“By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.”

(Hebrews 11:31)

This week, the sections of the email are:

• Opening Reflection: Rahab’s Faith
• This Sunday: Thread of Hope (Joshua 2:1-24)
• Key notices: ACTS presentation, ACTS Job Opportunity, Diocesan Safeguarding Survey,Preparing for St. Luke’s 150^th,
• Coming Up: Friends of St. George’s Art Show, ACTS: Update Evening, Vicarage BBQs, Men’s Group BBQ, Sailors’ Church Services
• Interesting Blogs: Why did God command Israel to invade Canaan?, How to handle tough topics in the Bible
• Weekly Calendar
• Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, Safeguarding

Scroll on…

Opening Reflection

Who is it that can be saved? At first glance, the book of Joshua appears to be simply a book about an invasion of one nation by another. The Israelites enter the Promised Land, defeat those already living there, and settle the land in their place. We naturally have ethical concerns about what happened, especially in the light of modern Israel’s recent treatment of the Palestinians.

Yet, the Bible sees this as a unique situation. Yes, God is blessing Israel by giving them the land, but he is also judging the people of the land by taking it away from them. In Genesis, God is clear to Abraham, that his descendants will have to wait until the sins of the people there had become bad enough to deserve judgement (Genesis 15:16). Violent conquest is not a pattern to be imitated.

In chapter 1 God promises Joshua and the Israelites, victory in the upcoming invasion. At one level this could be read as God being racially biased. He is for the Israelites, and against the rest. Yet, even here, the emphasis is on encouraging Joshua to have faith that God will be with him and to be obedient to God’s commands (1:7-8). Then, chapter 2, immediately shows us that God is more concerned with faith rather than race.

Rahab is one of the people under judgement. What is more she is a prostitute. Yet, she believes in the God of Israel, and she chooses to be on his side. In so doing, she wins salvation for herself and her whole family and ultimately becomes the great-great-grandmother of King David.

Who is it that can be saved? Anyone, if they will only have faith in the God of Jesus Christ and give their allegiance to him.

Paul Worledge

This Sunday

Thread of Hope (Joshua 2:1-24)

This Sunday, we continue our series on Joshua. We will also be hearing about the work of ACTS sharing the faith in our local schools. All our normal children’s groups are running.

Key Notices:

ACTS Presentation

This Sunday Charlotte and Sandra from ACTS (Active Christianity in Thanet Schools) will be speaking about the work of this organisation. There will be a collection for ACTS during the service and any money given on the gift machine will go to the work of ACTS.

ACTS Job Opportunity

ACTS is looking to appoint a new Primary Schools Work facilitator. Find out more here.

Diocesan Safeguarding Survey

As you may be aware INEQE Safeguarding Group have been commissioned to conduct Independent Safeguarding Audits of the Church of England to make sure dioceses and cathedrals are doing all they can to create environments where everyone feels safe, valued and respected. As part of the audit process for Canterbury, INEQE hope to engage with parishioners and members of the parish community through an online survey which will act as a mechanism through which individuals can comment on any matters relevant to the Audit’s focus. The survey is both anonymous (we are not seeking to identify you) and confidential (you will not be identified). We would therefore ask you to be open and honest with your responses. The survey results are received directly by INEQE’s Audit Team and not by the Church of England. The survey is now live and will close at 11.30 pm on Wednesday 2nd of September 2026. Access the Survey.

Preparing for St. Luke’s 150^th

We are still looking for people to form a team to help plan and run celebration events for our 150^th anniversary, which we will celebrate on 18^th October. If you are interested in helping out in any way, please talk to Peter Erlam or Paul.

Also, it would be great to collect 150 ‘Anni-verse-aries’ by then. So, please do grab a card at the back of church, write down your favourite verse and a couple of sentences about why it matters to you.

Coming Up:

Friends of St. George’s Art Show

This will run from 10^th to 19^th July, 2-5pm, in St. George’s Church. If you want to enter a painting, drawings, prints or mixed media contact Elaine on e_hartnell@yahoo.com or Janet on 01843 852780.

ACTS: Update Evening

Monday 13^th July, 7pm, St. Philip’s Church, Palm Bay, CT9 3JJ.

Join us for an evening of prayer, thanksgiving and updates about the work of ACTS. As well as a time to catch up with the ACTS team, Abi, Charlotte, Rhodri and the trustees over a cuppa and a slice of cake.

Vicarage BBQs

These will take place on Saturdays 18^th and 25^th July, 5-8pm. Invitations and sign-up sheets are now available at the back of the church. If you can’t make the date that you have been allocated, then please feel free to sign up for the other date.

Men’s Group BBQ

£10. A chance to relax together over some excellent BBQ food. 6:30pm, Wednesday 22^nd July. See fliers for more information or contact Bruce on 07708 682464.

Sailors’ Church Services

Each Sunday in August, refreshments from 5:30pm, service starts at 6pm. Join us for some lovely services in Ramsgate harbour’s Sailor’s Church. This year the theme will be: ‘Wisdom.’

Interesting Blogs to Share:

Why did God command Israel to invade Canaan?

One of the harder parts of the Bible to accept today is God’s command to the Israelites to invade the land of Canaan and kill its inhabitants. It has become an even more difficult passage given what has happened in Gaza over the last few years. In this video John Lennox, gives a helpful way to understand what was happening. Watch video… (11 mins)

How to handle tough topics in the Bible

This is an advert for a course from the same people who brought us the Bible Course, which we used last autumn. However, it offers some quick advice to dealing with tough questions that reading the Bible may raise. Read more…

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 12^th – Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Family Service (St. Luke’s Church) Joshua 2:1-24 – 11:00am-12:00pm

Monday 13^th           

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

Tuesday 14^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

Wednesday 15^th     

Gardening Group (St. Luke’s Church) – 10:30am-12:00pm

Thursday 16^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 17^th     

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

Saturday 18^th      

Dare to Pray Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:30am

Vicarage BBQ (St Luke’s Vicarage Garden) – 5:00-8:00pm

Sunday 19^th – Seventh Sunday after Trinity

Family Communion (St. Luke’s Church) Joshua 3:14-4:18 – 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 now more groups available! They meet at the following times:

• Monday evening (two groups)
• Tuesday afternoon
• Wednesday morning
• Wednesday evening
• Thursday morning

There is also a youth life group on a Sunday afternoon.

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

Our website is now updated with the latest information about Safeguarding and links to the Diocesan form for reporting concerns and accessing training.

Training

If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities you should take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years. If you hold a role connected with vulnerable adults or children and young people, then you will also need to take the Foundation Module. Once you have completed your training, please forward that certificate to James, our administrator, (office@churchramsgate.org) so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Finally, let’s keep the faith.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)