- become - deny - take - follow - 

Welcome to From the Vicar's Desk for Friday 26 February 

A play in four acts

We live in an age when our feelings dominate our reactions and responses to things. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a man of a certain age (and quickly heading for the next age!) who has had to learn the importance of emotional intelligence, of how our instincts can teach and guide us, and of listening to the whispers of the spirit - so I'm all in favour of feelings taking their rightful place in how we live our lives. But I am struck by the words of Jesus here: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." There isn't a feeling anywhere to be found here. Instead there are four decisions and four actions: 

* a decision of the heart ... to want to become ... an act of renewal; 

* a decision of the will ... to deny themselves ... an act of letting go; 

* a decision of the mind ... to take up the cross ... to act in public; and

* a decision of the body ... to follow Christ ... to move forward

So much of the language of faith comes wrapped in a veneer of poetry which, when seen in the cold light of day, is straightforward, if challenging, prose. 

Lent: A journey of prayer

Each week in Lent, throughout the week, we will be sharing reflections, prayers and other resources for our shared Journey of Prayer here on our website.

Lent: Prayer Laboratory

The Prayer Laboratory will be taking place each Sunday in Lent at 4pm and there will be different breakout rooms with a choice of creative and interactive prayers for all the senses. Read more here ... 

Lent: Sunday Evening Service

Throughout Lent, as well as Morning Prayer and the main Sunday service, we are holding a service of Night Prayer which you can download here. The service will be held on Zoom and you can join by clicking here here just before the service starts at 6.30pm 

SMR Consultation

As I mentioned in my sermon last Sunday (which you can watch here) we are launching a consultation into the liturgy and worship that we offer at SMR. The consultation will run until the end of March and the aim is to present a paper to PCC at the end of April in order to present the final decisions to the APCM on Monday 24 May. There is no expectation that there will, or will not, be any changes but this time of difference offers us an opportunity to step back, have a think and to ask ourselves .. where is God leading us for the next phase of life at SMR? More information here ....

Laptops and Teachers

SMR's Community Team, as part Redcliffe Community Pop-Up on Redcliffe Hill, are becoming increasingly aware of the digital divide on our doorstep and we are keen to help supply laptops to a number of local families. If you have a laptop less than 3 years old that you are willing to donate, click here to let David know; if not, you can help us raise enough funds to buy some (they are about £200 each) by clicking here. More than that, there are an increasing number of requests for help and support from the volunteer teachers running the homework club. Offers from anyone with a background in primary or secondary education to help with online learning (or whilst on an outdoor walk) would be great. Again, please contact David here. Thank you very much. 

PCC Meeting - John Steeds writes: 

The meeting was very well attended and I think we were very happy to be able to meet again if not yet in person. For the longest item on the Agenda, Liturgy and Worship, we broke out into small groups of four to remind ourselves about what innovations had been introduced during the duration of the pandemic and to use these reminders to decide how we would wish to proceed when we were able to choose again. The group that I attended was unanimous: we simply wanted to get back to where we were before the virus struck. That was why we had chosen to worship at St Mary Redcliffe in the first place. However, we were conscious of how much more aware we had become of our neighbours and felt that this important development should be built on and enhanced. Those who had attended Children's' Church thought this was worth continuing and spoke warmly of Becky's achievements. Finally, if the IT enhancements had greatly facilitated the recording of services, why not make them, or at least some of them, available online. Another major concern of the meeting was the state of our finances. Dan was complimented on has Trojan efforts to secure more direct access to the Tucker Fund and the Temple Ecclesiastical Charity. Elizabeth was asked a few points of detail on the Finance and Budget paper and, as always, was right on top of the detail. There was universal gratitude and relief that a well-qualified Treasurer had now been found It was a well-planned, efficiently managed and convivial meeting.

SMR Online Shop

Our online shop is now up and running with an efficient postal service to ensure everything arrives quickly. Check out the books, the CDs and gifts available here. 

Standing Order info request

Thanks to those who provided the requested information last week: if we need anything else we will be in touch with individuals direct. By the way, over the year the number of people giving by Standing Order has gone up from around 60 to around 75 and some people using Standing Order have moved over to Parish Giving .. so a big "thank you" to all those who have started, switched or amended their regular giving. 

Send on / Contact me

Please forward this email on those who might be interested in SMR and contact me here (rather than using reply please) 

With my best wishes 

Dan

Canon D F Tyndall 

Vicar, St Mary Redcliffe 

0776 929 6220