Good Afternoon All,
I hope this email finds you well. It has been a glorious week here in London.
Attached is the newsletter for the weekend ahead written by Angus. There is still plenty going on both in person and virtually.
Enjoy the weekend when it comes, lots of gardening to be done in the Llewellyn Household and planning for Sophie’s 4th birthday which is rapidly approaching. What do you get for the girl who when you ask what you want for your birthday replies “cake mummy. Just cake.”?
Take care and don’t forget to book your pews for Sunday.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and if you do wish to reserve a pew this weekend, just let me know.
Friends,
This Sunday offers both Morning Worship and follow-on congregational fun in Hyde Park – prayer and picnic. Traditionally, the last Sunday in June marks the end of the Sunday School year, heralding a break for volunteers and children over the summer. This Sunday, Sunday School activities are planned for morning service and from the sign-up sheet I know we can look forward to having many of our young people back in church.
That’s great! While the families head off to Hyde Park after service, please remember the gathering is very much open to anyone in the congregation who wants to come along. Plan to depart from Pont Street at 12.15pm or find your own way later. Please bring your own picnic. And, I am reliably informed (by Lucy) it is National Picnic Week – so the invitation couldn’t be more timely. https://www.nationalpicnicweek.co.uk/
On a Sunday that celebrates our young people I was reminded about the advice that one adult sought to pass on to the coming generation. Baron Friedrich von Hügel (1852-1925) was an Austrian born Roman Catholic; regarded by some, as one of the most brilliant and influential Christian thinkers of the early 20th century. Although self taught, he was widely studied (learning several languages), and became an authority on the mystics of the Church. He was also a Spiritual Director. In that role, he offered individuals guidance – toward greater Christlikeness and devotion. When he could not meet a person face-to-face, he wrote letters. Letters to a Niece were a collection of such letters to his niece Gwendolen Greene, who edited them for publishing in 1928.
Von Hügel advised: “Our prayer life must be fed by interests not directly religious. Otherwise, we run the risk of becoming tense and narrow Christians – and this is what puts enquirers off. Direct times of prayer are the yeast; non-religious activities are the dough. You cannot live on yeast alone.” He advised his niece to give an hour and a half daily to her violin practice, even if it meant shortening of her time of prayer.
To a girl of seventeen, preparing for confirmation he wrote:
“Love your games, your dancing, your hunting, devote yourself to your studies of history and science and help (in proportion to your special gifts) in social, political, moral questions and necessities…. The more varied and vigorous is your general, not directly religious life, the better for your religion.”
As enjoy the company of our young people this weekend please keep them, their families, their teachers, coaches, and mentors in your prayers. May their vitality bring life to us all; and may our young always find a voice and a welcome in their church home.
Angus
Attending Morning Worship
If you would like to “book a pew” for the service at St Columba’s please contact the Church Office either by telephone, 0207 584 2321 or email, office@stcolumbas.org.uk by 3pm on Friday. Booking a place speeds up the test and trace process as you arrive at Church.
Live Streaming of Worship
Services can be watched via the church website, https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream
To access the live stream from the homepage (front page) click the Menu button in the top right-hand side of the page and scroll down and click on “Live Stream”. This will bring up the live stream to the church. The act of worship of approximately 60 minutes, includes include prayers, a sermon and music. (Note: This will not be public worship that everyone can attend, but an offering of prayer and praise, on behalf of us all.) The words for the hymns will be on the website.
We believe it is really important to continue to live-stream the Morning Service under; its current format i.e. for the benefit of those joining worship from afar or those as yet unable to make the journey to Pont Street. For those without internet, the Dial-In facility continues. Many people comment that they do have a sense of worshipping together, even if invisible to each other. While current regulation forbids singing in; the pews, the live stream strongly recommends singing in the sitting room!
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 Ben’s organ music from 10.50am.
Hymns, Music & Readings, 27th June 2021
Hymn 465 Be thou my Vision (Slane)
Hymn 718 We cannot measure how you heal (The Banks O’Doon)
Hymn 706 For the healing of the nations (Triumph)
Old Testament Reading: Psalm 30
New Testament Reading: II Corinthians 8:7-15
Gospel Reading: Mark 5:21-43
Anthem: O salutaris hostia (Rossini)
Musical Interlude: O taste and see (R. V. Williams)
Organ Postlude: Prelude and Fugue in E Minor BWV 533 (J.S.Bach)
Office Hours
Please note the Church Office will be closed from 2pm on Friday 25th June to Tuesday 29th June at 9am.
Tel: 020 7584 2321
E-mail: office@stcolumbas.org.uk
Website: www.stcolumbas.org.uk
Facebook: @stcolumbaschurchpontstreet
Twitter: @LondonKirk
Pastoral Emergency Number (out of office hours): 07591926271
Kirk Session, St Andrew’s, Newcastle
There is a meeting of the Kirk Session of St Andrew’s, Newcastle following morning service, this Sunday, 27th June 2021.
Maintaining Community and Supporting Each Other
Everybody can play a part in maintaining contact with others via telephone, e-mail or letter, especially those who are particularly vulnerable. Our Elders are encouraged to make contact with those in their districts, and church members are welcome to contact the church office to request a contact from their elder or the Minister.
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
Would anyone wishing to contribute to St Andrew’s, Newcastle please contact the Session Clerk on standrewssessionclerk@gmail.com for bank details or other means of donating.
