This Week’s Notices – 19th May 2024

“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.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting 2024 (APCM)

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.

Below are the various reports to download and read. We will have some paper copies available in church on Sunday as well. Nomination forms to stand for election are available in the church.

APCM AgendaDownload
Main pack of documents for the annual meeting, including PCC reportDownload
6. Independent Examiners ReportDownload
7a Profit and Loss 2023Download
7b Balance Sheet 2023Download
7c Statement of Financial Activities 2022Download
7d Statement of Financial Activities 2023Download
7e Notes to AccountsDownload

Claire Coleman – Appointment

We are delighted to announce 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 and no date has yet been fixed.

The official announcement:

The Bishop of Dover is pleased to announce that The Revd Claire Coleman, currently Assistant curate at St Luke’s, Ramsgate, has been appointed Team Vicar in the Dover Town Team Ministry, subject to the usual procedures.  The licensing occasion by Bishop Rose has yet to be confirmed.

Waiting, Praying, Discerning (Acts 1:15-17, 21-26)

“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” (Acts 1:14)

The book of Acts starts with the wonderful period of Jesus’ resurrection appearances, where he proves to his numerous disciples that he was truly raised from the dead. But then, Jesus leaves and ascends to heaven. Before doing so what does he tell the disciples to do? To wait. They are to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which will enable them to witness powerfully to the reality of Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:4,8).

As recorded at St. Luke’s
Listen on Castbox

Waiting, Praying, Discerning (Acts 1:15-26)

Waiting – 1:4

In Acts chapter 1, we are reminded that over a period of forty days, the resurrected Jesus had appeared many times to his followers and convinced them that he had truly risen from the dead.

Then he leaves them, by ascending into heaven.

Jesus had told them in verse 4, that they are to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Spirit. But why the wait? Why couldn’t Jesus just give them the Spirit and let the mission get going.

Isn’t waiting just a waste of time? In our busy and rushed society we would probably think so!

Yet, the waiting itself, is an important moment for the formation of the church. It builds anticipation of what is to come, but also gives space to re-align with God, rather than rushing into activity.

It helps them to see that our mission and work needs to happen with:

God’s timing, not ours.

They can’t just start when they want to, they need to wait for God to give the green light.

It needs to happen with

God’s power, not ours.

Although the disciples had all the proof, evidence and information they needed to be witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, nonetheless they needed the power of the Holy Spirit to make their witness possible.

It needs to happen with

God’s plan, not ours.

We may have our own ideas about what should happen. But we need to give space and time for our plans to be shaped by God.

  • Year of discernment is waiting not rushing

In this year of discernment, we are basically waiting. I and a few others could have quickly drawn up some plans and vision of what the churches should do and rushed ahead with it. That’s often what I’ve done in the past.

But at the end of last year, I really sensed that we needed to pause, wait and give space to reflect over a longer period, so that we could seek out God’s plan not ours.

Praying – 1:14

And when we give space to reflect on our need for God, the natural response is then to pray. That is what we are told Jesus’s followers did during this time.

It says in verse 14:

“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” (Acts 1:14)

Prayer expresses and accepts our need to have:

  • Patience for God’s timing
  • Dependence on God’s power
  • Discernment of God’s plan

It is a turn away from self-empowerment and dependence and a turn to trust and depend on God for the help we so desperately need.

  • Year of discernment means seeking God

And the year of discernment needs to have this focus on prayer on seeking God, before doing anything else. Our verse of the year expresses that powerfully:

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

Discerning – 1:15-21

But for the apostles this was also a period of discernment. For them it was not so much about discerning God’s plan – Jesus had told them that in verse 8:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” (Acts 1:8)

Rather the discernment was more about the team.

Discerning the Team

There were 120 followers of Jesus gathering together at this point, they were all involved in prayer and as far as we can tell they were also all involved on the day of Pentecost.

But Jesus had also called Twelve Apostles for the specific service of apostleship. To be the core witness to his life, death and resurrection. The team that would together express the truth about Jesus on which the worldwide church would be built. Indeed, the New Testament contains the essence of their teaching, and so even today as we read, preach and study the Bible, we tap into their witness.

