Dear Friends

Alleluia Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed Alleluia!

From now until Pentecost we are rejoicing in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the foundational belief of the Church, indeed the constitutive belief. Every book in the New Testament takes the resurrection as its presupposition and axiom. So it’s fitting for us to rejoice for these fifty days. The paschal candle remains lit during services and the Easter greeting and dismissal are used.

As the season progresses, we shall hear about some of the appearances of the Risen Lord to his disciples and some of his words on those occasions. We also hear his farewell words to his disciples uttered at the Last Supper. Finally, we hear about his glorification, taking our humanity to heaven and being seated at the Father’s right hand, followed by the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, whereby Jesus remains our guide and strength to the end of time. So Easter prepares us to consider how the Church continues its life without the visible presence of the Lord, but with his constant presence mediated through the Spirit and the life and worship of the Church, the sacraments and the mutual love that exits between the Church’s members.

The Easter season has some special events, each year, highlighting the focus on the Church’s ongoing life. First, in the Silver Jubilee year for the Shipley Arts Festival, we have the inaugural concert of the season on Sunday 4th May at 7pm in Church. The choir taking part in this concert will draw from number of London church choirs as well as some members from our own church choir. Then, there is the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, (APCM), when the PCC presents its stewardship of the parish to all parishioners and publishes its accounts. We also elect the churchwardens and the PCC at this meeting. It’s important that the Church is publicly accountable in this way and that the whole community can have trust in the Parish Church as a well run entity. The APCM takes place on Sunday 11th May after Church in the Andrew Hall. The following Sunday, 18th May, sees our Annual Pets’ Blessing service which is always a great event, hopefully taking place in the churchyard under sunny skies and with the sound and sights of the swifts.

Then, one of the biggest events of the year, after months of planning, takes place on Bank Holiday Monday, 26th May. This is the Shipley Village Fete, put on in the Church and Churchyard, the Andrew Hall and the surrounding area, from 11m to 4pm. There will be a BBQ, refreshments in the Andrew Hall, bar, a fun dog show, tombola, ice cream, live music and many, many other stalls and attractions. It’s in aid of Church funds, so come and show your commitment to the Parish Church and enjoy a special day out. There is parking in the field off Red Lane, and this year we have our new all-weather surface which has been laid down by the Knepp estate, We are grateful to Knepp for carrying out this work, which will benefit the whole community in a number of ways.

Sunday 15th June is Father’s Day and we have a Family Service. The choir will also provide some special music as it is Music Sunday and also Trinity Sunday. We will be thinking about how music enhances the Church’s worship of the Holy Trinity and we will give thanks for the fathers in our families. So this is a day for families to come and thank God for Dad.

Finally, don’t forget Ascension Day when we celebrate the glorification of the Risen Lord Jesus who has taken our humanity to his Father’s throne. This doctrine tells us that the dignity and rights of every human being must be respected and promoted since Jesus has restored humanity to the glory and freedom it once had, by means of his incarnation, passion and resurrection, So Ascension Day sums up the import of the whole of Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter. There will be Eucharist at 6pm on that day Thursday 29th May. The importance of this day merits it being kept as a separate day, rather than the Sunday following.

I am writing this on St George’s Day 23rd April. We remembered their majesties the King and Queen in our prayers at the Eucharist today, the armed forces of the Crown, and the Scout movement who have placed themselves under the patronage of St George. St George is a saint very much associated with the Holy Land. His burial place and shrine were located in Lydda, now Lod in Israel. The Greek Orthodox Church of St George in Lod contains a tomb reputed to hold the remains of the saint. So we also remembered in our prayers St George’s Cathedral Jerusalem and the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem and their work at Al- Ahli hospital in Gaza, one of the very few in the region that remain open.

So continue to pray for peace in the world, so that the peace of Christ can enable all people to attain their true God-given dignity .

I wish you all a very happy Easter season.

Your friend and parish priest

Chris