This Week’s Notices June 1st 2025

Jesus said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels.”

(Matthew 26:53)

Over the last few weeks we have been doing an ad hoc series called, ‘Fight the good fight!’ We’ve heard various Biblical calls to be strong and courageous and read about a number of different kinds of battles and victories in the Bible. The Christian life is a battle. But how do we find courage and strength to keep fighting when life is tough and the fight seems too difficult?

In this week’s story we come to the Old Testament prophet Elisha. He was Elijah’s apprentice, but ended up doing twice as many miracles as Elijah. Indeed, apart from Moses, Elisha does more miracles than anyone else in the Old Testament. But he also lived in a time of wars and battles. Israel was fighting with the Arameans, who’s capital was Damascus.

At one point an Aramean army turns up to capture Elisha. They’ve surrounded the defenceless city and all seems lost. But, Elisha knows differently. Responding to his servant’s concerns about the sudden appearance of all the enemy horses and chariots, he says, “Those who are with us are more than those against us.” He then asks God to open the servants eyes and he sees an angelic army protecting them!

Jesus parallels Elisha. Elisha follows on from Elijah and Jesus follows on from John the Baptist, whose life was modelled on Elijah. Like Eisha, Jesus is aware that he has an angelic army at his disposal, as he declares in the verse above. Yet, Jesus shows even greater strength and courage. When soldiers arrive to capture him, he allows it, going through with his crucifixion, trusting that God would bring the greatest victory of all, the Resurrection. Will we follow Jesus’ courageous example?

Paul Worledge

New Notices:

Beth’s Ordination as Priest, 28th June, 2:30pm & 5pm

Beth will be being ordained as Priest at Canterbury Cathedral on Saturday 28th June at 2:30pm. People are welcome to come to the Cathedral to support Beth.

After the service we will have a celebratory Bring & Share BBQ in the church field at St. Luke’s from 5pm. Please use the sign-up sheets at the back of church to indicate: a. whether you will be attending (meat for BBQ will be provided); b whether you will bring food to share; c. whether you can help with the setting up or running of the event.

Planned Giving Review and Vision 2030

Last week we launched our annual ‘Planned Giving Review’. This will climax with a Gift Day on Pentecost Sunday, 8th June. We are asking people to consider how much they can give to financially support the church as well as how they might be able to offer practical support and help with Vision 2030.

Please remember to act by next Sunday and bring your response slip to the service.

To start giving to St. George’s using the Parish Giving Scheme, click here.

To show interest in volunteering for one of the Vision 2030 workstreams use this form.

You may also have seen an article online about our long term plans: Thanet News Article

You can access an online version of the flier about the plans here.

Next Men’s group event – Lawn Bowls, 6:15pm, 18th June

See one of the fliers at back of church for more details or speak to Trevor Kenney: 07792 828097; trevorkenney1@gmail.com

Women’s Share and Care:

A few dates for your diaries:

  • 18th June at Tina Gilham’s “what are you reading”. Bring a book and enjoy each other’s company over a cuppa and a biscuit. 10.30 to 12.00
  • 4th July at Beth Keenan’s. Fun and games , nibbles and drinks. Bring and share. Evening.
  • 12th July at Beth Patterson’s. Pimms and food in the garden. 6.30 to 8.30. Bring and share food and a garden chair if you have one.

Can you help with tours of St. George’s tower and crypt?

Tours of St. George’s crypt and tower are proving very popular. If you can help as part of a team with these tours, then please contact Jemima Brown: regenerationofficer@stgeorgechurchramsgate.uk . The planned tours coming up are 11am to 3:30pm on Saturdays 8th June, 5th (?) and 12th July, 9th August and 13th and 20th September.

Volunteers for the Community Meal

Can you join a superb team of helpers on some or all Tuesday afternoons and evenings to help serve the Community Meal at St. George’s Church Hall to 30 to 50 guests? The meal runs between 5:30-7pm, but volunteers need to be available from 5pm and if possible to help cook or set up earlier on Tuesday afternoon. If you are interested, then please see Paul.

Reminders:

Joint Pentecost Service, 8th June, 6pm

Churches Together in Ramsgate invite you to celebrate Pentecost. An evening of worship, prayer, teaching and fellowship. All welcome (including families, children and youth.

The event will take place at Royal Harbour Academy (CT12 6FA) on Sunday 8th June at 6pm.

Links to Share:

Faith in the Fire

Join Joshua Luke Smith as he shares firsthand stories from his journey to Nigeria, revealing the courage, suffering, and unshakable faith of persecuted Christians. Through gripping storytelling, Faith in the Fire brings you closer to the lives of believers facing trials with extraordinary strength. Find out more…

Could Lamorna Ash become a Christian in a year?