But there was a problem. Jesus had appointed twelve to the team, but Judas had defected and played a key role in the attempt to destroy Jesus, rather than following him. As Peter reflected on what Judas had done and the Psalms of David that seemed so clearly to foreshadow the experience of Jesus as the ultimate Son of David, Peter discerned not just that this was all part of God’s plan, but that Judas needed to be replaced.

The full complement of twelve apostles was needed, that the figurative Twelve was needed to show that Jesus was creating a restored Israel built not on Twelve sons of Israel and their descendants, but on the Twelve witnesses of Jesus and those who believed their message.

So, in this space of waiting and prayer, the church discern who Judas’s replacement should be – someone who practically could fulfil the criteria as a witness to the whole  of Jesus’s ministry, death and resurrection, but also someone chosen by Jesus himself through Lot.

  • Year of discernment means considering mission and team

For us in this year of discernment, we need to discern God’s plan for us here in Ramsgate and now in the 2020s, but we also need to discern the shape and make-up of the kind of team God wants us to be to be his witnesses in Ramsgate in the 2020s and beyond.

This Week’s Notices – 12th May 2024

“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”

(Acts 1:14)

Do you enjoy waiting? I remember when I first went out with Fiona, I used to visit her a few miles away from where I lived in London, then have to catch the night bus home late in the evening. It was a particularly cold winter and waiting at the bus stops was not much fun! No-one likes waiting. Especially when the conditions are inclement.

Yet, God often makes us wait. We are naturally impatient, and in our society often in a rush to get to the next thing. Waiting can be boring. It can be uncomfortable and unsettling, particularly when the future is uncertain, and you do not know how long the wait will be. When will the bus come? Will it ever come? Or will I freeze to death waiting?

The book of Acts starts with the wonderful period of Jesus’ resurrection appearances, where he proves to his numerous disciples that he was truly raised from the dead. But then, Jesus leaves and ascends to heaven. Before doing so what does he tell the disciples to do? To wait. They are to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which will enable them to witness powerfully to the reality of Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:4,8).

So, they wait in Jerusalem. They don’t know how long it will be until the Spirit comes or quite what the future will be like. It must have been an unsettling, uncomfortable and frustrating time. What did they do in this waiting period? They prayed and they discerned who should join them in leadership.

As churches we are engaged in a Year of Discernment. In a way this is a waiting period as we wait for God to show us where he is leading us over the next few years. It is uncomfortable and unsettling, but we need to face the uncertainty and throw ourselves on God in prayer as we seek his will.

Paul Worledge

Thy Kingdom Come

This week is the second phase of the Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative. Do join us for one of the prayer meetings or prayer walks and or try out the prayer space in St. George’s church. Find out more…

St. George’s APCM – Monday 20th May, 7pm, Church

Our upcoming Annual Meeting is a great chance to celebrate and reflect on all God has been doing with us over the last year and to consider where he may be calling us. It is also where we receive the annual report and elect members to the PCC. We can elect up to two church wardens, six PCC members and two Deanery Synod representatives.

If you want to stand for election or nominate someone, then forms are available on the desk at the back of church and must be completed and handed in before the start of the APCM meeting.

The Event, Youth meeting at St. Luke’s, This Sunday

On Sunday 12th May St. Luke’s will be hosting The Event from 6-8pm. This is an evening where young people from across Thanet gather to have fun, eat, hear a message from God’s word and worship together. Please encourage any Secondary School aged young people to come along and enjoy the food, games, praise and teaching. Find out more

If you are able to help – please let Claire know.

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.

ACTS Prayer Day – Saturday 18th May

ACTS is the local Christian schools’ work. The ACTS prayer day is a great opportunity for Christians throughout Thanet to join together to pray for our schools, teachers & children.

It’s on Saturday 18th May (at Elim Oasis Church, Ranelagh Grove, St Peters, CT10 2TE). There are two opportunities:

  • 10am-12noon ‘Interactive Prayer’ (family friendly).
  • 2pm-4pm ‘Prayer for Schools’

Paul’s celebration BBQ

On Sunday 19th May we will be holding a celebration BBQ for Paul who has been at St Luke’s for 20 yrs. 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 join in. There are forms in both churches to sign up to indicate your attendance, to contribute food and to indicate dietary requirements.

