FROM ST GILES’ CLERGY

By the time the April edition of ICN is published, we will be about half way through Lent.  St. Giles’ Lent Service began on Ash Wednesday (9th March) with these words: 

 “Brothers and sisters in Christ, since early days Christians have observed with great devotion the time of our Lord’s passion and resurrection and prepared for this by a season of penitence and fasting.  By carefully keeping these days, Christians take to heart the call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel, and so grow in faith and in devotion to our Lord.  I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word.” 

The service continued and worshippers had the opportunity to be marked on the forehead with the penitential sign of the cross made from a mixture of ashes and oil. 

The time of Lent helps Christians to focus on their relationship with God and to cement their life with God through self-examination and prayer.  The purpose of Lent is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, Christian growth, penitence, conversion, and simplicity.  Lent, which comes from the Teutonic (Germanic) word for springtime, can be viewed as a ‘spiritual spring cleaning’: a time for taking spiritual inventory and cleaning out those things which hinder our corporate and personal relationships with Jesus Christ and our service to him.  Thus it is fitting that the season of Lent began with a symbol of repentance: placing ashes mixed with oil on one's head or forehead.  However, we must remember that our Lenten disciplines are supposed to ultimately transform our entire person: body, soul, and spirit.  Our Lenten disciplines are supposed to help us become more like Christ.  And as we move through Lent our thoughts begin to turn to the Great Day – Easter Day – and to his resurrection. 

Whoever we are and whatever we believe it is good occasionally to take time out and examine our lives.  Why is it that we do what we do and live as we live?  Could my lifestyle change for the better and so improve the lives of others?  What is my motivation for living - is it to gain more and more ‘things’ or is there something more important to life?  What part does God play in my life? 

May I wish you all a holy Lent as we look forward to the joys of Easter.

Ken Tombs

 

ST GILES’ CHURCH STREET PRAYER LIST

Each Sunday at St Giles’ Church we pray for all the people who live or work in a particular road in the Parish.  During April we will pray for the following roads: 

Apr 3rd              Thorpland Avenue
Apr 10th            Three Oaks Close
Apr 17th            Turnstone Close
Apr 24th            Tweedale Grove

If you live in one of these roads why not join us at our 8am or 9.45am services?  You will be most welcome. 

 

FROM THE CHURCHES’ REGISTERS

Wedding at St Giles’
Feb 26th            Samantha Marie Nichols and Stephen Paul Harding

Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
Mar 2nd        James English, aged 51 (after service at St Giles’)
Mar 3rd        Joan Chapman, aged 75
Mar 8th        Catherine Tripp, aged 68 (after service at St Giles’)
Mar 11th       Coral Payne, aged 81 (after service at St Giles’)
Mar 11th       Mary Russell, aged 76

 

COVENANT ANNIVERSARY SERVICE

Another special joint service is being held in the URC at 11am on Sunday 10th April.  This celebrates the anniversary of the signing of the Covenant between the two churches in 1985, bringing to an end the year of celebration of our Silver Jubilee.  And heralding the start of the journey towards our Golden Jubilee instead!

Note there will be no 9.45am service at St Giles’ that day.