01 Jun Vicars’ Blog – June 2018 – Welcome & Celebrations!
Welcome and celebrations!
Celebrations abound in the Blair household as two of our children have got
married in the last five weeks. It has been such a joy to celebrate both
weddings with family and friends and see our children and their spouses so
happy. The Royal wedding on 19th May, was a wider celebration for the whole
country and the preacher’s theme was the fire of love. Holy fire was topical
with Pentecost Sunday the following day. The power of God’s love is not just
for a wedding day, it is for every day and can see us through anything. With
the sun shining on them, the sadness’s and losses of their lives may have been
far away, but Harry and Meghan, like us, know how complex families and life
can be. God’s love is not a one-day wonder, it is on offer every day to bring
us comfort, joy and healing.
The church is not an institution so much as a gathering of people who have
found the reality of God’s power and love in their lives. We, of all people,
should not keep this message to ourselves! It is true that the church is the only
“club” that exists for the benefit of non-members! When did we last invite
someone in? For those of us who have come recently to our church, I wonder
what things you found welcoming? And for those who feel like you belong
already, how could you make newcomers feel welcome? We would love to
be the most welcoming church in Surrey and to really feel like one big family.
We are hoping that every person who attends any of our services, will sign up
to do the Everybody Welcome course with a choice of sessions starting in the
week beginning 4th June. Please see publicity for details and to sign up, please
email [email protected]. Thus we will all take our next steps towards
welcome and belonging!
A big day of celebration for our church will be
Sunday 1st July when we are having a big
Barbecue lunch, at 1pm at St Mary’s hall, to
celebrate the arrival and ordination of Alex
Oehring, the new curate, his wife, Katy and their
three children, and also the priesting of our current
curate, Caroline Merrick on July 30th at the
Cathedral. There are limited tickets for the
Barbecue, on sale now for £5. The letter from Alex
and Katy in this months ‘Prayer, Services & Events’ will help us to get to
know the family a bit. We are very excited about them joining us.
Some quick reminders: The Servant Course – there are still spaces on the 8th
and 9th June, contact the office to register; the Guardians of Ancora Holiday
Club is taking early bird bookings for helpers’ children and could you continue
to pray for an increase in giving in our church.
We hope you enjoy this season of welcome and celebrations!
Jonny and Cathy