This article reviews a book written by a non-Christian trying a number of different avenues to explore the Christian faith. A fascinating read…

Finally, let’s be strong and courageous, knowing that God is with us.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 1st June – Seventh Sunday of Easter

Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: 2 Kings 6:8-23

Monday 2nd

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Tuesday 3rd    

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 4th    

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm

Thursday 5th     

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Saturday 7th  

CTiR Prayer Breakfast (St. Mark’s Church) – 9:00-10:00am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Sunday 8th – Pentecost Sunday

Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: Genesis 11:1-9

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.

Take Courage (Joshua 1:1-9)

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

So, as Joshua did, let’s take courage in the growth of the church and meditate on his word day and night, treating it as the true gift it is.

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

This Week’s Notices May 25th 2025

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

(Joshua 1:9)

After the death of Moses, God called Joshua to lead his people and spoke words of true beauty over him. The author of creation tells him he will be with him wherever he goes, that he will give him every place he sets his foot and that no one will be able to stand against him all the days of his life. God asks Joshua to keep the book of the law always on his lips and to meditate on his word day and night so he can be careful to do everything written within it which will bring him prosperity and success through leading people in the way of God.

We can read these words with a twinge of jealousy. How much would we all desire God to speak so directly, so clearly and so preciously to us? The reality is, however, that we have a whole book of the greatest love story ever written, written for us and able to be meditated on by us day and night.

As Joshua was given the task to lead and the promise that God would be with him, so to are the disciples in Jesus’ Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20) As disciples of Jesus, this commission continues with us today. As Jesus’ disciples, we are called to reach out, nurture faith, baptize, serve, pray, heal, and love, with the promise that He will be with us always.

We are all beloved, commanded and joined together in our great commission to the world and the church. So, as Joshua did, let’s take courage in the growth of the church and meditate on his word day and night, treating it as the true gift it is.

Beth Keenan

New Notices:

Ascension Day Service, 12noon, Thursday 29th May

Ascension day is when we celebrate Jesus leaving earth 40 days after his resurrection and going to sit at God’s right hand to rule. We will be holding a special 12noon Holy Communion service in St. Luke’s after Cafe4All – All are welcome.

Ascension Day also marks the beginning of Thy Kingdom Come ten days of prayer. Why not give one or more of our daily prayer meetings during this period where we will be using the Thy Kingdom Come materials?

Beth’s Ordination as Priest

Beth will be being ordained as Priest at Canterbury Cathedral on Saturday 28th June at 2:30pm. More details to follow…

Reminders:

Planned Giving Review

Last week we launched our annual ‘Planned Giving Review’. This will climax with a Gift Day on Pentecost Sunday, 8th June. We are asking people to consider how much they can give to financially support the church as well as how they might be able to offer practical support and help with Vision 2030.

If you haven’t already, please check the back of the church and take the envelope with your name on it. (We only send letters to those who have indicated they are happy to receive such letters. If there is not an envelope with your name on it and you would like one, then please take one of the nameless ones.)

Joint Pentecost Service, 8th June, 6pm

Churches Together in Ramsgate invite you to celebrate Pentecost. An evening of worship, prayer, teaching and fellowship. All welcome (including families, children and youth.

The event will take place at Royal Harbour Academy (CT12 6FA) on Sunday 8th June at 6pm.

Young Voices Questionnaire

If you are aged 11 to 24 or know someone who is, then do encourage them to fill out the Canterbury Diocese Youth Council questionnaire which focuses on mental health. These snapshot questionnaires are an opportunity to hear the voices of young people from across our diocese. It closes on 23 May. 

Youthscape Launchpad Diocesan Event

6:30-9:00pm on Monday 2nd June at St. Laurence church in Ramsgate. Led by Bp Rose Hudson-Wilkin, with Jen Tobin the Diocesan Lead Officer for Children & Young People’s Work and Launchpad Youth Scape Representatives. This is an intergenerational event for young people 11 years old and upwards and those helping to lead young people’s work. See Tonya Curry if you are interested in going as part of a group from St. Luke’s.

Tower and Crypt Tours – Can you help?

Please contact Jemima on either 07971782477 or via email regenerationofficer@stgeorgechurchramsgate.uk if you are able to get involved with helping to host the tours.

They will be on during the summer to coincide with the Yard Sales and Heritage Open Days and we are also doing a couple of dates in May as well. The dates are Saturdays: 17th May, 24th May, 14th June, 12th July, 9th August, 13th September and 20th September.

