Christ the King Sunday
Friends,
In the Christian calendar, this Sunday is the final fixture of the season; the last Sunday of the Church/liturgical year. Next week the new cycle begins with Advent Sunday. From Advent, through Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter and its fifty days, Ascension and Pentecost – this weekend we complete the circle begun in late November 2019. A great deal has happened, and not happened, since embarking on the now-concluding, Church year. As a judge sums up at the end of trial, once all the evidence is in, we are asked to return a verdict. The verdict of our faith is this: Christ is King. But Christ’s “kingship” is a strange one, very different to many of the images we have of regular kings and queens. Sunday’s gospel reading from Matthew 25 will spell out how the King is most easily discovered in the pauper’s guise. Declaring Christ as King, at the end of the Church’s year, invites us to look back over the last twelve months and assess, where and how, Christ has been present in our own lives, and in the life of the world. And declaring Christ as King, at the beginning of a new Church year, encourages us to find Christ in those we serve (and in ourselves), while also bestowing strength and courage to face all that is yet unknown.
Note: This Sunday we celebrate Holy Communion. If you wish, please prepare a little bread and wine, (or equivalent), in advance of the service and then feel free to share it at the appropriate moment in the service.
Live Streaming of Worship
The live stream service continues this Sunday at 11.00am. Music begins from 10.50am. The service 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 prayers, a sermon and music. The words for the hymns will be on the website.
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 this week are:
Hymn 63 All people that on earth do dwell (Old 100th)
Hymn 522 The Church is wherever God’s people are praising (Bard of Armagh)
Hymn 438 The head that once was crowned with thorns
(St Magnus Nottingham)
Anthem: Anthem Holy is the true light (Harris)
Organ Postlude: War march of the priests (Mendelssohn)
Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-24
Gospel Reading: Matthew 25:31-46
Church Office
Office Hours 9am to 4pm.
Contact details;
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
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
Offerings to St Andrew’s, Newcastle can be made via:
Account – Church of Scotland
Sort code – 40-34-18
Account number – 11310747
Annual Bereavement Service Sunday 22nd November, 3pm
Each year we are very aware that the approach to Christmas can be a particularly poignant time in which we remember those who have died. Each year, therefore, we hold our Annual Bereavement Service. We write to those who have experienced the death of a loved one, and whose service was conducted by one of the St Columba’s ministers, in the last seven years, and invite family members and friends to attend this annual service. (This year we also include the names of St Andrew’s, Newcastle members.) To mitigate the uncertainties of changing Covid19 regulations and reduce the risk of travel, the service will not be attended in person, but made available via our website from 3pm on Sunday 22nd November, at www.stcolumbas.org.uk The service is designed to be quiet and reflective and will last about forty five minutes.
During the service we remember by name those whose funeral or memorial services we have conducted in the past year (1st October 2019 – 30 September 2020). As a congregation we pray for the family and friends of all whose funerals we call to mind. Relatives and friends who have attended in previous years have found the service to be helpful.
Particularly this year, with all its difficulties, though we will not be physically together, I hope that people can draw strength and comfort from knowing that loved ones are being remembered and prayed for.
St Columba’s Book Club 23 November 7.00pm
The November meeting of the St Columba’s Book Club will take place on the 23rd at 7pm (via Zoom). This month’s book will be “Someone at a Distance” by Dorothy Whipple. New members are very much encouraged, please get in touch with the Church Office for more detail.
Zoom Coffee Mornings
Lockdown 2.0 is in full swing here in London and throughout England. To try and break the week up for those who are at home, working from home or need a little something different in the week (and some friendly faces on the screen) I have organised some Zoom coffee mornings.
We will be joined on the 2nd December at 10.30am by The Rt Revd Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In what would have been the moderatorial week in London, Revd Fair will join us to talk about his “odd” year as Moderator and how COVID had changed things for the Church.
On the 9th December at 10.30am we will be joined by Olivia Pyle, Mentoring and Communications Manager for Restart. Restart are a homeless charity who use the Lower Hall on Fridays for their drop in service. Olivia will talk to us about how COVID has changed the landscape of homeless services and how they are looking to the future.
If you would like to join us for any of these sessions please email me in the office (office@stcolumbas.org.uk) and I shall send you the joining details.
Christmas Appeal
Due to the current restrictions, unfortunately we will not be able to do our usual Sox & Boxers collection.
As an alternative way of contributing to the Christmas Appeal, you may like to consider making a financial donation to either Glass Door or to Borderline. Thank you, Mission Committee.
Glass Door
https://www.glassdoor.org.uk/
https://www.glassdoor.org.uk/donate/donate/24/credit-card
Cheques payable to
‘Glass Door Homeless Charity’ and post to:
Attn. Ian Foster – Fundraising Managing
Glass Door Homeless Charity
155a Kings Road
London SW3 5TX
Borderline
https://www.borderline-uk.org/
https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/700#!/DonationDetails#%2FDonationDetails
Cheques payable to ‘New Borderline’ and post to:
Attn. Andrew Ellison – Fundraising Manager
Borderline
22 City Road
London EC1Y 2AJ
Lent Appeal 2021
The Lent Appeal 2021 will be the turn of a small UK charity. If you are involved with such a charity, or know of one that you would like to nominate for consideration, the
Mission Committee would love to hear from you. To nominate a small UK charity and/or for more information in regard to next year’s Lent Appeal, please contact: Naomi Donaldson by e-mail to naomi.60@live.co.uk or via the Church Office. The closing date for applications is Tuesday 1st December. Mission Committee.
London Prisons Mission Volunteers
In October we marked Prisons Week. London Prisons Mission offer these words: “There is an urgent need for additional volunteers to undertake regular work within prisons, or in support of London Prisons Mission’s (LPM) activities in this field. Introductory visits are arranged to explore and discuss the wide range of needs and opportunities available to match the skills, experience and available time of suitable volunteers. Relevant training and regular support is provided and new volunteers never function alone. The role of regular volunteers is challenging, interesting and working in the prison system, if often frustrating, is invariably very rewarding. We expect each volunteer’s home church to engage informally with the LPM, receive regular reports from volunteers and from time to time inform the congregation about developments and some of the issues involved.”
Anyone interested in exploring this, please contact the Minister, via the Church Office.