Dear Friends,

When I was interviewed for this post, Archdeacon Mark surprised me with a final question: "what is the gospel, for you, summed up in a single sentence?" Perhaps because it was a surprise it was easier to answer the heart:

"God creates all things for love, Jesus shows us how to live in that love and by his death and resurrection removes all that obstructs that love, and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out that love." (Yes, quite a long sentence!)

In the light of that answer it is not surprising that I love Trinity Sunday when we celebrate the relationship of love of the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; Creator, Redeemer, Inspirer. May the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the love of God and of his Son, Jesus Christ, and the blessing of God: Father Son and Holy Spirit be with you always. Amen

Samantha

Notes for next week, 11th June:

There will be no 9am service at Martinhoe, instead a Christening at 2pm at Martinhoe

It is the annual Lyn Valley Classic Event that day so if you are planning to drive to St Mary's please note the following arrangements put in place by the organisers to enable access to church while the road is closed:

The road is closed from 08.00am until 5.00pm from the top of Castle Hill through to Burvil Street as the event takes place partly in this space.

To ensure that we provide access for your church attendees, we have proposed that if they can arrive at the Castle Hill end of town, we will Marshall the cars into the church entrance so they can drop of any less able-bodied person and Marshall them back out.

We will ensure that the Church wardens parking space is kept clear and will marshal the warden into the parking space and back out when the service finishes.

Apart from the Church wardens’ parking space which is off road, there will be no other parking spaces in Lee Road or Castle hill in the closed road area. There will be access only and it will be for “drop off” outside the Church only, so please, if you can let your congregation know in advance that would be most helpful.

There will be a maximum speed limit of 5 MPH in the closed road area and cars will need to follow the walking marshals to their locations. This is critical, as it is part of the safety plan that has been put in place and agreed with the Police and Safety advisory group (SAG) for the event.