Conversation with the Archbishop

Use this link to see the conversation between the evangelist J John and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, at Christchurch Chorleywood. In a fascinating and wide-ranging (and amusing) interview the Archbishop talks of how he came to faith and of his hopes and prayers for the Church of England.

He doesn’t duck issues as he talks of the problems that he and all Christians face in society and of the enormous risks Christians run in some particular circumstances.

He also asks for prayer for himself that he might have wisdom, patience and courage.

Follow the link! It’s well worth watching.

Farewell Peggy

Today, at St Peter’s, we said farewell to a long-standing and much loved member of St Paul’s, Peggy Smith.

At St Paul’s, Peggy has been a friend to all and had been much involved – from the mother and toddler group “Teddies,” to “Coffee Pot,” serving the silver generation. “Upfront” she was most prominent for leading the “Birthday Slot” when everyone with a birthday that month comes to the front and is asked their name and when their birthday is (age optional). They were (and still are) then given a chocolate by a child, chosen by Peggy for that day. Finally, all those who have come forward are sung a version of “Happy Birthday” which includes a prayer for God’s blessing (Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, may God guide and bless you, Happy Birthday to you).

Peggy was a friend to al, but especially to the children. This Newport lass, who never lost her Welsh lilt always had a word for everyone. She was a wonderful witness to the love of God.

In recent years, Alzheimer’s robbed Peggy of the ability to come to St Paul’s and robbed us of her presence and her smile. Her husband, Ron, had supported her magnificently, until he died not long ago.

In her funeral service, led by Steve, our vicar, the Welsh hymn tunes reminded us of Peggy’s roots, while the words reminded us of the God and Father who now welcomes her to heaven where there will be no more suffering.

Watch It Again

The Our church intern, Priyanka Ferreira, has been working hard to make the sermons from our services widely available. She is videoing each sermon, editing it, and uploading it to YouTube.

There is already a small selection available. To see one of them, select the link to YouTube from the top right hand corner of this blog. This will take you to a screen from which you can select the sermon you would like to view. You can also find them here.

The new facility will make the sermons available to those who missed them, due to work or illness. It may also help someone who was present at the sermon but wanted to reconsider one of the points that was raised. It also offers those who are not current members of St Paul's the opportunity of knowing what goes on here.

Many thanks to Priyanka for making this facility available,

Do You Recognise This Family?

Most churches have a vestry which is a collecting place for junk. Saint Paul’s vestry is probably worse than most. But recently some members have been working hard to tidy it up.

Under the disused posters, cardboard boxes and ancient service sheets, they came across this old 22x29 cm photo in a 30x40.5 cm frame. Yet even the most long-standing members of the congregation have no idea who this family is.

Do you recognise them? Is there a story behind the photograph? How did it turn up at St Paul’s?

If you can answer any of these questions, please contact us by phoning 0116 271 0519 or emailing us at  vicarstpauloadby@gmail.com

We would love to return this picture to its rightful owner (and clear the office!).

Our Prayers Are with Our Bishop

In his Christmas message, the Bishop of Leicester, Tim Stevens, mentioned the impact on their family of the progression of their daughter Rachel’s breast cancer.

Bishop Tim has just announced that, sadly, Rachel lost that battle last night and died peacefully at home. I know that Bishop Tim, and his wife, Wendi, will be in the thoughts of prayers of everyone who knows them.

We would like to assure them of the prayers of all of us at St Paul’s.

Alpha Starts Tonight!

The Alpha Course starts tonight (Wednesday 7 January) at 7.0 p.m. with a taster session. The Alpha Course gives the opportunity to discover what Christianity means, with the freedom to discuss the issues that are a problem to you.

We are starting with a “taster session,” – tasty both figuratively and literally as there will be a tasty buffet provided. If you’ve ever wondered about faith, about the meaning of life, or about who Jesus was, why not come to this trial session?

This is a single trial session, but if it raises your interest, the Alpha Course will continue for a further nine weeks on Wednesday evenings.

We hope you can come.

Principal Services – January - March

Happy New Year! Welcome to the start of 2015

The gospels contain the good news of Jesus Christ, of his life, his ministry, his death and his resurrection.

Paul writes in Romans 'I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.'

Over the next few months, we are going to explore this good news,  looking in detail at the Gospel according to Mark. Join me as we journey through this gospel, this good news, together.

Yours In Christ,

Steve.

Happy New Year!

A very Happy New Year from us all at St Paul’s. New Year’s messages have come from leaders all round the world, but perhaps the one that interests us is the one from Justin Welby our Archbishop of Canterbury. That can be seen at this link.

Also of interest is Kirsty Young's recent Castaway for Christmas Week on “Desert Island Discs,” where Justin Welby was the guest. It gives a great insight into his life and beliefs  – listen here.