Links to Share:

Addressing Abuse in Church

This latest Cambridge Paper, written by David McIlroy, focuses on a challenging and important topic: ‘Abuse within evangelical churches and organisations: Addressing the vulnerabilities’. Read more…

New Worship Song – This is the Day

On a lighter note, here is a video of one of a set of new songs commissioned by the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity. Watch…

Finally, let’s be courageous, knowing that God is with us.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)

 Weekly Calendar

Sunday 25th – Sixth Sunday of Easter

Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: Joshua 1:1-9

Spring Bank Holiday Monday 26th

No Prayer meeting

Tuesday 27th   

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 28th    

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm

Thursday 29th     

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Ascension Day Holy Communion Service (St. Luke’s Church, 12noon)

Saturday 31st

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Sunday 1st June – Seventh Sunday of Easter

Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: 2 Kings 6:8-23

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.

The Great Escape (Exodus 14:10-18)

Exodus 14:13a: “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.”

This week we look at the victory God gives to the Israelites, when they are trapped between the advancing Egyptian army and the Red Sea.

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

The Great Escape (Exodus 14:10-18)

Last year the National Archives in London put on an exhibition called ‘Great Escapes: Remarkable Second World War Captives’. The experience of Dunkirk and the Channel crossings of the Little Ships that are being commemorated over the next couple of weeks in Ramsgate weren’t included in this exhibition. Instead the exhibition featured the stories of prisoners in German prison camps who plotted daring escapes, including the mass escape from Stalag Luft 3 that was made the subject of the film titled ‘The Great Escape’, as well as stories of those who simply managed to survive in captivity. According to the National Archives, this offered ‘glimpses of the courage and ingenuity that is possible in desperately hard times’ and explored the indefatigability of the ‘human spirit’.1

I suppose ‘The Great Escape’ wouldn’t be exactly the right title for an exhibition that did include the story of Dunkirk and the little ships, because no matter how courageous, resourceful and indefatigable the soldiers beaten back to the beaches of northern France were, they wouldn’t have been able to actually swim the English Channel to escape the German onslaught. They could not have escaped unaided. When we hear that phrase, ‘The Great Escape’, I suppose we think naturally of courage, and ingenuity, and the human spirit. Let’s be honest, we probably also think specifically about British courage, resilience, and the English stiff upper lip. That is why we hear the title track to ‘The Great Escape’ film at international football matches, with the England chant right at the end.

And so, when we heard that Bible reading just now, from Exodus chapter 14, I think we’d be right to question whether ‘The Great Escape’ is really the most appropriate title for the sermon today. In fact, there’s not a lot in the Bible, considered as a whole, as far as celebrating courage, ingenuity, and the human spirit is concerned. That would be the message of optimistic humanism, that would be the message of positive thinking, that would be the message of nationalistic chauvinism, even, but it isn’t really the message of Christianity. And in this passage in particular, there’s nothing really to be found in terms of the indefatigable human spirit. Like the troops at Dunkirk, the Israelites were on the run, and were still vulnerable to attack from a fearful enemy. But they were not courageous or resilient, and they did not possess stiff upper lips. Instead, they were terrified, traumatised, and loose-lipped. Rather than effecting a Great Escape, they seem to have suffered from a Great Depression.

I say that the people of Israel were terrified, because in chapter 14, verse 10, it says this in so many words; ‘they were terrified’.

I say they were traumatised because the trigger for their terror, according to verse 10, was that they ‘looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them’. In order to understand this, we have to lay aside the visions Cecil B. DeMille has put in our heads of finely-dressed and glamorous-looking Egyptians, not a scary sight at all, and imagine instead what it must be like to see the approach of a powerful force which is able to kill you, and is determined to kill you.

I say the Israelites were loose-lipped because of what they are reported to have said to Moses in verses 11 and 12 of chapter 14:’Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? … It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’ Here we are a long way from the derring-do of a Great Escape. Terror, trauma, and talk born of this terror and trauma, combine together to make instead a Great Depression.