Thank you from GlassDoor
We have received a letter of thanks from GlassDoor, which briefly outlines the vital work the charity has undertaken through the winter months, and the huge adaptations required in response to the pandemic on behalf of the homeless and insecurely housed. It offers warm thanks to those at St Columba’s who played a direct part in offering the food service on Saturday and Sunday evenings during the winter and for the many more who supported financially.(See letter attached)
Service of Introduction for Revd William McLaren, 6pm Thursday 8th July 2021.
The Presbytery of England will hold the Service of Introduction at St Columba’s, Pont Street for our new Associate Minister on Thursday 8th July 2021. The service will be open for attendance in person and also available via the live stream. The list to reserve a place to attend in person is now open, via the Church Office. Following the service hospitality will be offered in the Lower Hall. Under current guidance refreshments will be served at seated tables.
William’s first Sunday at St Columba’s will be on Sunday 11th July. Please keep him in your prayers as he prepares to leave Dundee and begin his new ministry in London.
St Columba’s Coffee Mornings
The last of the coffee mornings before the summer break will be on Wednesday, 14th July 2021- 10.30am- Revd William McLaren. William joins us as Associate Minister from Stobswell Church in Dundee. This is a chance to get to know William a little better and for William to introduce himself “virtually” to us all.
St Columba’s Book Club
The next meeting of the St Columba’s Book Club will be the 23rd August (via Zoom) at 7pm. The month’s book will be “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett. If you would like to join please contact the office for more information.
Family Sunday, 27th June & Congregational Picnic
The Sunday School meets on Sunday morning (27th June). Children will take part in Sunday School Activities and have a get together in the Upper Hall during the Morning Service. If you would like to book a place, please contact the Church Office.
Following morning service, for those wanting to join the congregational picnic in Hyde Park, please bring your own picnic and meet outside the church entrance to depart at 12:15 or meet at the park – enter through Edinburgh Gate, cross the road and bridleway and turn left. We will be picnicking on the grass just beyond the manège. Please find attached a map of the picnic location.
Youth Survey
We (the Youth Committee and the Sunday School team) are exploring the possibility of creating a new youth group and we need your help to create something that works for you! Grown-ups, we’ll need your help with the survey, but we would love the answers to come from the youngsters aged 9 and above. Please visit https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/youth-survey to watch a short video and to complete the survey before 23 July 2021.
Scotscare Open Day
(A message from ScotsCare): On Friday 9 July, from 1pm until 4pm, we are hosting an open day (and socially distanced garden party) at Rothesay Court (Lewisham) to celebrate the opening of our 12 new flats alongside the refurbishment works that have been carried throughout the development. We would like take this opportunity to invite you to join, mingle with staff, volunteers, trustees and residents and celebrate with us that afternoon. The afternoon will be a great opportunity to really get a sense of what our sheltered housing flats could offer you, or a family member. Tea and refreshments will be provided. The ScotsCare choir will be performing, as well as the Piper, who usually plays at our client social events will also provide entertainment.
Please RSVP by Tuesday 6th July to info@scotscare.com or call 0800 652 2989.
Hospitality
From Sunday 4th July our coffee teams will start serving coffee and tea again in the Upper Hall, after the Morning Service, providing that the lockdown situation does not change in the meantime. Our plan is to serve people seated at tables of four. Milk and sugar will be placed on every table, and as a trial, cups and saucers will be in place on the tables with coffee already in the cups and to fill the cups with hot water at the tables. Please ask for tea if required. Both doors to the Upper Hall will be open to avoid any congestion and also to have windows open at both ends of the hall. Anyone taking coffee should go straight into the Upper Hall, masked until they sit down, wait to be served, and not to move around.
This service can only be provided if we have sufficient coffee team members on the rota – once every eight weeks, and we are looking to fill three vacancies. Could you be one of them?If so, please contact James MacHardy by e-mail: jamesmachardy@yahoo.com. Thank you.
We anticipate starting lunches again as from Sunday 19th September.
St Columba’s Quiz
Due to the COVID 19 restrictions we were not able to get together for the annual St Columba’s Quiz. So, this year we have taken the quiz online. The quiz is available on the website here: https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/community-life/quiz-2021 – for the answers please email the Church Office.
Iona: New & Selected Poems by Kenneth Steven.
A new volume of Iona poems may be of interest. About the publication Kenneth writes:
‘Iona’ comprises some 75 of my best-known poems from 30 years of writing. And at its heart, almost inevitably, are poems inspired by the Celtic Christian story and by my own long relationship with the island. But before and after the Iona poems, almost like doorways, are the poems set in Highland Perthshire that remember the years of growing up. This book is much larger than my usual collections and costs a bit more: each copy is £14 with postage. Please send an email if you’d like to request a book either for you or as a gift for someone else: the one thing I can offer that Amazon can’t are personal dedications! kenneth.steven@btinternet.com
Women Making History Exhibition at London Scottish House.
Women Making History is an extraordinary exhibition that brings together artworks inspired by banners of the suffrage movement and highlights the continuing struggle to achieve gender equality.
In June 2018, tens of thousands of women marched through the streets of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London to mark 100 years since the first UK women were allowed to vote.
This mass-participation artwork, PROCESSIONS, was commissioned by 14- 18 NOW and produced by Artichoke. Now you can see these pieces up close for one exhibition only, hanging in the Drill Hall of London Scottish House, Westminster. Tickets are free but you require to register: https://londonscottishhouse.org/events/women-making-history-exhibition/
