For Sunday 25th February 2024, Second Sunday of Lent
Friends,
Having been out of London for a week, when I returned, I was struck by the blossom that has appeared in streets and parks. Though as I write the rain is lashing down, it is also noticeable that the mornings are lighter and the afternoons lengthening. The seasons are on the move.
As a reminder of how we are/can be fed by the beauty of the natural world, I was sent the following vignette. Many years ago, Alister Hardy (1896-1985) formerly Emeritus Professor of Zoology at Oxford wrote these words in his diary:
“I will now record something which I have never told anyone before, but now that I am in my eighty-eighth year, I think I can admit it. Just occasionally when I was sure that no one could see me, I became so overcome with the glory of the natural scene, that for a moment or two I fell on my knees in prayer – not prayer asking for anything, but ~ thanking God who was very real to me, for the glories of his Kingdom and for allowing me to feel them, it was always by the running water side that I did this, perhaps in front of a great form of meadowsweet or purple loosestrife.”
Accompanying this description was the following, based on a Celtic prayer:
O Christ, there is no plant in the ground,
There is no bird on the wing,
There is no star in the sky,
There is nothing beneath the sun
but proclaims your goodness.
Have a good week and if possible, stay open to the beauty that surrounds us.
Angus
Live Streaming of Worship
Services can be watched via the church website, https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream. Reminder: If you do not wish to appear on the live-stream please choose a seat in the rear half of the sanctuary. Note that the Evening Services on the 1st of the month are not live streamed as they are held in the London Scottish Chapel.
Dial into Sunday Service
If you are aware of church members or friends who do not have access to internet please inform them that they can now phone in to join the Sunday service. No visuals clearly, but at least they can hear the service. Those interested should follow:
Step 1: At 10.40am call phone number 0203 051 2874.
Step 2: You will be prompted to enter a meeting ID. Please type (using your telephone keypad) 266 883 5072#
Step 3: You will then be asked for a participant number - simply press the #.
Step 4: Enjoy the service! You will hear the organ music from 10.50am.
Hymns, Music & Readings for Sunday 25th February 2024,
Second Sunday of Lent, 11am
Hymn 129 The Lord is King! Lift up your voice! (Church Triumphant)
Hymn 397 In the cross of Christ I glory (Stuttgart)
Hymn 645 I’m not ashamed to own my Lord (Jackson, Byzantium)
Hymn 192 All my hope on God is founded (Michael)
Anthem: Civitas sancti tui, Byrd
Musical Interlude: O mortal man, Scott
Old Testament Reading: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16
New Testament Reading: Romans 4:13-25
Gospel Reading: Mark 8:31-38
Reader: Rosa Somerville
Congregational Offerings
Details on the many ways you can support St Columba’s can be found here https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/giving/supporting-st-columbas
Anyone wishing to contribute to St Andrew's, Newcastle please contact the Session Clerk on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for bank details or other means of donating.
Lent Appeal 2024 - Firefly International www.fireflyinternational.org
Our chosen charity for the Lent Appeal this year is Firefly International, a small Scottish registered charity that provides help overseas for children affected by war. The charity works in a few countries, but for the Lent Appeal we are focussing on its work in Brcko, Bosnia, with the charity's partner organisation Svitac. The population in Brcko is a mix of Serb, Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and Croat. The charity was created in 1995 by Ellie Maxwell, while a student, to help children affected by war. Sadly, Ellie died young but her work carries on through the charity. In the aftermath of war and conflict there is such a need to build relationships and reconciliation between all faiths and different ethic groups. The children and young people in Brcko, are really benefiting from Firefly / Svitac and it is having such a positive impact there. Funding is required to keep this project going. Lent Appeal donations will certainly play their part in that. Firefly / Svitac provide a safe location for children and young people to meet, they run the only inter-ethnic kindergarten in Brcko and provide after school clubs, music/band, art, workshops, IT, filming. Two summer camps are organised for children of different age groups. These fantastic opportunities bring together children and young people of all faiths and from various ethnic groups, giving them the chance to build friendships, trust and learn to live together in peace and mutual respect for each other.
Please click on the links below, to watch brief video clips from the children and young people involved with Firefly / Svitac in Brcko, Bosnia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHCX4j8umbE&t=6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnxXeRF_YmM&t=5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKQ-L1l7_hc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Kpr-2rN-Y
If you would like to contribute to the Lent Appeal: Gift Aid helps, if you are eligible. If you need to complete a Gift Aid declaration form, please contact the Church Office. Various options to donate: White Lent Appeal envelopes are available in the Upper Vestibule and in the pews, as from Sunday 18th Feb. until Easter.
Alternatively, by electronic bank transfer: Please use "Lent Appeal" as the payment reference.
St Columba's Church of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
Account Number 00264741
Sort Code 16 00 42
Cheques payable to: "St. Columba's Church of Scotland" and with a note attached to cheque indicating it is for the Lent Appeal. Send to:
Finance Dept. (Lent Appeal)
St. Columba's Church
Pont Street
London SW1X 0BD
If you would like to make a card donation, please go into the Church Office.
With your donations we can help children affected by war to build a better future together, thank you. Mission Committee.
THIS WEEK: MIDWEEK PRAYERS FOR LENT
Wednesday 28th February & 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th March, 1pm, London Scottish Chapel
THIS WEEK: “Let Me Go There”:
Lent Study, Second sessions, Wednesday 28th February, 7.15pm & Thursday 29th February, 10.30am
The book selected for our Lent Study is “Let Me Go There” by Paula Gooder, Theologian in Residence for the Bible Society. Arranged as a series of engaging and profound biblical reflections the book is an invitation to experience Lent, not as a season of restriction, but of wide-open spaciousness, in which to learn new lessons, to grow in faith, and to give God the chance to meet us in new ways.
