Parish Church of St Luke Holmes Chapel
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May 31st: Feast of Pentecost – Whit Sunday
Today’s Bible readings are:
- Acts 2: v1-21
- John 20: v19-23
On this special Sunday when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, at 10am we will hold our regular Sunday service of Morning Prayer of about 30 minutes using an internet Zoom meeting.
This will be followed at 10.45am with a chance to catch up informally with other Church members over a cup of coffee/tea also in a Zoom meeting.
If you plan to join the service, please start your Zoom login five minutes or so before 10am so that we can begin on time.
To help prepare us for our worship in our homes today, Rob has recorded another short video address based on today’s Acts reading. You may find it helpful to watch the video before joining the Morning Prayer service – in the video, he also announces the answers to the Ascension Pentecost Hymns quiz.
The joining details for the Zoom meetings have been sent to all our parishioners with email addresses. We’re sorry we can’t open these Zoom meetings up to everyone but if you are local to Holmes Chapel and would like to join in, please let us know by email secy@stlukesholmeschapel.uk.
This week
- The Bible readings for Monday 1st June – Sunday 7th June are set out below.
- On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 9am we will hold our regular shortened Morning Prayer service through Zoom.
- On Thursday at 9.30am why not join us for half an hour in our Special Prayer service, again through Zoom.
The new Prayersheet for Ascension and Pentecost to help in our personal worship can be viewed below – we are using it in our Morning Prayer services. You can download a copy here suitable for printing.
Rob recorded a Quiz set of well known Ascension and Pentecost season hymns below for you to guess the first lines – the answers are at the end of his Pentecost Sunday address!
Note: the Zoom joining details are the same as for the Sunday service – again let us know if you do not have them and would like to join in.
Bible Readings: 1st-7th June
Monday 1st: Psalm 85, Joshua 1, Luke 9.18-27
Tuesday 2nd: Psalm 132, Joshua 2, Luke 9.28-36
Wednesday 3rd: Psalm 119.153-end, Joshua 3, Luke 9.37-50
Thursday 4th: Psalm 143, Joshua 4.1 – 5.1, Luke 9.51-end
Friday 5th: Psalm 144, Joshua 5.2-end, Luke 10.1-16
Sunday 7th, Trinity: 2 Corinthians 13.11-end, Matthew 28.16-20
Ascension & Pentecost Hymn Quiz
Following the popularity of the Easter Season Hymn Quiz, why not spend a few moments seeing if you can identify the first lines of the well-known Ascension and Pentecost season hymns in the video opposite?
If you can’t wait any longer for the answers, listen again to Rob’s Pentecost Sunday video address!!
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Praying Together – when sickness is near
you can view or download this whole prayersheet here
God of compassion,
be close to those who are ill, afraid or in isolation.
In their loneliness, be their consolation;
in their anxiety, be their hope;
in their darkness, be their light;
through him who suffered alone on the cross, but reigns with you in glory,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens your everlasting arms are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them, and restore them to health and strength; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
For hospital staff and medical researchers
Gracious God,
give skill, sympathy and resilience to all who are caring for the sick,
and your wisdom to those searching for a cure. Strengthen them with your Spirit,
that through their work many will be restored to health;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
From one who is ill or isolated
O God, help me to trust you,
help me to know that you are with me, help me to believe that nothing can separate me from your love
revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Good News – our new 41st Bishop of Chester has been announced!
The new Bishop of Chester is to be the Rt Revd Mark Tanner, currently the Suffragan Bishop of Berwick in Northumberland, succeeding the Rt Revd Dr Peter Foster who retired in September 2019.
Bishop Mark has been Bishop of Berwick since 2016 and is expected to take up his post in the autumn, practicalities permitting. You can hear some of his first reactions with those of his wife, Lindsay, to his new appointment in this short video and also in his video conversation with Bishop Christine, the Bishop of Newcastle .
The virus and Easter
A poem by By Kristi Bothur
Twas late in ‘19 when the virus began, Bringing chaos and fear to all people, each land.
People were sick, hospitals full, Doctors overwhelmed, no one in school.
As winter gave way to the promise of spring, The virus raged on, touching peasant and king.
People hid in their homes from the enemy unseen, They YouTubed and Zoomed, social-distanced, and cleaned.
April approached and churches were closed, “There won’t be an Easter,” the world supposed.
“There won’t be church services, and egg hunts are out, No reason for new dresses when we can’t go about.”
Announcements
May 2020 letter from our vicar Rob
The Prayerbook of the Church of England used to have these words in the Litany: “ From plague, pestilence and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death, Good Lord, deliver us.”
The recent revisions of the Prayerbook resulted in the litany being altered to this: “From famine and disaster, from violence, murder and dying unprepared, Good Lord, deliver us.”
Spot the difference? Why the changes, I wonder? Why, in particular, did we remove the mention of plague and pestilence in our set prayers? After all, that is the prayer I want to pray over and over at this present time: From plague and pestilence, Good Lord, deliver us.
Yes, I admit the words sound a little archaic. Plague and pestilence sound like they belong in the Middle Ages. But that is perhaps part of our present problem. Maybe we have been in some sort of privileged denial of the continuing threat of plague and pestilence…….?
MU Evening Meeting Tuesday 11th February
The speaker was Pat Riches – an old friend and member of the branch – she came to talk about the Sycamore Tree Course. Pat is a volunteer on the Sycamore Tree Course at Thorn Cross Prison. The Course is faith led and all the sessions are based on the story of Zaccheus,
Genesis update: 4th April 2020
As you know, because of the public health restrictions, Church services and Genesis are now suspended and the church and hall buildings are now closed until further notice. Further updates about the restrictions and how the Church plans to adapt during the virus pandemic can be accessed via the church website.
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