Weekly Message

Lent is normally a time of quiet reflection but this week started off in a flurry of activity: 

On Shrove Tuesday we came together online for a wonderful Pancake ‘Cook-along;’ a big "Thank You" to Chris Case, Ann and Nigel Pope and Hilary for all their efforts which made this a great time of fellowship. 

Ash Wednesday included our weekly daytime meeting of Prayer and Reflection followed by our evening service of Imposition of Ashes, setting the scene for the Lent period ahead.

Thursday was the beginning our bespoke Lent Course, “Encounters with Jesus.” In this first group we looked at the narrative of Zacchaeus and heard a talk which preceded thoughtful and interesting discussions. Week two will be looking at the woman at the well. If you have not already signed up it is not too late, please speak to Rachel or Steve. (Resource for each session can be downloaded from the website under the Lent heading, and from this email).

On Sunday we look forward to our guest speaker, Phil Stone from Scargill House, sharing with us about the thriving work at the Christian Conference Centre.

We received a message from the Bromley Foodbank this week to say a big thank you to all those who have continued to support them whilst the warehouse has been closed, either by providing finances or donating food products via various supermarket collection points. This has greatly helped them manage their operations and reduce the risk of further Covid19 outbreaks. The warehouse is now open once again for those who would like to drop off large collections of donations. The Foodbank are still encouraging people wherever possible to continue to offer financial support.

For those who would like to donate food items the specific items of need are:

UHT Milk, tinned Potatoes, tinned Vegetables (particularly carrots), Long life Fruit juice, tinned Fruit, tinned Fish, tinned Cold meat and toilet rolls.

On Monday we eagerly anticipate the Prime Minister’s announcement regarding the roadmap out of Lockdown. Please pray for the decisions that our government has to make during these challenging times. We cannot know how this may affect us as a church community but we continue to plan services with Christ at the centre of all that we do in the lead up to Easter.

Prayer for the start of Lent

‘Let Us Fast’

While fasting with the body,
brothers and sisters,
let us also fast in spirit.
Let us lose every bond of iniquity;
let us undo the knots of every contact made by violence;
let us tear up all unjust agreements;
let us give bread to the hungry
and welcome to our house
the poor who have no roof to cover them,
that we may receive mercy from Christ our God.
~ Byzantine Vespers

God Bless you in your Lent journey,

Rev’d Steve Spencer (vicar) & Rev’d Rachel Winn (curate)

Join us as we meet to worship together on Sunday morning at 10.00am
online, with the Zoom room opening from 9.45am, by clicking here.

If this link doesn't work or you wish to join via telephone, instructions are here.
After the service, we’ll have the opportunity to break into groups for fellowship. 
The Zoom Service Sheet  can be found here. 

Reading: 

Bible Reading:  Mark 1:9-15

Collect: 

Heavenly Father,
your Son battled with the powers of darkness,
and grew closer to you in the desert:
help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer
that we may witness to your saving love
in Jesus Christ our Lord

Lent Course has now started; see below for details

Sign up to the Lent Course -

"Encounters with Jesus"

The courses will all be via Zoom. This will use the same Zoom id and password that we use for our Sunday services. The details are:

• You can access the Zoom room opening on the dates and at the times detailed below, by clicking here.
• If this link doesn't work or you wish to join via telephone, instructions are here.
• The Zoom id is 8160181393 and the password is 1234.

Purpose of the Lent course:

The purpose is not just studying the Bible but engaging with those whose lives were transformed. We will look at these Encounters with Jesus and see how they impact our own lives. We encourage you to become part of the narrative and allow God to speak to you through this time.

Resources:

Prior to each week’s session there will be one or two sheets to download from the website under the LENT course section (and also in this email - see the schedule above), which include an image and bible passage (those not online will receive this in their newsletter delivery). It is not essential to have this but you might wish to reflect on the passage before the session.

Reflection:

During Lent we usually take time to REFLECT and search our soul. We allow God to reveal to us hidden things which he wants to address, things which may be acting as a barrier to us growing spiritually.

Un-pressured:

You can enter into this as much or as little as you like. You may wish to join a group just to listen to the talk and to have an opportunity to personally reflect. We encourage you to be as open and honest as you feel able. There will be an ‘Interactive Reflection’ and you (and others) may gain more by sharing within the group

Change:

Lent is a time for ‘penitence’ (showing sorrow for things we have done), absolution and expectation in the lead up to Easter. So join us for this course, be prepared for God’s renewal and expect to be changed, at least a little!

Let's turn prayer into action with a Lent to Pentecost Prayer Walk

Lucy Adcock had the brilliant idea of a Parish-wide Prayer initiative. There are over 150 roads in the parish of St Augustine’s with St Luke’s and it would be good if we could cover every one in prayer between Ash Wednesday and Pentecost Sunday.

People are starting to sign up for roads to be allocated so please do contact us if you wish to join in! If you have a heart for a particular area or road please let us know when you sign up for this walk.

There will be some suggested prayer ideas which you can download, if wanted, and to keep all of us Covid-safe please remember Government guidelines.

To sign up for either or both the Lent Course and the Parish Prayer Walk  please contact Rev'd Steve Spencer on 02084671351 e-mail: revsteve.spencer@btinternet.com or Rev’d Rachel Winn on 07311330202 or e-mail: curaterachel@yahoo.com

Prayer for the nation

Following the sad news of 100,000 Covid related deaths this week, the Archbishops have written a letter encouraging people to spend a short time in prayer and reflection at 6pm each day from February 1, praying for the victims of the pandemic, those on the front line and the public bodies and private businesses that make up our common life.  This letter can be found here.

It seems fitting to begin this season of prayer on the eve of Candlemas, when we recall Anna and Simeon and how they embraced the presence of God in a disciplined spirit of patient waiting and intercessory prayer for the hope of the Messiah.

You can find all the resources you need at: www.churchofengland.org/resources/prayer-nation

 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1

The “LENT” section on the homepage has links to the Lent course.

In addition to this we have some #Live Lent Care for God’s Creation for kids* booklets with 40 daily challenges which anyone might like to attempt. One example is in Week 2, when the focus is “WATER” and we are encouraged to thank God for the water we use, find out a fact about water, think about swapping chemical products for more eco-friendly ones and praying about climate change, or we could even just splash in a puddle and thank God for it! ~ most of us can attempt at least one of these creation-caring initiatives.

If you would like a #Live Lent Care for God’s Creation for kids* these are now available for collection from outside St Augustine’s church in a leaflet dispenser by the front door, adjacent to the black post box. If you are unable to collect one please get in touch with Rachel Winn or Steve Spencer and we will have one delivered to you

Eric and Rhena’s letter is now available. As we are not able to put this at the back of church, if you would like a copy please contact Chris Regas and we will endeavour to get a paper copy to you.

Bromley Foodbank 

Bromley Foodbank needs our support more than ever. You can donate items via the black box outside the vicarage. Current items of need can be found here (on right hand side of web page)