Moses tried, as we have read, to bring them out of this condition. In the face of their fear, he appealed to them in verse 13: ‘Do not be afraid’ – just as Abraham and Isaac before them, and Joshua after them, were told ‘Do not be afraid’ (Genesis 15:1, 26:24, Joshua 8:1), and just as the people of God are told right throughout the Old and the New Testaments, ‘Do not be afraid’. In the face of the trauma triggered visually by the sight of the Egyptian army, in verse 13 Moses told them that ‘the Egyptians you see today you will never see again’; instead, he said, ‘you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today’. In place of their loose lips, Moses told them in verse 14, that ‘the LORD would fight for them’ and that they only needed, not to ‘be still’, as our Bible translation misleadingly puts it, but actually to ‘hold their peace’.2

What we learn from this is that the Israelites were in no position to make, and in fact they did not make, any positive contribution to the situation they were in. All they contributed was a Great Depression: they were – understandably – terror-stricken, traumatised, fearing the worst, and complaining. In this way, it is crystal clear “that Israel was not saved because of its faith. Rather, Israel failed to believe right up until the moment of its deliverance”.3 This is not a message of optimistic humanism, or a message of positive thinking, or a message of nationalistic chauvinism, but it is the message of the Bible from cover to cover, and of Christianity as a whole. God helps those who know they cannot help themselves. And it is a message especially fitted to bring comfort to those who find themselves, for any reason, to be in the grip of a Great Depression. An American preacher named Fleming Rutledge once said that even if she “stayed in the pulpit [and preached] all day”, she still wouldn’t be able to get across to her congregation just how many times she had drawn on Exodus chapter 14, verse 14, in her own life. “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to hold your peace”. “In times of disappointment, in times of frustration, in times when I have failed myself, in times when I could see no way forward, I have called upon this verse”4, she said.

So this isn’t really a Great Escape story. The Israelites weren’t able to swim across the Sea of Reeds, any more than the Tommies in northern France could have swum across the English Channel. The Exodus, and Dunkirk as well, are stories not so much of escape as they are stories of Great Deliverance. In the case of Dunkirk, it was the Royal Navy, accompanied by the Little Ships, that came to the rescue. At the Sea of Reeds, Moses told the people of Israel to ‘stand firm’, and they would ‘see the deliverance that the LORD would bring’.

Exactly how that deliverance played out is described in the rest of chapter 14, directly after the passage we have heard read today. In imagining what happened, we’ll be misled again if we simply take the Cecil B. DeMille film as our guide to what took place. It is fairly clear from the text that natural phenomena such as

1. a strong east wind that changed dry land into a boggy marsh, and

2. a mass panic that broke out among the Egyptian horsemen and charioteers,

played key parts in sealing their fate. The temporary parting of the Sea of Reeds that enabled the Israelites, but not the Egyptians, to cross was no less miraculous for being above all a miracle of timing. The Bible is clear that the LORD himself was the author of the rescue.

It is worth thinking a little more about this Great Deliverance, because it lies at the very heart of the entire Old Testament. Some people think of the Old Testament as if it simply lays down a set of laws and commandments, set out by He Who Must Be Obeyed, and punishment is promised to all who fall short. But when we look ahead in the book of Exodus to the Ten Commandments in chapter 20, the first thing we read the LORD saying is not a command at all, but a reminder of this Great Deliverance. Before any commandment is given at all, here we read, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery’ (Exodus 20:2). I hope you can see how beautiful this is? I hope I am managing to communicate well enough how this utterly transforms the meaning of all the commandments that follow? But let me try.

‘I am your God, and you are my people. I have rescued you, not because of your merits, nor even because of your faith, but by grace despite your lack of merit and of faith. Do not be afraid: I love you, and you are mine forever.’ In this context, keeping the commandments has nothing to do with trying to earn God’s favour. Instead, the commandments begin to answer a completely different question, which is this: What does life look like when it is governed by gratitude, rather than by fear? Or, to put the same question another way, How are we going to conduct ourselves, now that we have been given and have entered into the freedom of the children of God? Or, again we may ask: What constitutes the good life?

It is the Great Deliverance of the Exodus that is at the rock bottom of all of this. The parting of the Reed Sea was just one act in the drama that started with the ten plagues and the Passover, and ended with the Israelites entering into the land of promise. But it was a highlight in the drama. On that day, the LORD in his power made a way out of no way for his people, and he did so out of love for them. Understanding this is the essential first step towards understanding the entire basis of the religion of the Old Testament, and of the Bible as a whole. Once this is understood, none of the commandments need ever again be feared. Rather, they all start to make perfect sense. ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.’

Without the knowledge of the LORD’s power, and assurance of his favour, we like the Israelites can contribute only a Great Depression. But with this knowledge and this assurance, we may rejoice not in any Great Escape of our own, but in a Great Deliverance engineered by the LORD. And arising from this Great Deliverance is a Great Glory for the LORD, the God of Israel.