Groups meet either Wednesday evenings (7.15 – 8.15pm) or Thursday mornings (10.30 – 11.30am.) Sign up via the church office to receive zoom invite. Attendees asked to provide their own book copy.
NEXT WEEK: Saturday 2nd March, “Embody Lent” London Scottish Chapel, 10.30 – 12noon
Revd Pauline Steenbergen author of the newly published Embody Lent, (Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, £10.99, available on their website) is offering a free session of Christian spirituality, via her yoga practice. Pauline gave two well-received sessions at the Festival of Silence at St Columba’s last November. The session will be held in the London Scottish Chapel, 10.30am – 12noon on Saturday 2nd March. Twelve places available. Please sign up via the church office, indicating whether you would prefer chair/mat yoga.
Pauline’s book intersects Yoga and Christian Spirituality in an illustrated 8 session course; involving movement, breath awareness, biblical reflection and ways into silent prayer. It is a resource for individuals, pairs or groups and there are options for chair yoga only, if necessary. Pauline is a Spiritual Director and a Church of Scotland minister living in Carlisle in the Presbytery of South-west Scotland; she is currently an ecumenical pioneer minister in the Diocese of Carlisle and a Yoga Scotland teacher, with classes in Cumbria, SW Scotland and weekly on Zoom.
NEXT WEEK: Congregational Talk, Sunday 3rd March, 1.30pm, London Scottish Chapel
Dr Claire Gilbert will give a talk on Julian of Norwich. Until recently Dr Gilbert was Director of the Westminster Abbey Institute. Last year she wrote a book on Julian of Norwich (“I, Julian”) a fictional autobiography of the fourteenth century Mystic, “one of the medieval world’s most important women”. This talk has been arranged by the Nurture Committee of the Kirk Session.
BOOKSTALL
In anticipation of the congregational talk by Claire Gilbert on 3rd March, we have been able to order a limited number of copies of her book “I Julian“ at the very competitive price of £9.50 (rrp £18.99). The paperback is published in April (rrp £9.99). If you would like a copy to be signed by the author after the talk, please place your order at the Bookstall or by speaking to Jean Stevenson. Copies of Claire’s book “Miles to go before I Sleep: Letters on Hope, Death and Learning to Live” about her journey following diagnosis of the terminal illness myeloma, can also be ordered at the Bookstall.
NEXT WEEK: Scottish Dancing for Children, Sunday 3rd March, 1.30pm, Upper Hall
HOSPITALITY: Volunteers needed
As we are a “gathered” congregation, being able to have lunch, or coffee after the Morning Service, is important for fellowship. We really do need a few Volunteers for the lunch teams when we cater for lunches on the 1st and 3rd Sundays every month - this means being part of a team six times a year and could be helping in the kitchen, laying tables, serving and clearing tables. We also serve lunch on 5th Sundays (four times a year). If available please contact Ben Gourlay at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 01206 795244, or via the church office. Thank you, Ben Gourlay, Convenor of Hospitality Committee. Future dates for Congregational Lunch are 3rd and 17th March 2024
UPCOMING: Scots in London Ceilidh Evening: Saturday 9 March 2024, Lower Hall, 7pm – 10:30pm
Join for an evening filled with Highland Dancing to a live Ceilidh Band plus a range of live entertainment from the London Scottish Pipes and Drums, the London Gaelic Choir and the Burns Club of London. There will also be the opportunity to join in with a community sing along. No previous dance experience is required, just enthusiasm, as there will be a caller to lead guests through all the moves step-by-step. A light supper is included in the ticket price, and there will be a bar available to purchase drinks. The evening will start at 7pm (doors open 6:30pm) and tickets are £20.To book tickets please visit: http://tinyurl.com/29jyxj6z
UPCOMING: Book Club – Monday 11th March
Our choice for our next meeting on Monday 11 March is The Blackhouse which is the first in the Lewis Trilogy written by Peter May. Peter May has written a number of books and has large following in the USA and France! This book won a US prize for the crime novel of the year. There a television production of this and the other books in the series but unless you have already seen this we suggest you read the book first.
After that we are thinking about a new novel by Fredrik Backman who is a Swedish author who wrote, inter alia, a Man Called Ove. The book is Anxious People and apparently has " pitch perfect dialogue and demonstrates an unparalleled understanding of human nature" through a whimsical plot. Let's see what the group thinks of it in due course!!
BOOK LAUNCH INVITATION:
St Columba’s member and children’s author, Molly Arbuthnott launches her latest title: Peanut the Hamster, at London Museum of Water & Steam, Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, UK Green Dragon Lane Brentford TW8 0EN. Canapés, drinks, books, fun, nothing overlooked! Thursday 29th February, 4.00 – 8.30pm. www.mollyarbuthnott.co.uk Molly would be delighted to welcome any/all from St Columba’s.
UPCOMING: Sounds of St Columba’s Recital, Sunday 17th March, 1.30pm, Upper Hall
Join us for a classical guitar recital by Axel Krogness (https://www.axelkrogness.com/) who will be playing original tracks.
Office Hours
The church office is open from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.stcolumbas.org.uk
Facebook: @stcolumbas churchpontstreet.
Twitter: @LondonKirk
Pastoral Emergency Number (out of office hours): 07591926271