“And in him you too are being built together
to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
(Ephesians 2:22)
This weekend Fiona and I celebrate twenty years serving at St. Luke’s in Ramsgate. I am only the second vicar at St. Luke’s to stay that long, although the first vicar of the church stayed for over thirty years, and I am not promising to try and beat him!
When I started, I remarked to the Area Dean at the time how big a building St. Luke’s was. His response was to say, that I needed to fill it! Sadly, that has not happened – at least not yet. We still have plenty of space in the pews and we have not had to buy more chairs to cope with increased numbers, although we have acquired a lot of sofas in the last two decades.
Yet, God has been at work during the twenty years. People have come to faith and others have found a Christian home and family within the church or been helped in their walk of discipleship. Many have joined us as a church and many have left, either positively because they have moved away or been called to another church or more sadly, because their faith has faded. A few who have grown up in the church are now elsewhere ministering and even preaching or leading churches themselves. Others have moved on to their eternal home and we look forward to being reunited with them once again.
People come and go, but the Christian faith is not ultimately about filling a building. Rather, as the verse above says, it is about God building a community of people to fill it with his Holy Spirit. Let us pray for God to do that more and more in the next twenty years, no matter who the vicar is!
Paul Worledge
Paul’s celebration BBQ
This Sunday 19th May we will be holding a celebration BBQ for Paul who has been at St Luke’s for 20 years. It will be held in the field behind St. Luke’s church after their service at about 12.30/1pm. St. George’s members are welcome to come along and join the celebration.
St. George’s APCM – Monday 20th May, 7pm, Church
St. George’s annual meeting at which we receive various reports, look back, look forward and elect people to serve on the Parochial Church Council takes place on Monday evening at 7pm in the church. We will be looking to elect Church Wardens (2), Deanery Synod Representatives (2) and normal PCC members (6). You need to already be on the church’s electoral roll in order to vote at the meeting.
Paper copies of the reports and nomination forms are available at the back of church. The reports can also be accessed on the church website.
Announcement about Claire Coleman
Last Sunday we announced that Claire, our curate for three years, has been appointed to a new post as Team Vicar in the Dover Team ministry. It will be a while before she takes up the post as no date has yet been fixed. Read more…
Training for After School Club
On the 23rd May we are having a meeting at 7.30pm at St George’s hall with Jen from the Canterbury diocese to encourage us in connecting with young people in our community, as we continue exploring a potential after school drop in on Thursdays from September.
It would be great for many to attend and if you’re interested in being a volunteer – commitment can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Anyone interested in volunteering but not able to make the meeting can contact Tonya on 07376485784.
Four ideas for ensuring every child has a chance to explore Jesus
How do we ensure children have an opportunity to explore Jesus? With increasing numbers of children growing up outside of a Christian faith, join us to explore four creative ideas for mobilising our churches to give every child a chance to explore Jesus.
This is an online training event on Tuesday 11th June 2024, 9:15-11:25am. The cost is £9. If you want to attend, book a place, then let Paul know and the church will reimburse the £9. Book now…
Links to Share:
Apologies for the focus on St. Luke’s, but this week a reminder of some of the resources available on St. Luke’s website, which you may find interesting.
Looking back beyond 2004
For St. Luke’s 140th anniversary, we compiled a history on the website of the church. You can check it out here and see pictures of vicars from a long time ago. Read more…
Catch Up on Sermons
On St. Luke’s YouTube channel there are now nearly two hundred sermons and talks going back four years. Check it out… Or just check out our most viewed sermon on YouTube. Watch…
Finally, let’s keep on waiting and praying that God will show us the way.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 19th May
Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Acts 2:1-21
Paul & Fiona’s 20th Anniversary BBQ (St. Luke’s Vicarage Gdn) – 12:30-3:00pm
Monday 20th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm
Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:15-9:30pm
Tuesday 21st
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Coffee Morning (St. George’s Hall) – 11:00am-12:00pm
Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm
Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm
Wednesday 22nd
Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10-12 noon
Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm
Thursday 23rd
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Saturday 25th
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Open Church (St. George’s Church) – 10:00am-12:00pm
Sunday 26th
Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8
Paul & Fiona’s 20th Anniversary BBQ (St. Luke’s Vicarage Gdn) – 12:30-3:00pm
Online Forms
Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:
- Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
- Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
- Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.
St. George’s Website
- What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
- Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
- Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. There are now videos for all the sermons over the summer.
Safeguarding Training
If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.
If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@stlukesramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.
St. George's Church Ramsgate 