Richborough Family wrist bands and new glossy service booklets which will now have to wait till we have the all clear to gather again for worship!The impact on our lives has still to be measured and we all have a long way to go. Like you I am finding the shut down difficult and I am really missing the privilege of our times together as the Richborough Family.But there is also a lot to encourage and sustain us till life returns to relative normality, not least the broadcast of Her Majesty the Queen in response to the current outbreak. I have watched it several times, and for me at least, those five hundred and twenty two words have proved a helpful template in navigating a way through this complex and uncertain time.Recent advances in communication have certainly come into their own during the lockdown and apart from television and the radio, many of us are using our phones and computers to keep abreast of the news and to keep in touch with one another. Who would have thought that so many of us would now be proficient in skype, zoom and streaming! The downside to this, of course, is that while those less familiar with modern technology feel a bit left out, others are suffering from information overload. Thankfully, what has certainly come back into fashion is the telephone and I’ve enjoyed chatting and catching up with friends and colleagues for longer than I’d normally have time for. I’ve even phoned a few people to see how they are that have long been relegated to the annual Christmas card.This Lent and Holy Week it has also been inspiring and humbling to hear about the ways our clergy and lay folk have risen with imagination and ingenuity to the challenge of maintaining and sharing prayer and worship. This year our walk with Our Lord to the Cross has had a particular poignancy, as we recall his final journey to Jerusalem, vulnerable and afraid of what lay ahead.I think we are all rediscovering that it is in the simple things, the kindly word, the offers of help and the holding one another in prayer, that we best and most naturally live out our faith. And I hope that when this crisis is over, rather than immediately engaging in frenetic activity, we all take time to savour and appreciate the privilege of worship, the sacramental life and fellowship one with another.It is a truism to say that the landscape will have changed. The landscape is always changing, and the pandemic will inevitably take its toll. Economically we may be weaker but as a society we may well be stronger. From the clapping in our streets on Thursday evenings and recognising the need for neighbourly care, to breathing space for the environment and in a greater understanding of the implications of globalisation, hopefully lessons will be learned. Towards the end of her address to the nation, Queen Elizabeth summed up her message with these words.‘This is a time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour,using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal.We will succeed- and that success will belong to every one of us’.‘We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again’.Perhaps it was only me, but while the commentators were suggesting echoes of Vera Lynn and the wartime spirit as the Queen ended the broadcast, I heard in her words the testimony of a life long committed Christian, offering to us a strong and powerful proclamation of the Resurrection.Three times Her Majesty said ‘again’, confidently and with conviction, in the knowledge that in Christ both here and in heaven we will always be with our friends, we will always be with our families and most certainly we will meet again.Alleluia! Christ is Risen!He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!With Easter Blessings,+ NormanRichborough
<div>My Dear Friends,</div><div></div>Today is Maundy Thursday followed by Good Friday Holy Saturday and Easter. We come now to the final climax of this Holy Week and Easter. This year we will not be going through the usual paschal symbolism in church but we will be thinking and travelling with Jesus and the apostles as they go through those horrific days culminating with the overwhelming joy of Easter.First there is the Last Supper with Jesus initiating the Eucharist as a special covenant meal by which we could ‘show forth’ his death until He returns in glory.He also uses this occasion to pray the Lord’s prayer...no not the Lord’s prayer that we recite...this is in fact the disciples’ prayer. The Lord’s prayer can be found in the gospel of John prayed by Jesus at this Last supper.He also uses this moment to symbolise another truth. It’s a strange truth that we find hard to accept and put into practise. He shows us that as far as authority goes the body of Christ is an inverted pyramid, that is an upside down pyramid. Whereas in the world those with the most authority stand at the top of the pyramid in Jesus’ kingdom the one with the most authority stands at the bottom of the inverted pyramid supporting and ministering to all those above him.He asks us to do the same thing. To reach out to those who are in need and give them our support and in love to help them and encourage them in the Christian life.Then we have all the horror of Good Friday. Remember Jesus had the power to stop this at any moment. He goes to the cross as a deliberate act. He embraces the suffering in order that we might be forgiven and enter into eternal life.He gladly, pays the penalty for sin as a love gift to us inviting us to share eternity with him.How could we ever reject it? It’s the most beautiful gift that we could ever receive.He dies and is buried.The Jewish leaders knew what they had done. They try to hide from it by sealing the tomb and asking for guards to be placed on duty outside.They may have been terrified but they still had no real conception of the truth.On Easter Sunday morning the creator of the world, who had allowed himself to be killed in this horrific,way bursts out of the prison of death and returns to life.Life will never be the same again.I am now 80 years old. I know that,according to the normal pattern of life, I do not have many years left to live. However I know that life cannot be taken away from me. Jesus has given me the most precious of gifts and I will live in his presence for ever.Will you join me, if you have never done it before, or if you have done it and it has become just a distant memory, come with me before God our FatherTell him that however hard you try you still continue to commit sins.Tell him and thank him that you believe that he sent his Son to die for your sins.Tell him that you freely accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord.Have you done that?Then rejoice on Easter day for Jesus rose from the dead and, just as the grave could not hold him, neither can it hold youCome with me now into the throne room of God and lifting up your hands praise the God who loves you so much that He died, crucified on a cross, that you and I could have this eternal life.Roy
Following the call to arms from Boris Johnson, asking for 250,000 volunteers to help the stretched National Health Service, over half a million people have put themselves forward to help in its fight against coronavirus. Speaking at his daily news conference, PM Boris Johnson said all 504,303 could now play an "absolutely crucial" role in helping the NHS. The scheme aims to alleviate some of the pressure currently put on the NHS and will involve helpers delivering food and medicines, driving patients to appointments and phoning those isolated in their homes. Nicola Lucas from Bournemouth, who usually works at the Naomi's House charity shop in Boscombe, has put herself forward to help with deliveries. She said: “I have joined up as Naomi house is closed for three months and would love to help with deliveries shopping etc and anything that is needed.” https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18337172.bournemouth-residents-step-join-nhs-volunteer-army/
GUIDANCE ON SPIRITUAL COMMUNIONThe Book of Common Prayer instructs us that if we offer ourselves in penitence and faith, giving thanks for the redemption won by Christ crucified, we may truly ‘eat and drink the Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ’, although we cannot receive the sacrament physically in ourselves. Making a Spiritual Communion is particularly fitting for those who cannot receive the sacrament at the great feasts of the Church, and it fulfils the duty of receiving Holy Communion ‘regularly, and especially at the festivals of Christmas, Easter and Whitsun or Pentecost’ (Canon B 15).
