We are now at the time of year the church calls "Lent" when we remember how after his baptism and the affirmation of his identity as God's Son, Jesus was led into the wilderness. There, for 40 days, he was tempted by the devil who questioned his very identity. Jesus confidently countered these questions by quoting Scripture, and after that the devil left him alone. The wilderness is traditionally the place of testing, formation, new beginnings and encounters with God. In the Old Testament, it is in the wilderness that the people of God learn, through trying and failing, through instruction and practice, through encounter and through experience over 40 years, to live in God's way.
“Silence – a meeting place where I am looking for God’s love, and God is looking for mine.”
Friends,
Next week begins the season of Lent. This potentially profound, “set-aside” time, begins with a reminder of our mortality. In many churches the Ash Wednesday custom is to mark the forehead with the sign of the Cross. Traditionally, the ashes are made from burning the palm crosses of the previous year, symbolically linking from the outset, the Lent journey with the Easter story. As the ashes are daubed the priest says: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.” Ash Wednesday is designed to be an honest stripping away of illusions. It can be the overture to a season of serious reflection on ourselves, our lives, our priorities and our faith. At St Columba’s we mark Ash Wednesday, not with ashes, but with a service of communion in the London Scottish Chapel (1pm, Wednesday 5th March.) It is an intentional beginning to use the time ahead well and wisely. In the forty days of Lent that follow – echo of Jesus’ time in the wilderness – the intent is not to be gloomy. If we choose to give something up, it is in the hope that by doing so, we make room for something more precious.
For Sunday 23rd February 2025, Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Written by William McLaren on .
Friends,
The story of Joseph, part of which we read this week, has been familiar to many of us since our days in Sunday School. It comes early on in the Old Testament story of the people of God, in Genesis chapters 37-50. Joseph is an important figure in Judaism, Christianity and Islam but different versions of the story have become known to a wider audience thanks to the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" and the animated film "The Prince of Egypt".
For Sunday 16th February 2025, Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Written by William McLaren on .
It is hard to believe that it is almost twenty years since the publication of the Church Hymnary, Fourth Edition (CH4) in July 2005. Although I was not directly involved in the project, several friends of mine were, and I know how much thought and care went into the preparation of the book over 11 years. It is in the nature of such publications that we will miss old favourites from earlier hymn books but the vast majority of church members would agree that CH4 has enriched the worship of the church with songs old and new from around the world and many different denominations as well as the traditional psalms, paraphrases and spiritual songs with which we are familiar.
He claimed to have been arrested 24 times, chased by an elephant in Tanzania, a crocodile in Zimbabwe, a green mamba in Ghana, and in Morocco, men with stones. Someone tried to set his cross on fire in Indiana and a group of men on motorcycles stole it in Assisi. In America, he was shot at several times. Following the Spirit could be dangerous. “I have preached in houses of prostitution, Hell’s Angels camps, rock festivals, in bars, nightclubs, go-go clubs, nude clubs, love-ins, on the streets, on sidewalks, on porches, in football stadiums, at automobile races, wrestling matches, dirty movie-porno clubs … even an occasional church!”
For Sunday 2nd February 2025, Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
Written by William McLaren on .
Friends,
Last Sunday we heard from St. Luke's gospel how Jesus read from the book of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth at the beginning of his public ministry.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free". (Isaiah 61: 1-2)
The office is open from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m, Monday to Friday.
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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).
St. Columba's Pont Street London SW1X 0BD
+44 (0)20-7584-2321
office@stcolumbas.org.uk
Getting here by tube
Knightsbridge Station
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.
South Kensington Station
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!
Sloane Square Station
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.
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