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Published: January 27th 2015
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God of eternal compassion, grant us peace; teach us and guide us to be builders of a tolerant and non-violent world.
Sunday 11th January was the last service at St Chads, in the Church, as the Church will now be closed to allow renovation work to be undertaken. This work is due to begin on on
Monday 19th January and should take about 10 weeks.
On
Monday 12th January we called Rev Alex at Holy Trinity Hastings in Australia to catch up with what had been happening at Holy Trinity and in Hastings. One thing we will never do is forget where we came from and how we got here, with the prayers, love and training of our family and friends in Australia. It was good to let him know how we have settled into our life, especially our Christian life here in Albrighton and keep him up to date of what is happening at St Chads.
Technology is one of the great inventions of our time with email, Facebook, web sites, phone cards and of course this Blog. We keep in regular contact with family & friends not only in Australia but in the UK,
Tanzania, the Philippines and India - You are all so special to us.
Tuesday 13th January was a very cold cold day and the forecasters had predicted that snow falls were possible. Well we were teased for most of the afternoon with rain and 'Wet Snow' until about 9.00pm when snow started to fall. We had large flakes that looked like cut up crepe paper streamers, fantastic!!!! The snow did not melt and lasted well into the next morning.
For Jess it was a great experience and something he had been looking forward to. It's not like visiting the snow fields in Victoria or NSW, you go there to holiday and play in the snow, but this is living with the snow and ice. We must however always be mindful of the people who have to travel in these conditions and of course the great effect it has on the homeless and those struggling with the rising energy costs. We must keep them all in our thoughts and Prayers.
After the 9.30am Holy Communion service at St Marys on
Wednesday 14th January we headed to St Chads where a group of the congregation had assembled to pack
up the Church. Items were stored in the Vestry as well as a storage container that had been placed in the car park. Furniture was moved into the old school room next to church which has been set up in order for the regular services to continue during the Church renovations.
Sunday 18th January was another cold but sunny day and our first service at St Chads in the old school room. What a great experience. The school room has been set up with the church organ in the back corner, the altar at the front and room for 20/25 chairs. The congregation of around 15 filled the room and created a great atmosphere with great singing.
Monday 19th January saw the start of the renovations at St Chads and of course due to health and safety reasons the church is closed to all except the builders. We have been told however that after 4 hours all the pews have been removed, the font has been placed at the front of the church, the pulpit removed and the floor taken up. Great progress.
Monday was also the start of a week of prayer for 'Christian Unity'. A
SNOW
View from our dinning room window - A Christmas card photo opportunity - This is the Methodist Church in Albrighton week involving the 6 churches in the Albrighton area, Anglican (St Mary's, St Cuthbert’s & St Chads), Catholic (St Josephs), Methodist and RAF Cosford. We meet every day at 12.15pm for about 30/45 minutes. This year’s theme is 'The Well is Deep' dealing with Intolerance and Diversity in religion and society in general. The material for this year was organised by the Churches in Brazil and is based on Jesus & the Samaritan woman meeting at Jacobs Well.
Today's service, day 1, was held at St Mary's and attended by 15 people representing the various churches. A rewarding service with good discussions around Jesus as he travels through Samaria and how we could become more tolerant of other faiths and their differences.
Tuesday 20th January was day 2 of 'Christian Unity' week held at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. 13 people attended with discussion based on how our churches can help each other.
After our weekly 9.30am Holy Communion service at St Marys on
Wednesday 21st January we attended day 3 of 'Christian Unity' week held at St Chads (in the old school room). 9 people attended and we had a great discussion on the role of women
SNOW
Morning picture in the church and in society generally.
Thursday 22nd January was day 4 of 'Christian Unity' week held at St Cuthbert’s. 9 people attended and the day's discussion was based around our Christian traditions.
Friday 23rd January day 5 of 'Christian Unity' week was held at the Methodist church, very handy for us as its next door. 26 people attended with a great mix from all the churches in the area and discussion based around where our church need help and how can we help each other's church.
After the morning Holy Communion service at St Chads on
Sunday 25th January we attended the final service for 'Christian Unity' week, a 6.00pm service at Christ the King, RAF Cosford. The service was well attended by 26 people with all the 6 churches represented and the more formal service which included lighting of candles as a sign of our meeting with Christ and the presentation of 6 different sized glasses of water, a symbol of our unity which is real though still incomplete. These glasses were brought forward by a member from each of the church congregations and Evelyn was given the privilege of representing St Chads.
SNOW
St Mary's Albrighton A very special service.
Tuesday 27th January and the forecast is for some SNOW????? In the next couple of days !!!!!!!!!
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