Weekly News

Collect for  Third Sunday of Easter

Almighty Father, who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord: give us such knowledge of his presence with us, that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

  Notices

News…..

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Note from the Vicar: Among other things I’ve been reflecting on Easter and Lent and on how well things went this year.  You may have seen that the Easter Services across the country had a higher attendance than in recent years and there’s a real sense of people’s openness to the Gospel.  Our challenge then is to see what we can do to reach out to these people who are open to the Gospel but haven’t yet had enough of an invitation to tip them over into coming along more often to explore what’s happening in their life and where they might see God at work and showing them that he loves them and wants the to know him.

One thing we can do is grow in our own faith and prayer lives, to have confidence in what we believe and not allow others to discourage us with popular yet false claims.  This video by Wes Huff, a Canadian Biblical scholar who you may have seen online or on tv (he was recently interviewed by Piers Morgan) is a helpul start for thinking about topics like ‘why are the books in the Bible the ones we have and why don’t we have other writings?

Please click here for Wes Huff on “Can I Trust the Bible”

As you know I’ve recently tried to help us reflect on the ‘bigger picture’ of the Bible, tracing some of the key themes of the whole Bible and how they present a consistent glimpse of the same God in Christ Jesus as in the Burning Bush talking to Moses. I know that many of you have commented on finding them interesting and I thought I’d share a couple of interesting statistics.

The whole lent series of reflections had nearly 11 thousand views; with roughly 230 views each day, and roughly 60% of people on this email list read most of the reflections. The day with the fewest views had more than 150 (and was about the calming of the storm – Day 36) and the top five were:

Day 7: A Father Grieves
Day 22: Psalm 22
Day 44: At dinner with his friends (Maundy Thursday)
Day 45: The Cross
Day 47: Alleluia! (Easter)

What was really interesting is that this email list only has about 150 subscribers, yet because these emails are also available to read online on substack directly there were other people who were engaged with our reflections along with us as well. (Incidentally, this is part of why for privacy reasons we can’t include prayer request details in these newsletters because more people than simply church people could potentially see them and the last thing we want is potential scammers targeting people by pretending to be concerned for them).

Personally I’ve found it encouraging to hear people’s reflections and responses to different parts of that series and I am open to ideas for what we might look at together next year.

On a different note, I am mindful that several people in our congregations have recently experienced bereavements in their families, with a handful more having family members who are approaching end of life as well. Please do be praying for all those affected at this time, and especially for those who are nearing the end that they may be reassured of God’s presence with them and eternal love for them. This is a situation which Linnea and I are also affected by as on Monday afternoon my Grandfather Linton died. This is about six months after his wife Sheila died, and we all feel the bittersweet sting of grief mingled with the hope of the resurrection.

I hope and pray that you will all have a blessed and enjoyable Bank Holiday Weekend, and I look forward to seeing you at our APCMs next week where we can reflect on how the last year has been, and share how our Mission Action Plan is coming together with a view to resolve our administrative situation, to be proactive in our community, and to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ come rain or shine so that we might glorify God here in Penn and Tylers Green.

With Every Blessing, The Revd Samuel S Thorp

As ever, feel free to contact me on [email protected]

My Bible reading plans  are still available by following the link below, please follow this link to a further resource.  https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/sword/

Bible Reading Plans    Please find attached a link through to my Bible Reading plan which you can download, print off and use as you wish!  Let me know how you get on.  Please click here

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

APCMS  Tuesday 06 May 7.30pm in Holy Trinity    Wednesday 07 May 7.30pm in the Sanctuary .  All are welcome.

08 May 7pm at Holy Trinity – VE Day Choral Evensong Commemeration Service.  This will be a service of reflection on the cost which has been paid for the cause of Liberty, and to pray for a world which needs to take those lessons to heart.  We shall be assisted by singers from Wycombe Chamber Choir who will not only sing the responses but also The Fallen Soldier, a piece arranged by local musician Aaron King based on a poem by Frederick Forsyth CBE. We shall also have a historical reflection from local historian Miles Green, as well as the lighting of a vigil candle of prayer which shall remain lit until Sunday’s United Benefice.

Our group of ringers shall also be ringing to mark the occasion.  Please do come along!

11 May 10.00am at Holy Trinity   Picking up on the theme of VE Day  we are holding a joint Benefice Service  where we shall remember the celebration of Good over Evil in the light of Christ’s triumph of the resurrection over the power of death and sin marking the end of the war in Europe on 8 May 1945.

TYGRE We are in Church at the start of the 9.30am service and then cross to The Sanctuary during the first hymn for singing, a Bible story and craft activities. There is also a selection of toys available. Please note, we run on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th (if applicable) Sundays of the month.

Tuesday coffee in the Sanctuary from 10am.  All welcome

Sanctuary Cafe (previously known as Dementia Cafe) from 2.30pm in the Sanctuary starting on Thursday 03 April and thereafter weekly rather than twice a month which is exciting news!  Please  click here for more details or speak to Revd Graham

SAFEGUARDING:  There are safeguarding officers attached to both churches.  Contact details can be found in the porches.