“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures for ever.”
(Psalm 136:1)
This week, the sections of the email are:
- Opening Reflection: Thanksgiving
- This Sunday: St. Luke’s Day (Luke 10:1-9)
- Key notices: Planned Giving Review, Anni-verse-ries, Light Party, New Reporting Page
- Coming Up: Dare to Pray, Thanet United Prayer, Tower and Crypt Tours, World War I talk, People’s Emergency Briefing
- Interesting Blogs: The other half of Christian history, Elon Musk: the Cecil Rhodes of our time
- Weekly Calendar
- Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, Safeguarding
Scroll on…
Opening Reflection
This Sunday St. Luke’s celebrates its 150th anniversary. We’ll be having a special service with a guest speaker, Nick Williams, from our patrons, the Church Pastoral Aid Society. There will be gifts to give out, a special collection for the work of the church and a free celebratory lunch. If you are out of the habit of joining us on a Sunday, this would be a great Sunday to return – we’d love to see you again!
But what are we celebrating? When St. Luke’s first started, the then Archbishop, Archibald Tate, said,
“The work will be estimated not by the nature of the building, which is erected, but by the daily and hourly teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the new parish.”
You may know that St. Luke’s building, impressive as it is, was never totally completed. Why? Partly, because of lack of funds, but partly because the first vicar, the Rev. J. B. Whiting, wanted to focus on mission to the growing but very poor communities in the parish. He set up two new chapels, one on Central Road, which eventually closed and another in Northwood, which eventually became St. Mark’s. His concern was not to build a monument, but to reach the lost.
As we celebrate 150 years of St. Luke’s, let’s give thanks for God’s goodness in helping many people find love, support and the good news of Jesus Christ over many decades. Let’s praise him for the work and ministry of the people that make up St. Luke’s church and have continued his mission to share the good news in word and deed and let’s rejoice that his love does indeed endure for ever.
Paul Worledge
This Sunday
This Sunday is a special service at St. Luke’s. It will be a joint service for St. Luke’s and St. George’s and we will be welcoming Nick Williams from the Church Pastoral Aid Society, our patrons, to come and speak. After the service there will be a buffet lunch, which will be free and there is no need to sign up. Please plan to stay and enjoy lunch as we celebrate the work and ministry of St. Luke’s over the last 150 years. The children and youth groups will be running as normal and we will be having Holy Communion.
Key Notices:
Planned Giving Review
Please do not forget to return your response forms to our Planned Giving Review this Sunday, whether you are changing your giving or not. It encourages us to know that you have at least thought about it. If you haven’t yet picked up a letter, then please check the back of church and respond as soon as you can.
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 56, but it would be great to reach 150, by Sunday, so please submit now, if you have not already done so.
Light Party
Unfortunately, we are going to be unable to run a Light Party at St. Luke’s this year on 31st October, as an alternative to Halloween. However, we would encourage families to attend a Light Party run by one of the other churches in the area. There is one at Community Church Ramsgate (30th October, 6-8pm), St. Andrew’s, Reading Street (31st October, 5-7pm) and Holy Trinity, Margate (31st October, 4-6pm).
New Reporting Page
We have developed a new way of reporting any incidents online through our website. This can be to do with maintenance issues, accidents or near misses, anti-social behaviour or safeguarding concerns. View the report page…
Coming Up:
Dare to Pray –
This Saturday, 9:30-10:30am, St. Luke’s. As it is the 150th anniversary of St. Luke’s, our monthly Dare to Pray meeting will be at St. Luke’s this month. Join us for prayer and a special focus on giving thanks!
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.
Tower and Crypt Tours
St. George’s will be running Tower (11am and 1:30pm) and Crypt tours (12pm and 2:30pm) on Saturday 24th October. You can book online or just try turning up on the day at least 15 minutes before the tour is due to start. Tickets are £5. Find out more…
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…
People’s Emergency Briefing
St. George’s are hosting a community screening of the ‘People’s Emergency Briefing’. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Climate Resilience Expert Illana Adamson to explore the issues raised for us here in Ramsgate, such as fuel poverty, food security and summer heatwaves. St. George’s Church, Saturday 7th November, 6:15pm. Free to attend. Find out more and book.
Interesting Blogs to Share:
The other half of Christian history
The current experience and trajectory of Christians in the west, facing a future as a minority in pluralist societies, is not unprecedented in Christian history. Indeed, it may perhaps prove to have been the norm for most Christians at most times. Read more about the non-Western history of the church over the last 2,000 years. 10-minute read
Elon Musk: the Cecil Rhodes of our time
Some more history, but this time comparing a modern day super-rich and powerful man, with one from the late nineteenth century. 5-minute read
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 18th – Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
Joint 150 Communion (St. Luke’s Church) Luke 10:1-9 – 11:00am-12:00pm
Finger Buffet Lunch (St. Luke’s Church) – from 12.30pm
Monday 19th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Tuesday 20th
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 21st
Gardening Group (St. Luke’s Church) – 10:30am-12:00pm
Thursday 22nd
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 23rd
Play & Praise (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 10:00-11:30am
Saturday 24th
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Sunday 25th – Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church) Psalm 19 – 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.
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.
- Reporting Form. Use this to report maintenance issues, accidents or near misses, anti-social behaviour or safeguarding concerns.
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 celebrate all that God has been doing for the last 150 years.
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)
