“Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.”

(Psalm 34:9)

We often think of fear as a negative emotion. Certainly, for many people, living in fear can be a stressful experience that leads to anxiety and depression. Some fears or phobias can also be quite limiting. For example, an agoraphobic, which is someone afraid of open spaces can find it hard to leave the house. For others living in fear, because you are with a violent partner is a terrible state to live in, whilst fears of bad things happening in the future, like losing a job, can lead to high levels of stress and anxiety.

Yet, fear is also a good and necessary part of life. Sometimes being afraid can make you feel more alive. I guess that is why people deliberately take on scary activities like bungy jumping, fare rides or parachuting. Also, fear is a protective emotion. A healthy fear of heights ensures that you are careful around cliff edges and so protects you from falling. We naturally fear snakes, because we know their bites can be poisonous, so our fear helps us to steer clear of them. Similarly, we are meant to fear the consequences of breaking the law. The hope is that fear of being locked up for a long time will help us to resist the temptation to steal or murder.

Both, the Old and New Testaments stress the importance of fearing God. Our spirituality should lead us to know God more fully, both intellectually and at a heart level. The more we know God, the more we understand how much he loves us and that he wants the best for us, but also that we need to fear his righteous and good judgement for us and for others, in a way that is similar to fearing the judgement of the law, but more so, because God is the true and eternal judge. Fear of God, then is freeing not limiting, it brings peace, because we are confident that justice will win out and it develops a wisdom in us, that will enable us to prosper in life.

Paul Worledge

 

Sad News

Sadly, Ced Hann, passed away in Ramsgate Hospice at 12:30pm on Wednesday. Ced and his wife, Jean, have both been members of St. Luke’s since they were teenagers and have been married for sixty-five years. He played a key part in church life, throughout his life, singing in the music group, being a church warden, running a Bible Study group in his house, leading services and in many other ways not noticed. He will be a much-missed friend and brother in Christ. Please pray for Jean and the family at this difficult time. We will of course let you know about arrangements for the funeral as soon as they have been decided.

Sunday Service, 9^th February, 11am

Spirituality for Dark Times: Fearing (Psalm 34)

We often think of spirituality as bringing us a sense of peace and comfort from connecting with God’s love and that is true. But it should also bring us into a healthy fear of God. Find out more as we continue our Spirituality for Dark Times series this Sunday. All the normal children’s group will be running.

Church Heating

We apologise if the church was a bit cooler than normal in the last two weeks of January. This was due to problems with two of our three boilers. These have now been fixed, so the church should feel warmer.

It’s a Love Story, Concert Saturday 15^th February, 7:30pm

Love Story will be another gala fundraiser night at St George’s church, featuring Coastal Choir and guests with the St George’s Community Meal and Speak Up sharing the proceeds. Tickets available online (£8), from Brenda Clarke (£8) or £10 on door.

 

Christ Church Services

There will be evening prayer services at Christ Church, at 3pm on 2^nd Sunday of the month starting this Sunday.

Fundraiser for the Community Meal

As part of International Women’s Day, Raushan Ara is hosting a “World on your Plate” fundraising event in aid of the St. George’s Community Meal. Participants have a chance to dress culturally and bring a dish of their own country to share. There will be guest speakers and live dance and music. Saturday 8^th March, 1pm, Ramsgate Tandoori, Harbour Street.

Calling all Musicians and Singers

We are looking to expand the number of different groups of musicians leading our praises at church on Sunday mornings. This means there will be a rota of groups, so those involved do not have to commit to playing or singing every week. If you are interested in being part of one of the groups as a singer or musician or help with the audio-visual, then please fill in the sign up sheet on the Welcome desk at the back of church.

Newsletter

Please check out the latest Active Christianity in Thanet Schools newsletter.

Links to Share:

Dark Spiritual Encounters and Hidden Dangers

This is a quite academic study of how we should understand and respond to the rise of dark spiritual practices like witchcraft. Read on… (20 mins)

 

The Spirituality if non-violence

This short article, gives ‘Ten Commandments’ for those seeking to be a peacemaker. Read on…  (2 mins)

Finally, let’s learn to live in fear of God.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 9^th February – Fourth Sunday before Lent

Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Psalm 34, 11:00am-12:00pm

Monday 10^th

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

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

Tuesday 11^th

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

Christ Church Toddlers @ St Luke’s (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 9:30-11:30am

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

Wednesday 12^th

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

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

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

Thursday 13^th

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 14^th

Play and Praise (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 10:00-11:30am

Saturday 15^th

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

Coastal Choir Concert (St. George’s Church) – 7:30-9:30pm

Sunday 16^th – Third Sunday before Lent

Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Psalm 23, 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.