This glory is first mentioned in verse 4 of chapter 14, just before the passage we have heard read this morning, when the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD’. And this is repeated in verses 17 and 18, which we did read: “I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go into [the Sea] after [the Israelites]. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

Here, ‘I am the LORD’ is much more than simply “a self-assertion of God’s existence”.5 It is an assertion of the LORD’s power over against that of the so-called gods of other nations, and an affirmation of his covenantal relationship with the people of Israel. To the enemies of the LORD, his glory has a sharp end: the Egyptian horsemen and chariots came to acknowledge the power of the LORD in the same kind of way as the Titanic came to acknowledge the power of the sea, by being submerged. They saw, as they were drowning, that “the salvation of the Israelites and the destruction of their army were indeed from God.”.6 This is why I say that the glory of the LORD in the Exodus had a sharp edge for them.

But the great glory of the LORD in the Exodus is surpassed by a Greater Glory spoken of in the New Testament. It is the glory of the new covenant, whereby both Jews and non-Jews stand justified before God, not on account of their deeds but on account of the wideness of God’s mercy. And “if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation [with its sharp edge], how much more does the ministry of justification [that reversed a potentially bad outcome] abound in glory!”, writes the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 3 [verse 9]. So much so that “what was glorious [once] has no glory now in comparison with the greater glory” [2 Corinthians 3:10].

The New Testament tells us that Jesus Christ is the catalyst for that Greater Glory. “The Passover and the Exodus, as the church has always understood from earliest … times, were the forerunners of what was to come in full power at [his] resurrection”, according to Fleming Rutledge. “There is no way out of death. Only God can open that way.” 7 And in the resurrection, this is exactly what he has done.

Thanks be to God, not many of us are conscious of having flesh-and-blood enemies who intend our harm and destruction. In this way, we are better off today than our parents, grandparents and great grandparents were in 1940, who faced a bitter opponent across the Channel and knew that as soon as the Battle of France was over, the Battle of Britain would begin. Even so, we know that, for a whole host of reasons, fear and trauma are not that uncommon in life. We have all heard the language of despair that understandably arises from fear and trauma. And ultimately, we do all face a powerful force which is perfectly able and determined to put an end to us. “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” [I Corinthians 15:26].

And so all of us need to know, when we cannot see a way forward, because humanly speaking there is no way forward – we need to know that the LORD will make a way out of no way, and that he “will fight for us”. We need to know that, in raising Jesus from the dead, the LORD has effected a Great Deliverance, and that he done this for our sake, and for his Greater Glory.

1 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/great-escapes

2 Allan Harman, Exodus: God’s Kingdom of Priests (Christian Focus, 2017), page 155, note 13.

3 Brevard Childs, The Book of Exodus (Westminster Press, 1974), page 239.

4 Fleming Rutledge, And God Spoke to Abraham (Eerdmans, 2011), page 79.

5 Harman, Exodus, page 155.

6 Ibid.

7 Rutledge, And God Spoke, page 81.

A Tale of Three Churches

Join us for a tour of the 3 Grade 1 Listed Churches in our historic seaside town
Saturday 28th June – all day event 11am til 4pm

Bookings are now open for a fascinating architectural heritage tour this Summer 2025. The day will start at St Laurence-in-Thanet, moving on to St George’s Church in the town centre and finishing up on the cliff top at the shrine of St Augustine looking out to sea.

There will be a maximum of 20 places so book early to avoid disappointment. Booking can be accessed via the Ramsgate Society website and the tour costs £15 per person.

Circle of Liberty ~ Choirs in the Round

Sunday 20th July, 3 to 5pm, at St George’s Church, Ramsgate
Tickets – £10
Refreshments and Licenced Bar

Join us for “Circle of Liberty – Choirs in the Round,” an uplifting afternoon of song in the stunning setting of St Georges Church, Ramsgate.  Featuring 4 choirs in a powerful celebration of freedom, community, and connection, this unique event supports the life-changing work of Liberty Choir.  Founded by MJ Paranzino & Ginny Dougary, Liberty Choir brings music into prisons, building bridges between the inside and outside world through shared singing. Their work helps people rediscover confidence, belonging, and purpose — long after release. Come and be inspired by the joy and harmony of voices united.  

In support of : the charity Liberty Choir – The overall aim of Liberty Choirs is to provide for excluded and isolated people (for example, those in secure psychiatric settings or people who are serving custodial sentences) a ‘through the gate’ programme of high-quality singing and social development.  

It is designed to help develop skills and self-confidence, open up the world of arts through singing and provide access to new social networks as the participants re-enter the wider community.

All proceeds from ticket sales and licensed bar to the Charity, Liberty Choir.     https://libertychoir.org

This Week’s Notices May 11th 2025

“Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.”

