This morning our 10 am Service was Sung Eucharist. Father Stephen was the celebrant. On a lovely spring morning we came together to praise God and continue our Lenten contemplation.

The Gospel was from St Luke Chapter 13, the story of the unproductive fig tree. The gardener persuades the owner to allow him to mulch and cultivate the fig tree for another year even though it is unproductive.

In his sermon Father Stephen talked about our approach to Lent, we usually give things up for Lent, and perhaps the discipline we need to apply is one of restraint!

The Choir sang 'O Saviour of the World'  by John Goss (1800 to 1880) as the Anthem.

After the service there was coffee in the parish rooms.


Please note the services for the next few weeks are out of our usual pattern.

Next Sunday the 31st of March is Mothering Sunday and will be a Family Service.

The Following Sunday the 7th of April will be Mattins

The 14th April will be a Eucharist with the Passion Gospel for Palm Sunday. This will be followed by the Annual Parish Meeting at 11:30 in the rooms. In the afternoon/evening there will be a come and sing performance of The Crucifixion by John Stainer. If you would like to sing -- all are welcome, the rehearsal will be at 3:30, with the performance at 6 pm please come and listen. It is a great start to the Holy Week devotions.

For services in Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter Saturday and Sunday, please see the calendar.
more details will be posted here in due course.

On a beautiful sunny spring morning we had matins, and being in Lent had a few different psalms.

The choir sang the Jubilate in C major by Stanford and the Benedicite.

Father Stephen's sermon referred to both the Old and New testament readings this morning.  The first reading was from Genesis 15 and Father Stephen told us it is a difficult piece to understand, so he referred back to one of the august tomes from his student days to try and make sense of it.  In the end, maybe it is just sheer mystery!  But maybe this is a cop out.

In the Old Testament, there are many examples of covenants with God, and these are usually accompanied by a sign, eg the rainbow after the flood. Day changes to night and a torch is passed around. Abram falls into a deep sleep troubled by visions.

In the New Testament Jesus calls Herod a fox, unusual as he rarely resorts to "name calling", Jesus is The Dove.

Elsewhere Jesus tells us to love our enemies.

The two passages tell us that the Bible is not an "easy to follow guide to life", but actually reflects life's ups and downs and difficulties.

Trust in God's loving purpose for us all.

The choir's anthem was  Hide Not Thy Face From Us by Farrant.


Easter fast approaches and the flower team are planning their Easter displays.  If you wish to purchase a lily for Easter, often in memory of a loved one or just because yo would like to contribute, they will be £4 each. Please give your money to Anwyl in good time.

On Wednesday the 6th of March at 7:30 we held out Eucharist for Ash Wednesday with the imposition of ashes. This solemn service which starts with the imposition of ashes made from burning the palm crosses from the previous palm sunday is the start of the 40 days of Lent. The church is now bare of decoration the vestments and altar clothes are purple, and we are exhorted to 'Remember man that you are dust, and to dust you will return'.

This Sunday the first in Lent our 10:00 am Eucharist was celebrated by Father Stephen. Father Roger preached the sermon, where he discussed the Gospel, from St Luke telling the story of the Temptation in the Wilderness.
The choir sang Turn thy face from my Sins  by Thomas Attwood (1765 to 1838) as the anthem.
There was coffee in the rooms after the service.

The Lent Course starts this week on Thursday Evening in the rooms. Come and join as as we think and discuss the Christian Life in this the diocesan year of Vocation, more information and a sign up sheet at the back of the church.

The popular post cards of our beautiful wall hanging of the Tree of Life are now available to purchase (£1) from the Church Wardens on sundays.

Advanced notice!
On Palm Sunday the 14th of April we will be singing The Crucifixion by John Stainer, singers are welcome to join the choir and the soloists at 3:30 for a rehearsal, and the work will be performed at 6pm in Church. All are welcome to come and listen to this work, a fitting start to the devotions of Holy Week.

The Family Service this morning had lots of activities, as we had a baptism, an induction unto the choir and our regular family liturgy.

The weather was blustery as Storm Freya was working her way through, but the church was quite full despite this.
The Gospel was the story of the Transfiguration, and in the talk, lead by the Sunday School, Dr Bromley and Mrs Guise told us about events that had changed their lives, then the children demonstrated how team work was needed to achieve things, by lifting a hoola hoop using only one finger each!
Following the talk we had the Baptism of Aleks and Julie, and as Father Stephen gave out the lighted candles, the Choir sang The Irish Blessing setting by Bob Chilcott. This was followed by the induction into the choir and award of the pale blue ribbon to Tilly, our youngest of the 6 junior choristers.

During the Communion the Choir sang the Ave Verum in the setting by Edward Elgar as the Anthem.

After the service there was coffee in the rooms.

Please note next Wednesday the 6th of March is Ash Wednesday. The Eucharist with administration of ashes will be at 7:30 pm.

A beautiful sunny day today and the churchyard was lovely.



There was a lovely display in church of the Sunday School's Candlemas work


The Gospel today was from Luke, telling of the time when Jesus and his disciples were in a boat.  Jesus fell asleep and a storm blew up.  The disciples were very afraid and woke Jesus who quelled the storm.  All of our hymns today had a watery theme,   Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us, Fierce Raged The Tempest, The Spacious Firmament On High and Eternal Father, Strong To Save. The anthem sung by the choir, Crossing the Bar, by Alfred Lord Tennyson and set to music by H Parry has an especial watery theme.

The sermon was also based on the gospel and the story of Peter walking on water with Jesus until he lost faith and started to sink. We glory in God's creation, it being a natural response to the beauty of  his creation. There is lots to discover in the universe, the seas and yet mankind pollute. The Gospel shows us how much we don't trust in God.  The disciples were fearful of the storm despite having God's own son with them. Jesus subdued the storm and by doing this showed he had dominion over the evil thought to be under the sea. We are made in God's image and yet are marred by the evil deeds mankind still does.  We can fight against this by good deeds. Trust in the Lord to quell our inner psychological disturbances.

The Sunday school also had a watery theme from the Gospel, and made blue jelly with an orange segment boat, complete with sail, and jelly baby Jesus and Disciples.  I'm sure they were fun to make and fun to eat!

This morning at 10 am our service was Sung Mattins. We are now inthe period just before Lent, and our readings, from the King James version of the Bible were from Jeremiah and St Luke. The set psalm for the day was Psalm number 1. The choir sang the Te Deum in the setting by Herbert Sumsion, and the anthem was 'Blessed are the Pure in Heart by Henry Walford Davies (1869 -1941)

In his sermon, Father Stephen asked us what gives us Happiness? He discussed how the beatitudes in Luke, differ from those in Matthew. Luke goes beyond the blessings of the poor, and adds that those who re comfortable in this life without caring, will be cursed in the end. When we look for happiness it is to Jesus that we turn for true contentment and joy.

The service was followed by coffee in the rooms.

Last night we were treated to a most excellent evening in the Church Hall. We had a 4 course meal with a french theme, accompanied by accordion music from our friend Peter.

We came to our 10 am Eucharist through a very soggy churchyard, having been battered by storm Eric over the last 24 hours. Father Stephan was the celebrant, and the Gospel told the story of Simon Peter and his fishermen colleagues, under instruction from Our Lord, catching so many fish the nets nearly broke. This miraculous event occurs just after Jesus calls the fishermen to be 'fishers of men'. In his sermon Father Stephen pointed out that such great blessings often come to people who come to love Jesus, and can occur along our journey of faith, as we are encouraged along the way.