“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
from the house of the Lord we bless you!”
(Psalm 118:26)
When I was growing up, my parents had good reason on a number of occasions to be disappointed with me. If I’m honest, I would have preferred them to be out and out angry. It can be a horrible feeling when someone is disappointed – when you know you let yourself down.
The theme this week is Jesus’ sorrow, but in many ways, I think ‘disappointment’ was the emotion He was feeling at the end of Luke 13. God’s chosen people, miraculously rescued from Egypt and given a wonderful code to live by, had repeatedly fallen short of the mark. When Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30, there was great enthusiasm for His miracles, but little appetite for His challenging teaching.
It’s probably important that we hear His words collectively. How have we as churches (as opposed to individuals) disappointed Jesus? The shortcomings of the Pharisees are itemised in Matthew 23, but what might Jesus want to say to us today? Given that His summary of the Old Testament Law was that we should love God and our neighbour, it may be that we should give thought to this question: are our rituals becoming more important than our relationships?
Bruce Stokes
Sunday Service, 16th March, 11am
This Sunday we look at Jesus’s passionate reaction to the city of Jerusalem in his time. This week we will be celebrating Holy Communion and there will be all the normal children’s groups.
Ced Hann’s funeral
A big thank you to all who helped to make Ced’s funeral such a good occasion on Wednesday. Please continue to pray for Jean and the family at this sad time. If you missed it you can still watch the Livestream. Link to Livestream.
Electoral Roll
The electoral roll is the list of members of St. Luke’s parish who have the right to vote at our annual meeting. Every six years, the roll has to be renewed from scratch and 2025 is one of those years. So, if you consider yourself a member of St. Luke’s then please complete an electoral roll application, whether you were on the electoral roll before or not. To qualify to be on the electoral roll, you must be baptised, over 16 and either live in the parish of St. Luke’s or have attended St. Luke’s for six months or more. It’s quick and easy to fill in an online form: apply to be on the electoral roll. If you are not sure which parish you live in then you can check via this website.
Youth and Children’s Pastor
St. Luke’s is now advertising for a Youth and Children’s Pastor. You can check out the details on the website. The deadline for applications is on 31st March. Please pray that we can find a really good candidate for this important role. Find out more…
Have you a ‘listening ear’ or a ‘welcoming heart’?
We are looking to recruit volunteers to be trained to provide an offer of a listening ear and prayer after the church services. If you are interested, then please fill in this short online form.
In addition, we would like to create a team of mentors to support new people when they join St. Luke’s. If you are interested in this role, then please fill in this short online form.
Free Piano Concert – 12pm, Thu. 20th March, St. Luke’s
Featuring music from local composer, Bob Ward, Petra Hadjuchova will be performing a piano concert just after Cafe4All.
Revelation Strings Concert – 3pm, Sat. 22nd March, St. Luke’s
This orchestra is made up of experienced and young musicians and is in association with St. Lawrence College. It should be a lovely concert. £10 entry, but children are free.
Thanet United Prayer Event, Sunday 23rd, 6:30-7:45pm
Join Christians from around Thanet at Holy Trinity Margate, as we come together to pray for Thanet, UK & the world.
Easter Cracked Tuesday 26th March
We are hoping to run this event for local schools at St. Luke’s on this date. Any volunteers to help the youngsters make ‘Easter Nests’ and with the general running of the event would be welcome. Please see Paul.
Titanic Journey – 2-4pm, Sat. 5th April, St. George’s
Local historian, Bob Pryor presents, ‘My life with Titanic’. Tickets are £5 in advance and available onlineof £7 on the door.
St. George’s Day Parade
In preparation for the St. George’s Day parade on 27th April, GB Carnival are looking for donations of clean tin cans and plastic tubs. You can drop off your donations at the Carnival Club in St. George’s Hall 5-7pm every Wed. or at Community Soup in the church from 12 -2pm every Wed. and Sat.
Links to Share:
A Forgotten War
Our news has been dominated by war in Gaza and Ukraine, but we hear little about an even more devastating war going in in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Read more from Tearfund…
A Church wide Digital Fast?
This article briefly describes the experience of a church wide digital detox. Read more..
Finally, let’s look to prioritise our relationships as we seek to grow as God’s people.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 16th – Second Sunday in Lent
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Luke 13:31-35, 11:00am-12:00pm
Monday 17th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:15-9:30pm
Tuesday 18th
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 19th
Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon
Depression & Anxiety Self-Help Group – 6:00-7:30pm
Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm
Thursday 20th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Cafe4All (St. Luke’s Church), Coffee and Chat for all – 10:00-11:30am
Men’s Group Magic Show (Slice, Harbour Street), £5 – 7:00-9:00pm
Friday 21st
Play and Praise (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 10:00-11:30am
Saturday 22nd
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Sunday 23rd – Third Sunday in Lent
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), Isaiah 55:1-9, 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.cess 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. of who has done the training.
St. Luke's Church Ramsgate 