(Exodus 14:13a)

Eighty-five years ago, in May 1940, things looked pretty hopeless. The Nazis had invaded France, the Netherlands and Belgium on 10th May and advanced with lightning speed. By 15th May, the French government already thought all was lost. By 19th May, the Germans had managed to cut off the British Expeditionary Force and some French Divisions in Northern Belgium and North Eastern France. An army of 100,000s was trapped between the approaching Nazi forces and the sea. Any hope of rescue looked futile.

A remarkably similar situation had occurred 1,000s of years earlier. The people of Israel had been freed from slavery in Egypt by Pharaoh, because God had sent a series if ten terrifying plagues against his country. But then as they came to the Red Sea, they discovered Pharaoh had changed his mind, called up his army and set off in pursuit of the Israelites. At this point they were trapped between an advancing army and the sea. Any hope of rescue looked futile.

The people panicked, but Moses, their leader calmly told them not ot be afraid, but to wait for the deliverance that God would bring. What followed was an amazing miracle. God dried up the sea, so the Israelites could cross and escape the Egyptian army.

In 1940, King George VI called on people to pray. In a national broadcast he instructed the people of the UK to turn back to God in a spirit of repentance and plead for Divine help. God did not dry up the sea, but he did make it possible for 330,000 troops to escape from Dunkirk and be brought across the sea to England. The practicalities involved an incredible feat of organisation, the courageous actions of many small boat owners and favourable weather conditions. But behind it all was the hand of God. So much so, that people called it, “the miracle of Dunkirk.”

Paul Worledge

Parade Service for Dunkirk Little Ships – This Sunday

This Sunday, our service will be at 11am and will be a parade service. We are expecting a lot of extra guests but do please come along and join in the commemoration of this significant event in the life of the town and nation. See website for more details.

 

APCM Report

At our Annual Church meeting (APCM) on Monday 24th May, the following were elected: As church warden: Mark Ogden, to the PCC: Janet Reid, Elaine Hartnell, Virginia Lowis and Sue Martin. Penny Williams and Joyce Thomas continue as our Deanery Synod representatives. That means we have one space for a church warden and two spaces for PCC members. Also, we are still looking for a new treasurer. If you are interested in any of these roles, then please have a chat with Mark or Paul.

Planned Giving Review

Last week we launched our annual ‘Planned Giving Review’. This will climax with a Gift Day on Pentecost Sunday, 8th June. We are asking people to consider how much they can give to financially support the church as well as how they might be able to offer practical support and help with Vision 2030.

If you haven’t already, please check the back of the church and take the envelope with your name on it. (We only send letters to those who have indicated they are happy to receive such letters. If there is not an envelope with your name on it and you would like one, then please take one of the nameless ones.)

Joint Pentecost Service, 8th June, 6pm

Churches Together in Ramsgate invite you to celebrate Pentecost. An evening of worship, prayer, teaching and fellowship. All welcome (including families, children and youth.

The event will take place at Royal Harbour Academy (CT12 6FA) on Sunday 8th June at 6pm.

VE Day 1945

A couple of weeks ago we commemorated the 80th anniversary of VE day. Margaret Bolton has dug up some old newspaper clippings about how the event was celebrated in Ramsgate. Amongst the various events reported on was the Thanksgiving service at St. George’s:

“’They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’

“Verses from Isaiah in which this text, appropriate to the day, appears, were read at St. George’s church in Ramsgate, on VE-night, when the nave was filled for the special service of thanksgiving.

“People from many walks of life came to offer their humble thanksgiving to God for victory and deliverance from the vanquished enemy. In all the churches of the town similar services were held….”

Brian Belsey – Funeral

Brian Belsey who played a key leadership role at Christ Church for many years has sadly passed away. There will be a service of thanksgiving at Christ Church on Monday 19th May at 2pm.

Young Voices Questionnaire

If you are aged 11 to 24 or know someone who is, then do encourage them to fill out the Canterbury Diocese Youth Council questionnaire which focuses on mental health. These snapshot questionnaires are an opportunity to hear the voices of young people from across our diocese. It closes on 23 May. 

Youthscape Launchpad Diocesan Event

6:30-9:00pm on Monday 2nd June at St. Laurence church in Ramsgate. Led by Bp Rose Hudson-Wilkin, with Jen Tobin the Diocesan Lead Officer for Children & Young People’s Work and Launchpad Youth Scape Representatives. This is an intergenerational event for young people 11 years old and upwards and those helping to lead young people’s work. See Tonya Curry if you are interested in going as part of a group from St. Luke’s.

