Saturday, March 05, 2016

March news from Seal Church

The March newsletter from Seal Church is now available here, https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59103132/magazine.pdf.
As you will see, there are a lot of things coming up.

Tomorrow is Mothering Sunday and we will be celebrating with a special All Age Communion service at 10 am, which will include a chance to light a candle to give thanks for your mother, or those who have mothered you, to remember a mother or child you have lost, or to pray for families who are struggling.
There will also be flowers for the children to give to their mothers or carers, of course. A number of us put together bunches of daffodils and greenery last night, so there are plenty available. This involved me doing some impromtu pruning of some of the bushes in the churchyard, in the dark, when we started to run out of greener. If anyone starts a to tell you stories about the ghost of Seal, a woman with a pair of loppers frantically hacking at the bushes by the dim light of a torch, don't believe them; it was me…! I was just glad that no dog-walkers happened along at that moment; it would have scared the life out of them.
There will be a cake and craft sale after the service - contributions are welcome! The cake bakers of Seal are renowned for delicious offerings, so I'm sure there will be treats on offer.

Next Saturday is our "Rock and Roll Bingo" event, http://sealpeterandpaul.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/rock-and-roll-bingo-sat-12-march.html. It will feature music from the 1950's onwards, so there should be something for every generation. I am sure it will be fun, so do sign up and come along (Cost £5, to include a sandwich supper).
There is also news of a new group starting up on Friday mornings from April 1. Come along for coffee and chat, and various craft activities and board games. It's a group for any adults of any age - men and women - and will feature all sorts of activities, depending on who comes. There will also be a chance to help out with various charity and community projects. At the first meeting we'll be tidying up the village bunting in preparation for the street party to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday (on Sat June 11 - put the date in your diaries!)

This edition of the newsletter also has details of all our services and events for Holy Week and Easter. There is something for everyone, whether you like the peace and quiet of our nightly, small scales service of compline at 8pm during Holy Week, or the activity and buzz of Messy Church on Good Friday morning, with art and craft for all ages to explore the Easter story together. Holy Week starts on Palm Sunday as we process from the lych gate into the church with our palm crosses and hear the story of Jesus crucifixion read as a dramatic reading by members of the congregation. There is compline on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and on Thursday evening the Maundy Thursday Communion service, when we remember Jesus Last Supper. There will be hymns and music from the choir, and the services finishes with Tenebrae. As we hear a series of readings, twelve candles on the altar are blown out one by one, symbolising Jesus and the eleven disciples (leaving out Judas, who had betrayed Jesus by this time in the story) The service finishes in darkness and silence, taking us into Good Friday.
On Good Friday, after Messy Church there will be various "prayer stations", displays to reflect on, dotted around the church for the rest of the day, and we will gather for our Good Friday service at 2.30, which will include music from the choir, hymns, readings and a chance to light a candle.
On Easter Sunday our 10 am service will include the lighting of the new Easter candle, and lots of joyful music to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and the new life we find in him. More details of all these services are on the front page of the newsletter.

Come along and join us - you will be welcome at any of our services and events. And don't forget, you can keep up to date with all our activities on Facebook or Twitter , or h ereon the church blog or our website .

See you soon
Anne Le Bas

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