Practicing the Way, Summer is coming, PCC Report

Practicing the Way, Summer is coming, PCC Report

Dear friends,

Practicing the Way

Practicing the Way

We have launched the course in various groups at St Cuthbert’s – we have groups on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and Tuesday mornings. The Tuesday morning group will also start the course soon. A few of us are following the material individually online, and joining in a Zoom meeting on Saturday mornings to discuss their progress.

It’s not too late to take part – have a word with Nick and he can connect you with a group, or walk with you through the material. We hope and pray that the outcome will be a deeper, simpler and truer relationship with Jesus. What could be better than that.

It reminds me of the famous prayer of Richard of Chichester. May these lovely words be more and more true for all of us:

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, day by day.
Amen.

Worship over the Summer season

We usually have a more relaxed style of worship during the summer, and one feature this year is that there will be fewer services of Holy Communion on offer. There are three reasons for this: –

  • There is a shortage of priests in our deanery: we have two vacancies, two ministers on extended study leave, and another retiring in September. We also only have one curate currently in post in the deanery – Heather – and as a distinctive deacon she is not able to lead Communion services.
  • We want to be welcoming and open to guests and visitors. We will be blessed with 4 or 5 families bringing their children for baptism during August and the first week of September. Two of those families have already chosen to make St Cuthbert’s their home, and we hope that the others will feel so warmly welcomed that they will decide the same. Communion can be a confusing and alienating experience for people not used to the ways of church, so I prefer to invite baptism families to a service without Communion.
  • The third reason? Nick’s taking a holiday.

For those of us who find Communion the best and most important way to connect with God, these weeks may feel like a bit of a desert. I want to make it clear that I understand your feelings, and I hope you also understand our position. When you come to church and it’s not a Communion service, can you find another way of connecting with God? Can you take at least something away from the prayers, the sermon, the singing and the fellowship that blesses you and nourishes your spirit? And can you also take the opportunity to welcome and include our guests, to do that wonderful St Cuthbert’s job of being really good hosts, delighting and sharing our good things with everyone who comes near?

So come and welcome our lovely baptism families, come and sing your heart out on August 18th when we’ll be having a Songs of Praise special with the choir, come and enjoy time with us and God – 10am every Sunday, 9.30 every Thursday.

Report on the PCC

Last Monday the PCC met to discuss various things. The issue of Communion was one of them – so please chat to a PCC member about this if you like. Heather joined us to update us on the work she is doing with children and young people – this was the day after a lovely All Age worship service for Father’s Day, in which our children played a full part – reading from the Bible, leading us in prayer, singing and waving flags in worship.

We also took stock of the state of the car park, which is disappointingly incomplete, and discussed how we could make it better. Sadly, our financial position is still poor – despite the giving campaign at the beginning of the year, which has boosted our income, we are still not able to match our outgoings. It isn’t yet at crisis point, but more action will be needed in the coming months.

Love Nick

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