Dear friends,
(Fr Richard remains on annual leave, until Tuesday, 8 July.)
Fourteen years ago today, in Southwark Cathedral, I was ordained a deacon: even those who are subsequently ordained as priests (or even as bishops!) do not stop being a deacon, whose ministry – as the Ordinal has it – is to ensure ‘that the people of God may be better equipped to make Christ known. Theirs is a life of visible self-giving. Christ is the pattern of their calling and their commission; as he washed the feet of his disciples, so they must wash the feet of others.’ There are elements of this vocation to which we all can aspire: may God grant us to live for Him and for others, and to build up one another in the service of the Lord and His Church. I ask your prayers on this special day, as I remember with thanksgiving my diaconal ordination.
This Sunday, we return to the green vestments of Ordinary Time – but, as I explained recently to a visiting school group, green is also the colour of growth: when we are not celebrating another special season or saint, the default pursuit of the Christian should be growth in love and in holiness, for growth is a sign of life.
Our external giving this month is in support of the Motor Neurone Disease Association – a charity suggested by the late Peter Coe, in memory of his own late wife, Patricia. Please use the basket in church, and a Gift Aid envelope as appropriate (but do not return this direct to the charity).
Please note that there will be no public Morning Prayer this Saturday (5 July), and no morning Mass: nor will Morning Prayer be said publicly next week on Tuesday, 8 July.
Please now sign up in church for the Walsingham Pilgrimage for Healing & Renewal, on Bank Holiday Monday, 25 August: tickets for the coach cost £25/£5, and the coach will depart St Mary’s at 7.45am.
And a correction: the Caribbean High Commissions who have so far pledged a bottle to our barbecue (on Saturday, 16 August) are – at the time of writing – the Jamaican High Commission, and the St Kitts and Nevis High Commission – although we have high hopes of the support of others soon! Please purchase your tickets ASAP, and spread the word.
May the Father, whose glory fills the heavens, cleanse you by his holiness and send you to proclaim his word,
Fr Richard