Morning Prayer is said at 9:00am in the Lady Chapel every weekday apart from Friday when Daily Prayer will be said at 12 noon. On Wednesday, there is a service of Holy Communion in the Church at 11am.
Long Term Concerns
Those in our congregation who have long term concerns are named in prayer corner and are prayed for daily.
Please remember particularly in your prayers:
Pamela Kerslake, Paul Berning, Rosie Pegram, James Stanton.
And those who have recently died:
Michael Kent, Brian Carr, Jacqueline Lloyd, Cicely Mary MacGeorge.
Holy Spirit, sent by the Father,
ignite in us your holy fire;
strengthen your children with the gift of faith,
revive your Church with the breath of love,
and renew the face of the earth,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Well, somewhat unusually I am opening with ‘Good evening’ from the Vicar’s Study. And I want to begin by asking you whether or not you have ever stood outside and watched the International Space Station (ISS) fly overhead? If not… you should!
I am writing this now (i.e. this evening) because I have just come in from watching it passing overhead. It is a source of great amusement to my children that I often make such a big thing of this occurrence.
It first came into sight this evening in the West at 2207hrs… at which point it was some 920 miles away from Dorking. It passed (almost) directly overhead 3 minutes later… at which point it was more or less 265 miles above our heads and travelling at some 17000mph. It finally disappeared from view at 2215hrs (5 minutes later). At this point… it was approximately 1287 miles away from Dorking; it was, as closely as I can estimate, somewhere over Brno in the Czech Republic as it finally disappeared from view here in Dorking. That’s worth stopping and thinking about for a moment or two: a manmade object, orbiting some 265 miles above the earth was still visible from Dorking as it passed over Brno in the Czech Republic!
OK… so… by now you are probably wondering what on earth this has got to do with anything? Well, it’s this. Although this particular thing (the ISS) may be man-made it is (in my humble opinion) still a miracle… and I marvel at it… in much the same way that I marvel at the sight of a Boeing 747 making the transition from ground to air during its take-off roll… every time! Sorry if you think that’s weird. But I think that it is so important to be able to appreciate the everyday miracles that surround us continuously. If we drift through our lives failing to marvel at what is miraculous around us, how can we be adequately prepared to appreciate those moments that some would more readily label ‘miracles’?
The Feast of Pentecost marks, what is for me, one of the great faith miracles: the Holy Spirit descending, very tangibly, upon the disciples ten days after Jesus’ ascension. To those of you reading this who do not have a faith, what does this mean to you? What do you think might have been happening here? To those of you with a fledgling faith, how does it sound? Scary? Awesome? Confusing? And to those of you who have been going to church all of your lives, what emotions does this stir up in you? Does it stir up any emotions in you?! Or has Pentecost become, perhaps, just another date on the Church’s calendar? Whichever of these (maybe none of these) might apply to you, I would commend to you Jenny Firth’s sermon to us in this coming Sunday’s Eucharist service from St Martin’s.
Do please take time to listen to her words and then to meditate on them; as I listened to it in readiness to begin editing, I found myself filled with the same sense of awe that I experience when watching the ISS. I started by saying, “Go watch the ISS!” I’m ending by saying, “Go watch Jenny’s sermon on Sunday” … do both, because they are both good for the heart.
Every blessing,
Derek.
Life sometimes delivers severe blows and problems that are just too much to cope with on your own. The Church and Christian Centre, are here to support you and the community of Dorking both pastorally and spiritually. If you need somebody to talk to in complete confidence, for whatever reason, we are here to help. The Church Pastoral team has three trained and authorised Pastoral Assistants and Methodist Pastoral Visitors, all of whom are experienced and can offer understanding and prayerful support. The Christian Centre offers a drop-in Listening Service on Monday mornings in the Centre Café (10:30 – 12:00). The Chaplain is usually available on Monday mornings plus variable other weekday mornings, but you may prefer to make an appointment to see her via The Centre Managers. One of our Monday morning Listeners is also a trained Counsellor (UPCA registered) and she can off private appointments on request for counselling.
News and Notices for the Weekly News Sheet are to be forwarded to the church office by the close of business on Wednesday for inclusion the next Sunday, preferably by email to stmartinsdorkingchurchoffice@gmail.com
or by telephone to 01306 884229.