The Rector writes……
Three historical events frame the life of Jesus of Nazareth. He announced God’s Kingdom; he was crucified by the Romans; his disciples declared him to be the Messiah and Lord.
From the first century onwards, sceptical interpretations abounded about him and still do today. Was Jesus a failed revolutionary whose followers invented morale-boosting stories about him? This seems unlikely. Other similar religious movements ended with the founder’s death or when they chose a new leader as successor. This didn’t happen with Christianity.
Nobody expected Jesus to rise again. Resurrection at the time meant the resurrection of everyone at the end of history, not of one person in the middle of it. The early accounts of Easter morning in the Gospels are breathless and unadorned with reflection and interpretation. Unthinkably at the time, women are the original witnesses. Alternative explanations have been offered down the centuries for the emergence of Jesus’ followers as a coherent movement which claimed him to be the Lord. None fits the historical evidence as well as the proposition that he really was alive again, with a transformed body equally at home in heaven and on earth. This was dangerous nonsense in the ancient world and it is today too, not only because it challenges our scientific view of the world, but it also has implications for politics.
Jesus had a vision of God’s Kingdom of justice and peace, ‘on earth as it is in heaven’. His vocation was that through his mission, he was to embody the personal presence and self-giving love of God. That is why Jesus of Nazareth continues to challenge the imagination and culture of the world today.
This month we reach the high point of the church calendar with Holy Week and Easter. We look forward to having several guest preachers at our evening services throughout the week. I hope you will make it a priority to attend some or all of the services listed on the back of this newsletter.
I take this opportunity to wish you a good Holy Week and a happy and blessed Easter.
Yours in Christ,
Adrian.
St Luke’s School News We are delighted to welcome Jacqui Ryall and Christina Dring, two Transition Year students from Ashton School on their Community Action Programme. They will work with us every Tuesday this term. Congratulations to Ms Guinane and the school choir who came 2nd place in the recent Feis Matiú. The RNLI came to visit us and gave our Senior classes a really interesting presentation on their important work. Our active Parents Association organised a very enjoyable Movie Night for all pupils on Friday 12th February.
Service & Sausages This month, the first Sunday falls on Mothering Sunday and so the fathers have been asked to organise the catering afterwards. We are grateful to Florence Binions who plays the keyboard and Revd. David Bowles who does all the practical organisation as well as devising the service.
On Saturday March 12th – Blackrock’s Annual Coffee Morning will take place. This is St. Michael’s main
money making effort for parish funds and an opportunity to greet supporters from the local community. The event runs from 10 to 12, concluding with a raffle. Annie Stephens
Youth Matters: On Saturday 12th March the thirteen young people who are members of our
confirma
tion group will be attending the annual Bishop’s Confirmation Morning. It is a good opportunity for them to meet others from across the diocese who will be confirmed this year.
Later that evening the Canon Packham Hall will be the venue for the CDYC Table Quiz and we hope that several teams from Douglas will challenge for the prize this year.
On Sunday, 13th March the confirmation group will host their annual ‘Soup and Rolls Lunch’ in aid of charity. This takes place in the Canon Packham Hall after services that day. We hope that parishioners will enjoy fellowship together and donate what they would normally pay for Sunday lunch to our collection. Generally local business and parishioners are generous in terms of sponsoring the food and so 100% of the proceeds go to good causes. This year we will be supporting aid and development work in Swaziland which is being facilitated by the United Society which works through the local church there. Last month we were delighted to have Linda Chambers from Us with us at some of our services to tell us about the work they do in that drought affected country.
Douglas Select Vestry Meeting will take place on Tuesday, 15th March in the Canon Packham Hall at 8pm.
Good Friday for Children This year on Good Friday we will have an hour of activities for children from 11.00am in the Canon Packham Hall. This will end with the traditional service in St. Luke’s Church at 12.00. The morning will include a DVD, colouring activities and refreshments. In order to know how many people to cater for, you are asked to text Jacqui Wilkinson (087-6404724) to book places.
Palm Sunday 20th March at 3 pm in Douglas Community Park: meet to start our Palm Sunday walk, with music
and liturgies, via St Columba’s and St Luke’s churches to Douglas Village and Douglas Court shopping centres to dedicate our display stands for Holy Week. There, passers-by can find a friendly face from the local churches or request prayer for their concerns that will be included in Holy Week liturgies.
Sunday 20th –Thursday 24th and Saturday 26th March: displays will be in the shopping centres to draw attention to the important events we commemorate this week.
Holy Week Looking ahead to Holy Week, this year we welcome Revd. Peter Hanna back to the parish as our guest preacher. In years past he served on the clergy team in Douglas Union and was a highly regarded colleague. He will lead our thoughts on Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday evening services. His sermon titles and over all theme will be advertised in our Parish Matters newsletter. On the Monday and Tuesday evenings in Holy Week, Dr. Richard Scriven and Mrs. Sabrina Cooke-Nivet will be our guest speakers. Sabrina is a Diocesan Lay Reader currently assisting at services in Holy Trinity Church, Frankfield. Richard is an academic geographer who has a professional interest in Christian pilgrimage practices in contemporary Ireland.
Easter Sunday: Christ is Risen! This year it is our turn to host the dawn service. We begin the celebrations in the grounds of St. Luke’s Church, at 7am, with a short service with breakfast to follow in the Canon Packham Hall. We are looking for volunteers to help that morning by preparing and serving the breakfast to our ecumenical visitors from the other local churches. Please contact Jacqui Wilkinson (087-6404724) if you can help.
All of these events depend on your support, either to pray, to attend the displays in the shopping centres, to come to the Palm Sunday and /or Easter events, to show that in Douglas and Frankfield faith is alive and shared ecumenically with our neighbours. Volunteer by filling in one of the rotas at the back of your church/ turning up on the day.
The Frankfield Easter General Vestry Meeting will take place on Wednesday, 13th April in the Sunday School Room, Frankfield at 8.30pm preceded by a Holy Communion Service in Holy Trinity Church at 8pm. (Please note the slightly later time). On Thursday, 14th April, the Easter General Vestry Meeting will take place in the Canon Packham Hall at 8pm preceded by a service of Holy Communion in St. Luke’s Church at 7.30pm. All parishioners are welcome to attend this annual general meeting of this parish. A report about various activities in the parish will be presented as well as our annual accounts.
Celebrating in Irish. Many of us can, with a bit of help, recite “Ár nAthair atá ar Neamh…” Going a little further, at midday on the first Saturday of each month – ar an gcéad Satharn de gach mí, um nóin, bíonn An Chomaoineach Naofa á ceiliúradh as Gaeilge i nÁrd Eaglais Naomh Fhionn Barra – Holy Communion is celebrated in Irish in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral. The words are a direct translation of Holy Communion 2 and bi-lingual prayer books are used so that everyone can follow. Mar sin, bí linn, agus beidh fáilte rómhat.
