Sunday, 26 April 2020
Saturday, 18 April 2020
Friday, 17 April 2020
Thursday, 16 April 2020
Sunday, 12 April 2020
Saturday, 11 April 2020
Friday, 10 April 2020
Good Friday Reflection
Here is a link to tonight's service 'At the Foot of the Cross' which Karen was due to be leading and has condensed into this reflection.
Thursday, 9 April 2020
Easter Greetings from the Rector
Dear Friends,
Alleluia, Christ is
Risen. He is risen indeed Alleluia!
Easter this year will
be unlike any other than we have previously known. Instead of being able to gather together and
celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ we will all be in our
homes. But this does not change the truth of Easter, we can still celebrate. Jesus rose victorious, he conquered death, the
grave could not contain him, nothing could hold Jesus back, he overcame evil,
he defeated Satan and dealt once and for all with our sin. Easter truly is the
greatest day in history. The message of
Easter gives us hope and confidence at this time, God can bring good out of
anything. From death comes resurrection.
‘But God raised him from the dead,
freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to
keep its hold on him.’ (Acts 2.24)
Thine be the glory,
risen, conquering Son; endless is the victory thou o’er death has won.
Keep trusting in God
and in his resurrection power.
A very Happy Easter to
you all.
Steve
Wednesday, 8 April 2020
Update - Wed 8th April
Dear Friends,
I hope this finds you well and making the most of the sunshine.
As we journey through Holy Week here are some resources that may be of
interest.
Oadby Baptist Church are holding a Communion Service on Maundy Thursday and
you can follow a link on this page https://oadbybaptist.church/holy-week/
to watch it live at 7pm.
Also on the page is a link to the Churches Together in Oadby Good Friday
service which you can watch live at 10am. This was due to be held at St Peter’s
and I will now be leading it from my home.
Tom from OBC writes, ‘I have created a new page on our
website dedicated to the Good Friday Service live stream which can be shared
amongst your church communities and beyond in emails and on social media
etc.
The live stream is not viewable on our website itself -
there is a big button on the page that people will have to click. If they’re on
a PC (desktop or laptop) then they can watch via the web. If they are on a
smartphone or tablet, we recommend downloading the Teams App first.
I have provided a further link on this new web page for
Good Friday that links to our own live streaming page, as there are instructions
on there for how to watch the live stream if anyone is having difficulties doing
so. It’s always worth mentioning to people that they should aim to join the live
stream 10-15 minutes prior to the broadcast so they have enough time to make
sure it’s working.
The live stream button on the Good Friday page will not
work yet as we have not created a broadcast, but you can get the above link out
there so people know where to go on Friday morning.’
Trinity Methodist Church are also hosting a virtual service on Maundy
Thursday via Zoom and I will send you the details when I have them.
Lastly, I want to draw your attention to Spring Harvest Home. Having had to
cancel this years events the Spring Harvest team are busy working on a range of
materials that will be available for free on line so we can all join in with all
things Spring Harvest from our homes. It will run in the post Easter week 13-17
April. This is their You Tube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/SpringHarvest
where there is a short promo video and you can subscribe so you don’t miss out.
I would really encourage you to make the most of this!
I will be in touch with more information later in the week.
Every blessing
Steve
Tuesday, 7 April 2020
Social Media Suffering and Holy Week
See the video here
Sunday, 5 April 2020
Thursday, 2 April 2020
Update - Thursday 2nd April
Dear Friends,
Thank you to those who have been in touch to ask me to add others to the
mailing list and welcome to those who have joined us!
Well done to the eagle eyed who spotted my mistake yesterday in forgetting
to attach Mohammad’s biography to the email, it is attached today!
Just to let you know that Anita is struggling with her internet access at
home so they is not likely to be a News Sheet this week but hopefully these
emails will keep us all up to date for the time being.
Lou continues to be busy with out young people. She has been hosting a
weekly worship session, Holy Unplugged, via Whats App as well as doing a Tribe
session on Sunday morning. Last weekend she did some training with the Young
Leaders and tomorrow is planning her first Friday Night Youth session via Zoom!
Here is a reflection that Angie found on line from someone in China as they
are further ahead of us in this process
I just got this message from a friend of a friend who is an expat just
emerging from 7 weeks of lockdown in China:
´We are just finishing our 7th week of E-Learning, seven weeks of being
mainly housebound and seven weeks of uncertainty. We are healthy, we are happy,
and we are humbled.
We are allowed to move around freely now with a green QR code that we show
when we get our temperature taken. You get your temperature taken everywhere,
and it's just become part of the routine. Most restaurants and shopping centres
are now open, and life is coming back to our city.
As we watch the rest of the world begin their time inside; here are some of
my reflections on the last seven weeks:
1. Accept that you have no control over the situation. Let go of any
thoughts of trying to plan too much for the next month or two. Things change so
fast. Don't be angry and annoyed at the system. Anxiety goes down, and you make
the best of the situation - whatever that might be for you. Accept that this is
what it is and things will get easier.
2. Try not to listen to/read/watch too much media. It WILL drive you crazy.
There is a thing as too much!
3. The sense of community I have felt during this time is incredible. I
could choose who I wanted to spend my energy on - who I wanted to call, message
and connect with and found the quality of my relationships has improved.
4. Appreciate this enforced downtime. When do you ever have time like this?
I will miss it when we go back to the fast-paced speed of the 'real
world'.
5. Time goes fast. I still haven't picked up the ukelele I planned to
learn, and there are box set TV shows I haven't watched yet.
6. As a teacher, the relationships I have built with my students have only
continued to grow. I have loved seeing how independent they are; filming
themselves to respond to tasks while also learning essential life skills such as
balance, risk-taking and problem-solving, that even we as adults are still
learning.
7. You learn to appreciate the little things; sunshine through the window,
flowers blossoming and being able to enjoy a coffee in a cafe.
To those just beginning this journey, You will get through it. Listen to
what you are told, follow the rules and look out for each other. There is light
at the end of the tunnel.´
Finally, thanks to those of you who kindly sponsored my running effort this
week, a great encouragement as I pass the halfway stage.
Every blessing
Steve
Wednesday, 1 April 2020
Update - Wed 1st April
Dear Friends,
Today Mohammad is starting work with us as our Intercultural Pioneer
Minister and he has written a message to you all which I wanted to share with
you.
“Dear St
Paul’s family
My family and
I are so excited and looking forward to seeing every one of you face to face and
we are sure it will happen soon. We are still settling down in our new house,
although the current lockdown situation makes it a bit slower.
I officially
have started my role at St Paul form 1st of April, and I will try to
contact some of you this week or next to have a virtual meeting or a call
conversation.
As most of you
know, I am original from Iran from a Muslim background family. I became an
asylum seeker and started my new life as a Christian in the UK more than twenty
years ago. I have attached my short biography if you would like to read more
about my life.
Please do not
hesitate to contact me if you wish so.
Thanks for all
your prayers for us.
We are looking
forward to seeing you all soon.”
I also wanted
to share with you that this week, 30th March – 5th April, is Autism Awareness
Week. Our older boy was diagnosed with Autism
during his first term at Manor. During this Autism Awareness Week the National Autistic Society are raising
awareness and funds under the title 7k for 700k as there are about 700,000
people on the Autistic spectrum in the UK i.e. One in 100. I am running 7k a day
for the 7 days and if you would like you can sponsor me for this https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Stephen-Bailey25
but I am also aware that for many in this uncertain time our finances may be
stretched so please don’t feel you have to.
Every
blessing
Steve
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