Happy Easter from Seal Church

Happy Easter!

Many thanks to all who made our Holy Week and Easter events and services such a success.
Here are some photos of the church looking Easterish... and a recording of our romp through Philip's arrangement of the Seven Joys of Mary.
The Easter Sunday sermon is on the sermon blog here. 
And the Good Friday sermon is here.

The tomb is empty...!

Our new Paschal Candle reminds us of the light of God's love which even death could not put out.

Our Lady Chapel window tells the story of the Resurrection beautifully.

The flowers in our flowering cross are opening well in the spring warmth.

The altar is clad in its Easter white and gold...

...and so is the tiny altar and its priest in the Children's chapel, with tiny choristers joining in the Easter rejoicing.

Good Friday at Seal Church

A busy day!

This morning we had a great Messy Church on the theme of Holy Week. Here are some pictures.

Scraper board eggs and crosses helping us to remember that even when life seems dark, the rainbow of God's love is still with us. 

Egg shell mosaic pictures - messy fun. 

Ali, as ever, proud of her creation!

How clever are these roosters? Made out of the corner of an egg box.

And here are some tissue covered eggs to go in them.

Butterflies made from coffee filters, with "bleeding" tissue sandwiched between them, and water dripped on them. 

It wouldn't be Good Friday without hot cross buns for refreshments, followed by some singing and a prayer as we rounded up what we had done.

In the afternoon, when the dust had settled, I put up some reflective displays. They will be there at least for the next week, so you can pop in when you like if you are nearby. We are always open during the day. 

Scraper board prayers linked to a display on George Matheson's lovely hymn, "O Love that wilt not let me go", which includes the line "I trace the rainbow through the rain". I preached on this hymn at our Good Friday service (sermon here).

We embroidered this crown of thorns at Messy Church, so I thought people might like to continue it in the afternoon.

A prayer station exploring the hiddenness at the heart of the story of Holy Week. 

A display about the song we are singing on Easter Sunday, the Seven Joys of Mary, and its links to the many traditions of praying with beads and knots, rosaries, prayer ropes etc. 

Holy Week and Easter Services

To find out more about these services, see this post.

About time 32

This is the last of our About Time daily posts. If you would like to read the course booklet which goes with them, which our Lent Groups have been following this year, you can find a copy here. 

About Time 31

A prayer from the Sarum Primer, an ancient prayer book following the Sarum rite , the pattern of worship from Salisbury Cathedral.

Parish news from Seal Church for April and May

The April and May issue of Seal Parish newsletter, with details of events coming up, including the Holy Week and Easter services, is now available. You can download it here.  You can find out more about Holy Week at Seal, and what to expect if you come to a service, on our church blog. Come and join us at any of our services. You will be very welcome. This coming Sunday, April 7, we will be holding our Annual Parochial Church Meeting, at which we elect our Church Council members and talk about the life of the church. You can find a digested version of the Annual Reports here or the full report, with the Accounts here. Everyone is welcome to come along to the meeting, but only those on the Church Electoral Roll can vote.   Drop in and join us at one of our Talking Village session - get to know your neighbours in Seal!

Seal Clean Up On Sunday April 7 we are also invited to help clean up Seal. We'll be gathering after the APCM, and all equipment will be provided. There will be refreshments after the clean up in the hall.

Come and join us for a Pamper Evening at Lavender Fields Find out more by following the Pamper Evening Facebook Page here.

About time 30

About Time 29

About Time 28

The final chance, in our #AboutTime series to return to whatever it is you have been watching over the last four weeks. How has it changed in that time? I'm wondering if the Clematis "Blue Dancer " I've been keeping an eye on is in bloom yet...I always look forward to it - it is the bluest blue you can get - but I think it might not quite have made the deadline! Plenty of other things have flowered, and in some cases finished flowering during this four week series, though. The snowdrops have all gone - just leaves now, building up strength for next year. Some of the dates are past it too, but the tulips are just starting to come into their own and I have windowsills full of seedlings promising good things for the summer (provided they escape the slugs and rabbits...) Growing, changing, flowering, seeding, dying - they are all part of life, with their own grace and wisdom.

About Time 27