A Pastoral Letter from the Parish Priest – 31st January 2021
My dearest Friends in the Lord,
I am happy to write this short weekly pastoral letter to you and hope you and your dear ones are well. Let us continue to take extra care to keep safe, keep well and stay at home and defeat this virus once and for all!
LIVE 10.30 am on-line Parish Communion Service on zoom – Sunday 24th Jan.
The Revd Sue Deacon will lead the service from her home and Fr Sebastian will preach at this service and we will listen to some favourite hymns and songs.
You will receive an invitation to join this short on line service if you are in the Parish database. If not please contact the Springline Parish Secretary on springline springlinepcc@btinternet.com
Please download the Order of service here.
Springline Parish on-line Home Worship Resources.
You will find a copy of this letter, the sermon for this week and prayers etc on the website, also visit the online church page.
You will also find resources in the Scampton Church website. Please visit: Scampton church www.scamptonchurch.org
Following Jesus the light of our lives and the light of the nations!
The Presentation, the Meeting and the Purification are then all names given to today’s Feast, but there is yet a fourth name – ‘Candlemas’ when candles are blessed today. In this country, Candlemas is connected with many popular sayings like: ‘If Candlemas be fair and bright, winter shall have another flight’. This means that if today’s weather is good, we shall have more cold and wintry weather before the Spring.
What does this Feast mean for us today? According to the Old Testament, the Jews were commanded to present their male children at the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after their Birth. This was to give thanks to God and pray for the mother and health of the child. The Christ-Child is only forty days old as Joseph and Mary presents him in the temple.
Since it is exactly forty days since Christmas, it is time for us to think about what this feast means for us today. We the Springline Parish is Nine Churches, One Parish, Following Jesus. The Presentation of Christ by Mary and Joseph in the Temple reminds us today to present our lives to God by following Jesus in a new way!
The Springline Parish exists to assist you in your spiritual search. And we believe that Jesus is the absolute “Answer” to all our questions and problems, the one who can fill the emptiness and restlessness in our hearts. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3.16)
Ash Wednesday Service 17th February 2021, 4pm Scampton Church
The annual Ash Wednesday Service will take place in the Springline Parish this year as it has taken place in the past years. In an article in the Church Times 22nd January on Lent and Easter guidance, we read: “The imposition of ashes will be permitted during Ash Wednesday services next month, with precautions, for Church of England churches that are open for public worship during the current lockdown, new guidelines states.”
Lent Course 2021 – Looking ahead
Revd John Leach who led the Lent Course last year is expected to lead the remaining three sessions of the course on-line this year starting on 24th February and following two Wednesdays. This is good news for those who attended the first two sessions of the course last year which had to be suspended due to the first national lockdown. Please await further news in the coming weeks.
“Live Lent – God’s Story Our Story”
If you are on the Electoral Roll of the Springline Parish you will receive the Church of England’s Lent Campaign booklet for 2021. This booklet invites each of us to reflect daily during the five weeks of Lent on our own story of God and how we might share it through our everyday lives. If you are not on the Electoral Roll and would like to get a free copy of the booklet, please call 01522 731793 at your earliest.
Authorised Lay Ministry (ALM) Course 2021
The ALM course on-line by ‘zoom’ started with an introductory orientation session on Tuesday 19th January and will continue for 16 weeks excluding the Holy Week. Five members of our Springline Parish attend this course and we wish them every success as they discern their call from God to serve as authorised lay ministers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always.
Take care! Keep safe! Stay at home! And God bless you all!
Father Sebastian
Revd Dr Sebastian Thomas Mattapally
Rector, Springline Parish, Diocese of Lincoln
Tel: 01522 731793 Email: rector.springline@gmail.com