“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”
(Isaiah 55:1)
This week, the sections of the email are:
- Opening Reflection: The Invitation
- This Sunday: The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14)
- Key notices: Planned Giving Review, Anni-verse-ries, Light Party
- Coming Up: Baroque Recital – This Saturday, Barn Dance, 150th Celebration Service with Lunch, Thanet United Prayer, World War I talk
- Interesting Blogs: The Quiet Revival Podcast, Ancient Monks and Modern Missions
- Weekly Calendar
- Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, Safeguarding
Scroll on…
Opening Reflection
We believe in a God who is gracious. Although, we may have nothing to offer God and may have lived our lives in rebellion against him, it is never too late to turn back to him and receive an incredibly generous welcome.
And that is God’s invitation to everyone. But will we accept it? The sad truth is that most people live their lives ignoring or avoiding the invitation. They work hard to achieve satisfaction in life without God, through careers, relationships, possessions, achievements, family or whatever. In their thinking there is no time to accept God’s free invitation, because they are too busy working for other things.
But do these other things offer ultimate satisfaction? St. Augustine famously said, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”
Are you resisting God’s invitation? Will you miss out on what brings eternal and ultimate satisfaction, because you are too busy chasing what is ultimately meaningless?
And if you have accepted the invitation, are you set for the party? An invitation to a garden party at Buckingham Palace would mean washing your hair, polishing your shoes and dressing in your finest clothes. If you turned up in a ripped t-shirt and dirty jeans you would probably expect to be thrown out. In the same way to accept God’s invitation is free, but it does insist that we clothe ourselves with the characteristics of a godly character.
The invitation is free to all. Accepting it is transformational.
Paul Worledge
This Sunday
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14)
This Sunday, all the children’s groups are running. We finish our series on the Parables in Matthew’s gospel with the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.
Key Notices:
Planned Giving Review
Every autumn we ask people to consider their regular giving to St. Luke’s for the coming year and to consider giving a one-off gift to help us cover our costs for this year. In 2026, our Sunday to respond to this will coincide with the celebrations of the 150th on Sunday 18th October. For those who indicated that they were willing to receive letters about their finances there are named envelopes available on the table at the back. There are also some unnamed envelopes, so if you do not have one with your name and would like to consider giving to the church, please take one of those.
Anni-verse-ries
For St. Luke’s 150th Anniversary, we are collecting everyone’s favourite verses. We are beginning to display them in church and on the church website. Please use this form to submit your favourite verse and if you can, give a brief reason why this verse is important to you. So far, we have only 28, but it would be great to reach 150, so please start submitting!
Light Party
Normally, we run a Light Party for children and families in the church as an alternative to Halloween on 31st October. Many of those who helped run it last year are not available this year. If you are able and willing to help run it this year on the evening of 31st October, then please let Paul know this Sunday, so we can decide whether it is viable or not.
Coming Up:
Baroque Recital – 150th Event
Petra Hajduchova will be giving a harpsichord recital at St. Luke’s at 3pm on Saturday 10th October. This will be free, but donations will be welcome to be split between Petra and the church. Find out more…
Barn Dance – 150th Event
Join us for hot food and dancing. St. Luke’s Hall, 7pm, Saturday 17th October. Tickets are £5 and available from Trevor Kenney 07792 828097.
150th Celebration Service with Lunch
The focus of our 150th celebrations will be on Sunday 18th October, 11am which is St. Luke’s Day. We have a guest speaker from the Church Pastoral Aid Society, our patrons, and will follow the service with a finger buffet lunch. Everyone is welcome. This will also be a joint service with St. George’s.
Thanet United Prayer
The next Thanet wide united prayer meeting will be on Sunday 18th October, 6:30pm at the Salvation Army in Margate, Ct9 1NS.
World War I Talk
An illustrated talk by Margaret Bolton looking at the lives of some of the men who served and the town they left behind. Saturday, 7th November, 3pm, St. George’s Church. Admission £5. Proceeds to the St. George’s restoration fund. Find out more…
Interesting Blogs to Share:
The Quiet Revival Podcast
Join us as we discuss how your church can strengthen discipleship and help people grow Bible confidence. How will your church respond to the spiritual atmosphere in England and Wales? Find our more…
Ancient Monks, Modern Missions
The monastic movement was at the heart of Christian mission for over 1,000 years. What lessons can we learn from this movement that can be applied to our Christian lives in the twenty-first century? Read more…
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 11th – Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church) Matthew 22:1-14 – 11:00am-12:00pm
Monday 12th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Tuesday 13th
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 14th
Gardening Group (St. Luke’s Church) – 10:30am-12:00pm
Thursday 15th
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 16th
Play & Praise (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 10:00-11:30am
Saturday 17th
Dare to Pray (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:30am
Barn Dance (St. Luke’s Church) – 7:00pm
Sunday 18th – Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
Joint 150 Communion (St. Luke’s Church) Matt. 22:1-14 – 11:00am-12:00pm
Finger Buffet Lunch (St. Luke’s Church) – from 12.30pm
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.
They meet at the following times:
- Monday evening (two groups)
- Tuesday afternoon
- Wednesday morning
- Wednesday evening
- Thursday morning
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.
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 accept God’s invitation with enthusiasm.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)