Overcoming depression one step at a time

This is the title of a course we are running in the Depression and Anxietiy Self-Help group over ten sessions. Our first session was to introduce the course. Next Wednesday, 15 May, we are holding the second session on How depression works. We’ll be meeting from 6-7.30pm in the Perry Room in the church hall at St Luke’s. Just look for the signs pointing to the room. All are welcome. We will be doing an exercise where we identify our coping strategies and how well they help us. We’ll be doing another exercise where we write down our activities during a typical week and thinking about whether we would like to change how we spend our time.

Links to Share:

The state of culture in 2024

In this insightful article (not Christian) there is a damming enditement of where our culture is heading. Read article (10mins).

Why come to church?

In this 3 minute video, Glen Scrivener gives a beautifully succinct answer as to why as Christians we should be a part of a church. Watch video.

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 12th May

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sunday School (St George’s, 10:30am)

The Event (St Luke’s Church) – 6:00-8:00pm

Monday 13th    

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

Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm

PCC Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 2:00-4:00pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:15-9:30pm

Tuesday 14th    

Thy Kingdom Come 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 15th    

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10-12 noon

Thy Kingdom Come Prayer walk (St. Luke’s Church) – 10:15am-12:00pm

Depression & Anxiety Self-Help Group (Perry Room) – 6:00-7:30pm

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

Thursday 16th

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

Friday 17th    

Thy Kingdom Come Prayer walk (St. George’s Church) – 6:45-8:00pm

Saturday 18th  

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

Open Church (St. George’s Church) – 10:00am-12:00pm [With Thy Kingdom Come prayer stations]

Sunday 19th    

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

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.

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come is an initiative encouraging churches to extra prayer between Ascension Day and Pentecost (9th -19th May, this year). It will start with an Ascension Day service at 12pm at St. Luke’s (after Cafe4All).

We truly want God’s kingdom to come into the lives of those we love, into our community and town. In its basic form we commit to praying for five people every day for 10 days straight

This year we want to encourage prayer triplets, something that could naturally come out of study groups and/or volunteer groups/ friendship groups. We want to encourage these prayer triplets to meet at least a couple of times during those 10 days and pray together for each person’s five.

As well as this, we will have a Thy Kingdom come focus in our morning prayer sessions, prayer stations at St. George’s, and some opportunities for prayer walks as we pray for God’s kingdom to come. See the time table below:

Saturday 11th

Morning prayer at St. George’s 9:30-10:00

St. George’s Church Open – 10:00-12:00 Thy Kingdom come prayer stations

Monday 13th

Morning prayer at St. Luke’s 9:30-10:00

Tuesday 14th

Morning prayer at St. George’s 9:30-10:00 (prayer stations accessible in this time)

Wednesday 15th

Prayer walk (10:15 – 12) – Meet at St. Lukes at 10:15 where we’ll prayer walk to St. George’s for 11, have access to the prayer stations and walk back to St. Luke’s for midday

Thursday 16th

Morning prayer at St. Luke’s 9:30-10:00

Friday 17th

Prayer walk (6:45 – 8pm) – Meet at St. George’s at 6:45pm where we’ll walk down into town, to the harbour and back to St. George’s by 8pm.

Saturday 18th

Morning prayer at St. George’s 9:30-10:00

St. George’s Church Open – 10:00-12:00 Thy Kingdom come prayer stations

2nd Annual St George’s Spring Parade

Thanks to all those who made our 2nd Annual St George’s Spring Parade such a special day despite the awful weather. It’s been fantastic to work with GB Carnival again – big thanks to Teresa and all the team, and to Samba Ya Wantsum for providing the beats to keep us all moving along.

After a joint service with St Luke’s the parade set off on a tour of the town centre, led by our enormous green dragon blowing smoke from her nostrils.

Big thanks also go to Jenny Harris for her wonderful soup and delicious onion rings and to the Friends of St George’s for providing cakes and drinks after the parade. Thanks also to our funders – Canterbury Diocese, Ramsgate Town Council, Creative Lives, The Arts Council and UK Government.

See you again same time next year!

This Week’s Notices – 5th May 2024

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

(1 Corinthians 12:13)

One of the quandaries I sometimes have is that because of Jesus’ grace heaven will include people that I might not ordinarily want to hang out with. How do we get rid of our prejudices and accept that the good news of Jesus is for all? I’m not alone in this pondering.

