“For just as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

(Romans 5:19)

This week, the sections of the email are:

• Opening Reflection: Lent
• This Sunday: Livestream Link and service information
• Key notices: Confirmation Service – Help Needed, Dare to Pray, St. Luke’s 150^th
• Coming Up: Thanet Churches Together Prayer Gathering, Confirmation Service, Easter Cracked, Men’s Group Games Night
• Interesting Blogs: Childen’s emotions and behaviour, staying human in the age of AI
• Weekly Calendar
• Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, access Safeguarding training

Scroll on…

Opening Reflection

This week we began Lent. For many Lent is reduced to the time when you give something up, whether it be chocolate, alcohol, coffee or something else, but traditionally it is meant to be much more than that.

The aim of Lent is to reflect on our lifestyles and ask ourselves whether we are truly living the way God called us to live. It is a time to focus afresh on God, to acknowledge our sin, give thanks for his grace and mercy and seek to live in obedience. Giving something up or taking on new spiritual habits may help with that, but they are not the ultimate aim of Lent.

Lent is inspied by the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness. During that time, Jesus was preparing for his ministry and was tempted by the devil. The big question for Jesus was whether he would take the hard route and obey God or the easy route and give in to temptation. It was a preparation for a ministry of obedience, which climaxed in his ultimate act of obedience: dying on the cross to bring us forgiveness of sins.

All this is in contrast with Adam, who famously disobeyed God’s one rule not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are all descendants of Adam, and like our ultimate father we all continue to disobey God. The Bible calls that sin.

Yet, God sent Jesus as a second Adam, a new humanity. In contrast to Adam, Jesus obeyed. Now, we have a choice of which humanity we want to belong to. The disobedient one founded by Adam or the obedient one launched by Christ, through whom we can be made righteous in God’s sight.

Paul Worledge

This Sunday – 22^nd February

Adam and Christ (Romans 5:12-19)

Join us this Sunday for our communion service as we look at how Jesus offers us the chance to be part of a better humanity. All the children’s groups will be running as normal after their half-term break.

Key Notices:

Confirmation Service – Help Needed

St. Luke’s is hosting a confirmation service on Saturday 28^th February 2026 at 5pm. We really need volunteers to help out in the following areas:

• Welcomers, please see James
• Music, please see Fiona
• Audiovisual, please see James

For after the service refreshments we want to provide hot drinks and cake. If you can make a cake for the service, then please sign the list at the back of church.

Dare to Pray

Join us this Saturday, 21^st February, 9:30-10:30am at St. George’s church, to pray for the ongoing development of our Vision together as churches.

St. Luke’s 150^th

In preparation for St. Luke’s 150^th later this year, we have produced a newsletter about the upcoming celebrations, and also the future plans for our two churches. Copies are available at the back of church.

Coming Up:

Thanet Churches Together Prayer Gathering

Sunday 22^nd February, 6:30pm, St. James’ Church, Westgate, CT9 5JU

Confirmation Service

Sat. 28^th Feb., 5pm, St. Luke’s Church

Please come and support candidates from St. Luke’s, St. George’s and other local churches being confirmed and baptised at the end of February. There will be around nine candidates from St. Luke’s and four from St. George’s. Bishop Rose will be taking the service.

Easter Cracked

St. Luke’s will be hosting 80 Year 6 pupils from St. Lawrence College and Newlands School on the morning of Tuesday 24^th March. If you can volunteer to help host and run the workshop (setting up from 9am and tidying up until about mid-day), then please let Paul know.

There is also going to be a training and resource making session for all the Easter Cracked events across Thanet on Wednesday 25^th February, 12pm at St. Peter’s Baptist Church, run by Active Christianity in Thanet Schools.

Men’s Group Games Night

The next event is a Games night at St Lukes, 12th March.

Interesting Blogs to Share:

Children’s Emotions and Behaviours

A short video (90seconds) helping parents to consider how to work with their child to understand how they are feeling and why. Find out more…

 

Staying Human in the age of AI

With the growth in AI and its use, questions are raised about what it means to be human and how not to lose our humainty in the face of being replaced by AI. Read more…

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 22^nd February – The First Sunday of Lent

Communion Service (St. Luke’s Church) Romans 5:12-19 – 11:00am-12:00pm

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Churches Together Prayers (St James’ Church, Westgate) 6:30pm

Monday 23^rd     

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

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 7:30-9:00pm

Tuesday 24^th   

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

Wednesday 25^th 

Ash Wednesday Service (St. George’s Church) – 11:00am-noon

Joint PCC Meeting (St Luke’s Hall) – 7.30pm

Thursday 26^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

Confirmation Course (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 11:30am-1:00pm

Saturday 28^th     

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

Confirmation Service (St Luke’s Church) – 5pm

Sunday 1^st March – The Second Sunday of Lent

Family Service (St. Luke’s Church) Galatians 5:13-26 – 11:00am-12:00pm

Life Groups

Will you dare to share the Christian life with others? Life groups are a great way to meet together regularly with a small group of other Christians, for mutual support, to share in reading God’s word and to pray for one another.

Please see Paul if you are interested in joining one. There are groups at the following times:

• Monday evenings
  • Tuesday afternoons
  • Wednesday mornings
  • Wednesday evenings

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@churchramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Finally, let’s align ourselves with the new humanity of Jesus.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)