Breathing Space

We held the first of our new "Breathing Space" Communion services on Sunday evening. This new, contemplative Communion service includes lots of silence, few words and just a little recorded music, as well as a chance to light candles. Despite it being "low Sunday" when congregations are traditionally small, we were packed out in the Lady Chapel, running out of booklets and seats, which was a delightful surprise - "Breathing Space" had been an attempt to re-think the evening Communion service because numbers had dropped so low that it was hardly viable. If numbers continue at this level, we shall have to move back into the choir stalls of the main church (either that or the congregation will have to put their names down at birth for a seat at the service!)
The text of the short thought that I delivered is here.

Happy Easter!

Thank you to all who made our Holy Week and Easter events and services so special; to Dan and the choir for wonderful music through the week, culminating in a beautiful Festal Evensong on Easter Day; to the flower arrangers who created such a colourful show in the church; to those who helped with the children's craft activities on Good Friday (see the poster and pew ends below for a taste of what we got up to), and to readers, churchwardens, sidespeople and others too numerous to mention.

Here are a few pictures to the right and below, taken on Easter Monday, of the church in all its Easter glory. We continue to celebrate Easter, of course, for many weeks to come (the Sundays are called "Sundays OF Easter" not "Sundays AFTER Easter". And there is a sense in which we should be celebrating Easter all year round - we are an "Easter People" - God calls us to discover his Easter freedom and resurrection in the whole of our lives. You can find the sermon for Easter Sunday here.

The children made pew ends , proclaiming "Christ is risen! Alleluia!"