Tower and Crypt Tours – Can you help?

Please contact Jemima on either 07971782477 or via email regenerationofficer@stgeorgechurchramsgate.uk if you are able to get involved with helping to host the tours.

They will be on during the summer to coincide with the Yard Sales and Heritage Open Days and we are also doing a couple of dates in May as well. The dates are Saturdays: 17th May, 24th May, 14th June, 12th July, 9th August, 13th September and 20th September.

Links to Share:

This week a focus on resources that you may want to use during the Thy Kingdom Come season between Ascension Day (29th May) and Pentecost (8th June)

A brand-new series of the Cheeky Pandas

To use with young children at home, with activity sheets for children. Find out more…

The digital detox devotional

For youth – encouraging them to put away their devices, be still before the Lord and deep dive into the Lord’s Prayer. Find our more…

An adult Digital Detox Devotional

And for adults, check out this digital detox, a devotional by the Archbishop of York on the Lord’s prayer. Find out more…

Finally, let’s keep fighting the good fight that God calls us to.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)

 Weekly Calendar

Sunday 18th – Fifth Sunday of Easter

Parade Service – 11am Commemoration Operation Dynamo –  Reading: Exodus 14:10-18

Monday 19th     

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Tuesday 20th   

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 21st    

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm

Thursday 22nd     

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Saturday 24th    

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Sunday 25th – Sixth Sunday of Easter

Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: Joshua 1:1-9

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.e 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.

Orchestra from Everywhere

Sun June 15th 7.30pm

Celebrating International Refugee Week

St George’s are delighted to be hosting Orchestra from Everywhere

Tickets – £ 20 for 2 people (Early Bird offer), £12 (single ticket on the door) £8 – concessions. Children under 12 are free. Student tickets – £5 ( 13- 24 years).
Book early as seating is limited.
An orchestra of professional musicians from around the world who have chosen to make Britain their home. They come from Syria, Iran, Hongkong, Palestine, Brazil, Africa, France and India, and some of them are refugees who had to leave their country. The orchestra plays music from their own cultures as well as new music that they have created and play together.

Orchestra from Everywhere – ShivaNova

A Woman’s Fight (Judges 4:1-24)

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?” (Judges 4:14a)

In the book of Judges, God’s people are constantly caught in a cycle of walking with God and completely abandoning him and his teaching. Our society today can feel like this, cycling between belief in God and rejection of his teachings. However, we have the teachings of Jesus and a reconciled relationship to God through his sacrifice and the holy spirit to guide us through our journey. Let’s look for the unexpected ways God is moving in our lives and be thankful for the blessings we have been given in our walk with God today.

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

This Week’s Notices May 11th 2025

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?”

(Judges 4:14a)

Anger, lust, violence, joy, bravery, valiance, malice, envy, elation, depression, confusion, empathy. Humans are complicated creatures with many difficult emotions shown and perceived in complex ways, and our passage this week is undoubtedly one to stir up a reaction!

At the battle between the Israelites and Canaanites, 10,000 fight against an army with 900 iron fitted chariots. Just away from the fighting, by herself in a tent, is a woman called Jael. Her and her husband are friends with both sides of the fight, living peacefully as tinsmiths and nomads of the land. But the leader of the enemy, Sisera, fleeing from the battle, is defeated not by the army 10,000 strong but by this lone woman, vulnerable in her tent, giving hospitality and rest before she hammers a tent peg through the mans skull. We can see that her time for neutrality between these two sides had come to a crossroads and she was faced with a choice to lie to the Israelites and hide the Canaanite at his request, or make a different choice, one that alights with the Israelite people. The Israelites were now free from their oppressors and the words prophesied by Deborah to the Israelite mility leader Barak that ‘the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman’ had been fulfilled.

This may either be seen by you as a shocking account, an impressive account or both. Whatever your reaction, it shows itself to be a series of events where God’s people are delivered, but not in a way anyone would have expected. Instead of a defeat for the oppressor of Israel by strength, numbers and brute force, he is delivered into the hands of the Israelites by a lone woman. In the book of Judges, God’s people are constantly caught in a cycle of walking with God and completely abandoning him and his teaching. Our society today can feel like this, cycling between belief in God and rejection of his teachings. However, we have the teachings of Jesus and a reconciled relationship to God through his sacrifice and the holy spirit to guide us through our journey. Let’s look for the unexpected ways God is moving in our lives and be thankful for the blessings we have been given in our walk with God today.