Peter – the rock that Jesus was to build his church on – had a dream to teach him that God’s love was to be extended beyond the Jews and to include Gentiles too. Breaking his own prejudices. It was against Jewish law for Jews to associate with Gentiles (Acts 10:28) and yet God puts Peter in the path of Cornelius. Cornelius was a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment, he was God fearing and gave generously to those in need and prayed regularly (Acts 10:1-2).

An angel gets Cornelius to reach out to Peter (Acts 10:1-8). Peter is prepared for the encounter in a dream (Acts 10:9-23). Then as he meets Cornelius his eyes are opened to the realisation that ‘God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right’ (Acts 10:34-45). As Peter shares what Jesus has done for the whole world (Acts 10:34-43) God’s Spirit is poured out in Cornelius’s household and Peter baptises them in Jesus’ name.

Cornelius was an upstanding citizen but of a different background to Peter, but how prepared are we to welcome as brothers and sisters those that might not be so upstanding but have equally encountered Jesus through the power of his spirit? How is God challenging us today?

Claire Coleman

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come is an initiative encouraging churches to extra prayer between Ascension Day and Pentecost (9th -19th May, this year). It will start with an Ascension Day service at 12pm at St. Luke’s (after Cafe4All).

We truly want God’s kingdom to come into the lives of those we love, into our community and town. In its basic form we commit to praying for five people every day for 10 days straight

This year we want to encourage prayer triplets, something that could naturally come out of study groups and/or volunteer groups/ friendship groups. We want to encourage these prayer triplets to meet at least a couple of times during those 10 days and pray together for each person’s five.

There will also be the normal daily prayer sessions special Thy Kingdom Come events – check out the calendar and website for more information.

St. George’s Charitable Giving

The PCC wish to review who we give money two in the coming year. We plan to give 2.5% of our basic church income to three charities, one local, one national and one international. Over the last couple of years, the charities have been:

  • St George’s community meal (local)
  • Macmillan’s Cancer Support (national)
  • Christian Aid (international)

We are open to suggestions for charities for the coming years. Please collect a form from the back of church, complete it and return it to Sue Martin. Alternatively use the attached form, fill it in and return to Sue by email.

Paul’s celebration BBQ

On Sunday 19th May we will be holding a celebration BBQ for Paul who has been at St Luke’s for 20 yrs. 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 join in. There are forms in both churches to sign up to indicate your attendance, to contribute food and to indicate dietary requirements.

Training for Open the Book

ACTS are seeking to use Bible Society’s Open the Book in local Primary Schools. It involves acting out Bible stories in school collective worship / assembly. If you are interested there is a training session at Birchington Baptist on Saturday 11th 10:30am-2pm.

Links to Share:

This year we are going for a history theme…

Martin Luther

I enjoy listening to a history podcast, called the Rest is History. They recently did a fiver post series on Luther. In this blog, Graham Tomlin – an expert on Luther – gives the series 9/10. But he has one quibble. Read blog (6 minutes read). You can also check out this Podcast which discusses in more detail some of the understandings of Luther’s teaching and ideas. Listen to Podcast (90 minutes).

 

What would Christians 200 years ago have thought about Christians today?

David Sandifer takes us back to the attitudes of Christians in the early nineteenth century, at a time when Christians were shaping the moral outlook of the nation. Although, we may be quick to dismiss their way of thinking as irrelevant to modern times, he wonders whether we need to look afresh at ourselves from their perspective. Read article. (15 minute read)

Finally, let’s remember that Jesus’s good news is for people from all nations, ethnicities and backgrounds.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

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

 

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 5th May

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Acts 10:44-48

Monday 6th    

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

Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm

Tuesday 7th    

Daily Prayer (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 8th    

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10-12 noon

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

Thursday 9th

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

Ascension Day Communion (St. Luke’s Church) – 12:00-1:00pm.

Saturday 11th  

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

Open Church (St. George’s Church) – 10:00am-12:00pm [With Thy Kingdom Come prayer stations]

Sunday 12th    

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Sunday School (St George’s, 10:30am)

The Event (St Luke’s Church) – 6:00-8:00pm

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.

