Friends,
Wednesday 9th June was St Columba’s Day, which we marked in church last Sunday. So, last week’s newsletter carried a poem by Kenneth Steven who finds Iona, the tiny island much associated with Columba, so inspiring.
Friends,
This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, a day to dwell on the trinitarian /threefold nature of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It expresses the Christian understanding/verdict, “once all the evidence is in.” Yet, however deeply, or not, we think about God, we can never fully describe, explain or “capture” God; no human language has the breadth or fluency to achieve that. There is always more to learn and much that we may never understand.
Friends,
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Two prayers for us as we approach the weekend. This Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost. Fifty days after Easter, and ten days after Ascension Day, we mark the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples gathered in Jerusalem – sometimes referred to as the birth-day of the Church. A fitting Sunday to celebrate with our friends of the linked charge at St Andrew’s, Newcastle, as they reopen their doors for worship. |
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Friends,
Last week we borrowed thoughts on elections & democracy from Revd Tom Gordon. This week I share some striking photos and accompanying article by another Church of Scotland minister, Revd Neil Urquhart. Neil is the minister of Irvine: Fullarton and back in 2012 he stayed in the church flat, while attending the London Paralympics, as part of the Games’ chaplaincy team. In the days leading up to Pentecost (Sunday 23rd May) and the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (22nd – 28th May) Neil offers thoughts and images about change and challenge and where perhaps the Spirit of God is moving.
Friends,
As this week’s e-newsletter goes out, both St Columba’s, Pont Street and St Andrew’s, Newcastle are acting as Polling Stations. So, it seems appropriate to share in full the thought for the day composed by retired Church of Scotland minister and writer, Revd Tom Gordon. It is well worth visiting his daily offerings at https://swallowsnestnet.wordpress.com Thank you Tom for allowing us to borrow your thoughts today.
The office is open from
9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m,
Monday to Friday.
There is a 24-hour answering machine service.
St Columba’s is located on Pont Street in Knightsbridge in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The Church is within easy reach of three London Underground stations – Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line), South Kensington (Piccadilly, Circle and District Lines) and Sloane Square (Circle and District Lines).
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St. Columba's
Pont Street London SW1X 0BD |
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+44 (0)20-7584-2321
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office@stcolumbas.org.uk
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Take the Harrods exit if open (front car if coming from the East, rear car if coming from the West). Come up the stairs to street level, carry on keeping Harrods on your right. Turn right into Basil Street. Carry straight on into Walton Place with St Saviour’s Church on your left. At the traffic lights, St Columba’s is to your left across the street. If the Harrods exit is closed, take the Sloane Street exit, turn right into Basil Street. Carry straight on past Harrods with the shop on your right, into Walton Place as before.
Come up the stairs out of the station and turn left into the shopping arcade. Turn left again into Pelham Street. At the traffic lights at the end of Pelham Street cross Brompton Road, turn left then immediately right into the narrow street of Draycott Avenue. After just a few yards turn left into Walton Street. Carry on walking up Walton Street until the traffic lights at the corner of Pont Street. Turn right and after a few steps you will be at St Columba’s!
Cross over the square into Sloane Street. Walk along Sloane Street until the traffic lights at the corner of Pont Street. Turn left into Pont Street. St Columba’s will then be in sight.