Beth Keenan

APCM and PCC membership – This Monday

Our Annual Church meeting (APCM) will be on Monday 12th May at 7:00pm in the Church. At this meeting we will be updating you on plans for our Vision 2030 and electing members to our PCC. Nomination forms are available at the back of church. Please put the date in the diary. Also, please consider standing for our PCC or nominating someone who would be a good fit. We need the wisdom of a variety of church members to help us guide the church over the coming years.

Please check out all the reports to the annual meeting here. Some printed copies will be available in church tomorrow and at the meeting.

Thank You present for Derek

Derek Tench is stepping down as our church treasurer after twelve years of faithful service. We plan to present him with a gift at the annual meeting to say thank you. If you would like to contribute to the gift, then please give any contributions to Mark Ogden. Also look out for a card to sign!

Planned Giving Review

This week we are launching our annual ‘Planned Giving Review’. This will climax with a Gift Day on Pentecost Sunday, 8th June. We are asking people to consider how much they can give to financially support the church as well as how they might be able to offer practical support and help with Vision 2030.

Please check the back of the church and take the envelope with your name on it. (We only send letters to those who have indicated they are happy to receive such letters. If there is not an envelope with your name on it and you would like one, then please take one of the nameless ones.)

Brian Belsey – Funeral

Brian Belsey who played a key leadership role at Christ Church for many years has sadly passed away. There will be a service of thanksgiving at Christ Church on Monday 19th May at 2pm.

Young Voices Questionnaire

If you are aged 11 to 24 or know someone who is, then do encourage them to fill out the Canterbury Diocese Youth Council questionnaire which focuses on mental health. These snapshot questionnaires are an opportunity to hear the voices of young people from across our diocese. It closes on 23 May. 

Youthscape Launchpad Diocesan Event

6:30-9:00pm on Monday 2nd June at St. Laurence church in Ramsgate. Led by Bp Rose Hudson-Wilkin, with Jen Tobin the Diocesan Lead Officer for Children & Young People’s Work and Launchpad Youth Scape Representatives. This is an intergenerational event for young people 11 years old and upwards and those helping to lead young people’s work. See Tonya Curry if you are interested in going as part of a group from St. Luke’s.

Next Men’s Group Meeting

7pm, Thursday 15th May at the Ramsgate Harbour Lifeboat Station. Your chance to see what is involved in the running of our lifeboat station. This is a free event, but a £5 (or more) donation is suggested. For more information contact Trevor Kenney, 07792828097, trevorkenney1@gmail.com.

Services in May

Sunday 11th May, 9:30am            

Holy Communion, Sunday School join us from 10:30am

Sunday 18th May, 11:00am          

Dunkirk Little Ships Parade Service

Sunday 25th May, 9:30am            

Holy Communion

 

Treasurer Role

After many years of faithful service, Derek Tench is looking to step down as treasurer. This is an important role in the life of the church and involves various tasks: Bookkeeping, PAYE management for staff, reclaiming Gift Aid, Negotiating Utilities & Procurement and producing accounts for the annual report. If you think you might be able to take on some or all of these tasks, then please see Paul, Mark or Derek. Derek will of course offer training and support to whoever would like to take over.

Tower and Crypt Tours – Can you help?

Please contact Jemima on either 07971782477 or via email regenerationofficer@stgeorgechurchramsgate.uk if you are able to get involved with helping to host the tours.

They will be on during the summer to coincide with the Yard Sales and Heritage Open Days and we are also doing a couple of dates in May as well. The dates are Saturdays: 17th May, 24th May, 14th June, 12th July, 9th August, 13th September and 20th September.

Links to Share:

This week an article and a video about the recent Bible Society report: “A Quiet Revival”.

The Sound of a Quiet Revival

In this short article, Lauren Westwood helpfully summarises the recent research on church attendance that suggests a ‘quiet revival’ is going on particularly amongst younger people. Read more… (10 mins)

Reports of Revival

In this video Glen Scrivener gives ten shifts that the report suggests and five caveats to the report that we need to be aware of. Watch (22 minutes)

Finally, let’s keep fighting the good fight that God calls us to.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)

 Weekly Calendar

Sunday 11th – Fourth Sunday of Easter

Eucharist – (St George’s, 9:30am), Reading: Judges 4:1-24

Sunday School (St George’s, 10:30am)

Monday 12th     

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

APCM (St. George’s Church) – 7:00-9:00pm

Tuesday 13th   

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 14th   

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm

Thursday 15th    

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Saturday 17th   

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Sunday 18th – Fifth Sunday of Easter

Parade Service – 11am Commemoration Operation Dynamo –  Reading: Exodus 14:10-18

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.