This Week’s Notices – 28th April 2024

“But thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 15:57)

What counts as victory? Is it your team winning the FA cup or Premiership? Achieving that promotion or job you have always longed for? Winning the hand in marriage of the person you love? Overcoming a life-threatening illness? Or perhaps if you were Ukrainian finally forcing Russian forces to leave your country?

In many cases, victory requires someone or something to be defeated: an opposing football team, other candidates for the job, a life-threatening illness or the Russians. Sometimes those that need to be defeated are mere competitors, but other times they are enemies who are out to destroy us.

This week, we celebrate St. George’s day. In the legend, St. George rescues a maiden in distress from a fearsome dragon who is certainly an enemy out to devour her. His victory over the dragon achieves the maiden and her village’s salvation. His victory becomes their victory.

Paul ends his long chapter reflecting on the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) by emphasising the victory Jesus has won. It is not a victory over a competitor, but over the ultimate enemy of all humankind: death.

Many people claim that religion is not for them. They conceive of the Christian faith as a take it or leave it pastime, only relevant to those who enjoy spiritual activity. But, whether due to illness, an invading army or a dragon, death is the inevitable fate of us all – our greatest enemy. If Jesus has indeed defeated death, then belonging to him so as to share in his greatest and most important of all victories is surely a worthy goal. Everyone should want this victory.

Paul Worledge

This Week’s Sunday Service – 11am – St. George’s Church

St. George and Victory

This Sunday is a joint service at St. George’s church. It will be an All Age service with interactive activities and talks for young and old. There will not be a service at St. Luke’s and unfortunately, we are not able to livestream this service.

After the joint service if you want to take part on the parade, please meet outside the main church door, where you will be directed by stewards down to the top of the pedestrianised part of the High Street. The parade will then set off from there by 12:30pm and will go to the bottom of Harbour Street, then back up the High Street. There will then be lunch available in St. George’s church hall at about 1:30pm.

Planning for Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come is an initiative encouraging churches to extra prayer between Ascension Day and Pentecost (9th -19th May, this year). We would love to mark this with different prayer activities. It would be great to gather a small group to make this happen. Contact Claire to show interest.

Firestarter Event, Friday 2nd May, 7-9pm, St. Philip’s Cliftonville, CT9 3JJ

This event is seeking to unite churches across Thanet in mission for God. There are events for church leaders during the day and an evening event to which everyone is welcome. It will take place at St. Philip’s, Cliftonville, CT9 3JJ.

You can find out more and say you are planning to come using this Facebook Event page.

St. George’s Charitable Giving

The PCC wish to review who we give money two in the coming year. We plan to give 2.5% of our basic church income to three charities, one local, one national and one international. Over the last couple of years, the charities have been:

  • St George’s community meal (local)
  • Macmillan’s Cancer Support (national)
  • Christian Aid (international)

We are open to suggestions for charities for the coming years. Please collect a form from the back of church, complete it and return it to Sue Martin. Alternatively use the attached form, fill it in and return to Sue by email.

BBC Sound Recording in the Church Yard

Last week Steve Ladner from the BBC conducted an interview about John Le Mesurier in the churchyard, where his ashes are buried. You can listen to the five-minute video on BBC Sounds.

Links to Share:

Marriage as Martyrdom

In this post a theology lecturer describes one of her seminars. What really provokes the students? The idea that marriage requires sacrifice. Read more (6 minutes)

Church of England Video on going Net Zero

The Church of England is committed to going Net Zero by 2030. But how might this be achieved. This video highlights some of the work already being done. Watch Video

Finally, let’s live our lives trusting and following the one who has won the victory over death.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

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

 

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 28th April

Joint Service (St George’s, 11:00am) – Reading: 1 Cor. 15:50-58

Monday 29th    

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

Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm

Tuesday 30th    

Daily Prayer (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 1st May   

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10-12 noon

Depression & Anxiety Self-Help Group (Perry Room) – 6:00-7:30pm

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

Thursday 2nd

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

Saturday 4th  

Churches Together Prayer Breakfast (St. Laurence Church) – 9:00-10:00am

Open Church (St. George’s Church) – 10:00am-12:00pm

Sunday 5th    

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Acts 10:44-48

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.