‘The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.’
(Romans 8:16-17a)
This week we celebrate Trinity Sunday where we reflect on the mystery and wonder of God, being Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not some sort of abstract description of God. The Trinity bears witness to the fact that the life of God is shared life – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – in relationship with each other, distinct but one.
God is our ‘Father’ – meaning he is our creator – the one who gave us life and who has all our days in the palm of his hands.
Jesus is God the Son, who was the model of perfect humanity and died for the forgiveness of our rebellion against God who created us. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, it was then possible for all who confess in His name to be called children of God and therefore we’re co-heirs with Jesus.
God’s Holy Spirit lives within us who believe what God did for us through Jesus and is a seal of God’s love over us, enabling us to have more and more of the family resemblance.
This shared life between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is a life we’ve been invited in to. We are part of that relationship – we’ve been co-opted into the family.
What is the impact of knowing we are God’s children, that we are co-heirs with Christ and sealed with God’s Holy Spirit? How does that make us feel? How does it make us live? Let’s ask God to reveal more of himself and enjoy the impact of being in relationship with him – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Claire Coleman
This Week’s Sunday Service – 11am
Trinity Sunday – Join the Dance (Isaiah 6:1-8)
Join us for an All Age Service this Trinity Sunday. This week we reflect on God as Trinity, three persons, one God and how we are invited to join in with his life.
Thank You
A big Thank You to the Social Events Team and others who made last Sunday such a special occasion. Fiona and I are very grateful for all the efforts made and the very kind, unexpected and unnecessary gift of just over £300. It was a lovely afternoon, and we really enjoyed the day. Thanks for everyone’s support.
Gift Day Update
We are really grateful for people’s generosity in donating to our appeal to buy two new noticeboards for St. Luke’s. So far £1913.13 has been donated. In addition to this we can claim £350.28 in Gift Aid. We will donate 10% of the total to CPAS, which leaves us with £2,037 for the signs. This is the target we were aiming for. However, we will keep the appeal open until Monday 27th in case anyone else wants to contribute – the more money we have the better the signs we can buy. To contribute click on this link.
Volunteers
We rely heavily on a large team of volunteers in all kinds of areas to ensure the smooth running of our Sunday Service. We are particularly looking to recruit a few more volunteers to help run our Audio-visual and livestreaming equipment during the service and to welcome people to the service. If you think you could help in either of these areas on a rota basis and with a little training then please speak to James Patterson.
Computer Repair
Last week, we struggled slightly with our audio visual, because the main computer had died, and we were using a back-up laptop. The good news is that we were able to repair the computer this week for a small cost and things should be running normally!
Welcoming the new curate
Beth our new curate, husband Tom and son Toby are moving to Ramsgate in the middle of June. It would be good to provide some kind of welcome package for when they move in. If you would like to volunteer to co-ordinate this or to help in some way, please let Paul know this week.
Parenting for Teens Course
BRF are running an online Parenting Teens Course on Tuesday evenings from 4/6/24 – 9/7/24 | 20:00 – 21:00. This summer, we are running our brand new Parenting Teens course for church groups of parents and carers of tweens and teens. The sessions are suitable for all Christian parents of tweens/teens who long for them to meet and know God. You will have your own breakout room as a church (or multiple breakout rooms if you need) so that parents and carers can get to know each other better. We need to book as a church or churches but will need to have enough participants to make it worthwhile. Please let Paul know this week if you would like to attend this course.
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…
CPAS Connect
Want to know more about the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS) and their work? They are one of the missions we support at St. Luke’s and they are also our patrons, which means they have a say in the appointment of a new vicar. Find out More…
Links to Share:
General Election 2024 – Britain and the Bible
This thought provoking video from the Bible helps us think through how we as Bible believing Christians should be engaging with the political debate. Especially relevant at this time leading up to a General Election. Watch Video (4 mins).
General Election advice from CARE
You can also check out the CARE website, which has various resources to help you ‘prayerfully consider your vote.’ Check it out…
Leaders Wanted
What kind of leaders do we want or need? That’s a big question at a General Election, but it is also important at all levels of leadership. In this article, Elizabeth Wainwright, who serves on a local council, reflects on the kind of leaders we need. Read on… (10 minutes)
Finally, let’s join in with the life of the Trinity.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 26th May
Creative Group Singing Practice (St Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:30am
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Isaiah 6:1-8, 11:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday 28th
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm
Thursday 30th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Cafe4All (St. Luke’s Church), Coffee and Chat for all – 10:00-11:30am.
Friday 31st
Gather, Women’s Drop-In (St. Luke’s Church) – 12:30-2:30pm
Saturday 1st June
Churches Together Prayer Breakfast (St. Mark’s Church) – 9:00-10:00am
Sunday 2nd
Creative Group Singing Practice (St Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:30am
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Mark 2:23-3:6, 11:00am-12:00pm
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. Luke’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. You can also listen to the sermon through the podcast website castbox.
Safeguarding Training
If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.
If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@stlukesramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.
St. Luke's Church Ramsgate 