Since last week's piece on the activities at St Andrew's, Ascension Day and the Seventh Sunday of Easter have all come and gone. Reader Rosemary's two homilies centred upon the Readings appropriate to those two services of worship. Of the big themes associated with Easter, namely, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost, Ascension seems to be the least celebrated. The gospels tell us of Jesus going to heaven but this doesn't mean that heaven is somewhere above us in the clouds, so to speak. However, this Feast does nonetheless point to our destiny. Heaven is accessible to us even if we should not think of glancing upwards. Ascension is about eternal life. At that time, for those first disciples, they faced challenges. No doubt, fear and uncertainty existed. Jesus was no longer with them but they had been instructed to preach and carry on. Pentecost was yet to happen. The gospels describe the earliest followers of Jesus as a mixed bunch indeed, from different walks of life. But they were all chosen. Now it is up to us. The task is always being passed on. Our physical church will continue as a beacon for hope and prayer. Ascension is in fact a beautiful Feast. The first disciples were to be empowered by God through the Holy Spirit. Pentecost was to mark the Birthday of the Church. "Thy Kingdom Come."
This Saturday, 23rd May, between 10am and 12noon, there is Coffee Shop in the Chapter House. Then, on Sunday, 24th May, at 10am, there is Parish Eucharist, celebrating Pentecost, followed by a 'cuppa' and fellowship in the Chapter House. For any visitors who may be attending Communion for the first time at St Andrew's, they will see that in the South Aisle and about half of the main body of the building, the Nave, is currently under scaffolding because way above our heads, essential repairs are taking place and this will be continuing for a few weeks. This has necessitated some changes to the seating in the pews but there is certainly enough seating space. We apologise for this state of affairs. Dust will be under control with dedicated help prior to days of corporate worship. We love our ancient church but of course, it isn't a museum. It has a purpose and we continue to make sure that safety and maintenance continue as priorities. Please take care when visiting and remember that there will be work, hopefully not too noisy, going on inside during the week.
New members of the PCC (Church Parochial Council) and Deanery Synod representatives and Churchwardens, voted in last week in our APCM (Annual Parochial Church Meeting), have received our thanks for their work ahead and we wish them well.
Any other future events will not be given in this week's report. For further information, refer to the church website and the two outside notice boards. Next week, the up-and-coming activities will be given in this newspaper, as well as some more distant dates for your diary.