Sunday worship podcast link and other news from Seal Church: April 2 : Palm Sunday

Dear friends Join us for worship online, on the phone or in the building today.  with best wishes Anne Le Bas Online Worship podcast    Order of service You can also access this podcast by phoning 01732 928061

In the church building today 10 am   Holy Communion with Palm Sunday procession 6.30pm Evensong Next Sunday   10 am  Easter Holy Communion 6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion This week: HOLY WEEK (see more details of services below) Mon      2-3.30 Talking Village at Deniz Cafe in the High Street               8pm Compline (Night prayer) Tues      8pm Compline (Night prayer) Wed     10 am Good Book Club in the vicarage              7.15 Choir in the hall              8pm Compline (Night Prayer) Thurs   8pm Maundy Thursday Eucharist and Tenebrae Fri        10 am Good Friday Messy Church in the church             10.30-12.30 Friday Group in church hall              2.30pm Good Friday service               8pm Compline (Night Prayer) Sat        8pm Compline (Night Prayer)

Palm Sunday Today we begin Holy Week, by remembering Jesus entering Jerusalem for the final time. Today's sermon explores the symbolism of the strange procession he leads, mounted on a donkey, and asks what we think salvation might look like.  Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin's picture presents a very solemn picture of the event, and while in reality it would have probably been far more chaotic than this, it makes the point that Christ's entry into Jerusalem was a very deliberate piece of theatre, conveying the message to the crowds that he was claiming to be the Messiah, the one who came "in the name of the Lord".  It is part of a fresco painted by Flandrin in the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris.

All Age Ideas Today is the beginning of Holy Week, when we remember the things that happened in the last week of Jesus' earthly life. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, which was meant to remind people of some words written by the Old Testament prophet, Zechariah. He foretold a time when God would send a special king to Israel. Zechariah said "Look, your king comes to you, triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey".  It was an odd thing for a king to ride - grand leaders usually rode big horses, to show how powerful they were - but this was a way of making people think about that. Do we think people who look strong or wealthy are more important than others? Often people behave as if they are, paying more attention to them. Jesus wasn't a leader like that. Instead he treated everyone as if they were equally important.  Have you ever felt like people weren't taking any notice of you, or that they thought you weren't important? What did it feel like? Have you ever thougth that about someone else? There's a lovely spinning palm leaf craft on the flame creative blog here which you could make. It has the word "hosanna" on it, which is what the crowds called out to Jesus. It is a Hebrew word which means "save us". I wonder how you might want Jesus to help you today? ( For more Palm Sunday craft ideas, check out my Pinterest page here.

HOLY WEEK & EASTER PALM SUNDAY April 2 10 am Palm Sunday communion service, with procession from the lychgate MON, TUES, WED, FRI, SAT    8 pm      Compline (Night Prayer) MAUNDY THURS April 6 8 pm     Holy Communion and Tenebrae GOOD FRIDAY April 7    10 – 11.30 am Messy Church for Good Friday 12– 8pm   Time for reflection Drop in at any point for as long as you like. There will be focuses for prayer around the church for you to ponder. 2.30 – 3pm     Good Friday Service 8 pm     Compline HOLY SATURDAY April 8        8 pm     Compline EASTER SUNDAY April 9        10 am  Parish Communion for Easter Day 6.30pm Evensong, (said, with hymns) Please join us at any of our services in Holy Week

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS SEAL ECO CHURCH EASTER EVENT  Wednesday April 12 from 10.30 – 12.30 in the churchyard Come and make some bird feeders and boxes, help build a woodpile and other habitat areas. Churchyard trail. Light refreshments. For all ages – all welcome. CORONATION FESTIVITIES Sunday May  7th from 3-6pm  We are planning to gather on Sunday May 7th, from 3-6pm, beginning with a short open-air service in the churchyard (or in church if wet), and a picnic tea (also in church if wet!). Please bring your own picnic, but we will provide tea/coffee pot and squash! There will be crafts and activities for children (and maybe adults too!), and a chance to celebrate the coronation, and our own local community. It's open to everyone, so do put the date in your diary and come to join us.  WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN OUR PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL? The PCC meets six times a year to discuss a wide range of matters to do with church activities, services, fabric and finance. Members must be prepared to have a DBS check, and do safeguarding training. They must not have been disqualified from being charity trustees. They need to be confirmed, and have been on the church electoral roll for at least six months. Elections will take place at our APCM on May 21, but if you would like to find out more in advance, please let me know. There is a copy of the Role Description on the noticeboard. We are also looking for people (on the PCC or not) to join our Fabric and Maintenance team, to help organise repairs and routine maintenance etc. If you could help, let me know! ELECTORAL ROLL If you are not on our Electoral Roll, and would like to be, please fill in a form which you can find at the back of the church. Being on the church Electoral Roll qualifies you to vote at the Annual Meeting, but also means that, if you don’t live in the parish, you could be buried in the churchyard, if you want to. Electoral roll forms can be found at the back of church or downloaded here. https://www.parishresources.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Application-for-Enrolment-Electoral-Roll.docx Completed forms should be returned to the Electoral Roll officer, Wivine Turner, c/o The Vicarage, Church Street, Seal, TN15 0AR EASTER LUNCH Lise & Andrew Michaelides are hosting Easter Sunday lunch at their home this year, 2 Copse Bank, Seal TN15 0DE at 1pm. Everyone very welcome indeed, vegetarian option available. If you would like to come get in touch with Lise on 07570 125125  liseshay1@gmail.com CONFIRMATION SERVICE Saturday May 27th 4pm in Westerham. Would you like to be confirmed? Please let me know if you would like to be prepared to make this commitment.