“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!”

(Revelation 5:12)

Money is constantly in the news. Indeed, the business of government revolves around financial questions: What should be taxed? Should we spend our money on foreign aid or more defences? Should we raise taxes or cut benefits? These are the kinds of difficult choices that governments face. But they are also the kind of choices we face at a personal level. What we choose to do with our money says a lot about what and who we think is important in life.

This week, we are looking at the story of Jesus being anointed at Bethany (John 12:1-8). As Jesus reclines at a dinner held in honour of him, Mary anoints him with perfume worth the equivalent of a labourer’s annual salary. This is an extravagent and incredibly expensive act of devotion. For Mary, devotion to Jesus is what matters most.

Judas, however, complains that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor. He has a point. In Mark 10, Jesus told the rich man to ‘sell everything and give to the poor.’ Judas seems to be expressing a devotion to caring for the poor. Surely, that’s a good use of money?

But Jesus defends Mary. She is seizing her last opportunity to express her devotion. Jesus will soon be gone, but the poor will remain, there will be time to spend money on them.

So, what do we spend our money on? Do we spend money on our personal needs? Do we support the ministry of the church to promote worship of Christ? Or do we give to charities that care for the poor? For Christians all these things are important, all should feature in our budgeting. We need to pray for wisdom on what proportion of our wealth we give to each.

Paul Worledge

Churches Together Prayer Breakfast – Saturday 9-10am

Join members of churches from across Ramsgate for breakfast and prayer. This Saturday, we are at Newington Free Church.

Sunday Service, 6^th April 11am

Jesus’ Anointing (John 12:1-8)

This week we consider Jesus’ anointing by Mary in the lead up to his death and resurrection. There will be all the normal children’s groups, music, prayers and Bible teaching.

Youth and Children’s Pastor Interviews

We are interviwing a couple of candidates for this new post this Thursday (10^th April). Ideally we would like a couple of people to act as hosts for the candidates on the day. You would need to be available between 11am and 2pm. Please see Paul to volunteer asap.

We would also like a few older children or teenagers to be involved in the process. This would involved doing a short exercise with the candidates. The children would need to be available from 12:30-2pm. If you or your children might be interested in helping in this important role, please see Paul asap.

Lynne Bone’s Funeral – Wednesday 9^th, 2pm

Lynne Bone’s funeral is going to be held this coming Wednesday at 2pm in Rugby. If you would like to attend, then Paul is planning to drive there and back on the Wednesday. We would leave Ramsgate at about 9am and return late. Paul can take up to six passengers. If you would like to come then please let Paul know asap.

Easter Services

Check out and share details of our Easter Services on the Website.

Electoral Roll – 63 signed up so far…

If you haven’t yet signed up for the PCC, you are a regular member of the church, have been coming for at least six months and are baptised, then please sign up for the electoral rolls asap. Either online or with the form at the back of church.

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.

Our Annual Church meeting (APCM) will be on Thursday 22^nd May at 7:30pm in the Church Hall. At this meeting we will be updating you on plans for our Vision 2030 and electing members to our PCC. Please put the date in the diary. Also, please consider standing for our PCC or nominating someone who would be a good fit. We need the wisdom of a variety of church members to help us guide the church over the coming years.

Titanic Journey – 2-4pm, Sat. 5^th 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. Mark’s Spring Fare – Sat. 5^th April, St. Mark’s

St. Mark’s are holding a Spring Fayre on Saturday 5th April, 10:30am-2:30pm. Admission is free. If you want to have a stall then please contact either Zena (07727 087313) or Helen (07974 123048). The cost for a stall is £10.

Men’s Group Evening Ramble – Thursday 10^th April, 7pm

Meeting at 7pm at the West Cliff Boating Pool. 7:45pm return from Cliffsend Garage. A free event. Join us, there and back, or just one way. Transport can be offered for those living at a distance or only wishing to walk one way. For those who want to, we will aim to stop for a drink on the way back to the boating pool (cost not included).  For more information contact Bruce Stokes, 07708 682464.

British Sign Language – Free Classes

We will starting a little class on Thursday mornings to learn British Sign Language for anyone who’s interested. It will be quite basic, just to learn a few everyday words and letters. It will be starting on the 10^th April, and will be every OTHER week from 11 to 11.30 am.

 

Tower and Crypt Tours – Can you help?

Please contact Jemima on either 07971782477 or via email regenerationofficer@stgeorgechurchramsgate.uk if you are able to get involved with helping to host the tours.

They will be on during the summer to coincide with the Yard Sales and Heritage Open Days and we are also doing a couple of dates in May as well. The dates are Saturdays: 17th May, 24th May, 14th June, 12th July, 9th August, 13th September and 20th September.

St. George’s Day Parade

In preparation for the St. George’s Day parade on 27^th 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:

Larry Sanger’s Testimony

Larry Sanger is a co-founder of Wikipedia and Philosopher. He has recently come out as a Christian and this testimony explains his journey to faith. It is a very long testimony with a lot of deep thinking, but well worth a listen it read. Watch video (90 mins) or read.

Blaise Pascal and the Cultural Wars

There is a lot of talk these days about culture wars. I this article, Graham Tomlin points out that they are nothing new and looks to some wisdom from Blaise Pascal about how we should respond to them. Read more (10 mins).

Finally, let’s prayerfully consider how we use our money.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)

 

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 6^th – Fifth Sunday in Lent

Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), John 12:1-8, 11:00am-12:00pm

Monday 7^th 

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

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

Tuesday 8^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 9^th  

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

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

Thursday 10^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 11^th  

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

Saturday 12^th   

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

Sunday 13^th – Palm Sunday

Family Service (St. Luke’s Church), John 12:1-8, 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.