“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
(Ephesians 6:18)
This week, the sections of the email are:
- Opening Reflection: Prayer
- This Sunday: Christian Growth 101: Prayer (Nehemiah 1)
- Key notices: Parish Merger, Cleaner Retirement
- Wider Church Updates: ACTS, Greg and Sylvia Venables
- Coming Up: Light Parties, Men’s Group Film Night, World War I talk, People’s Emergency Briefing, Gathering in Support of the Persecuted Church
- Weekly Calendar
- Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, Safeguarding
Scroll on…
Opening Reflection
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” – (Ephesians 6:18)
Last week, we looked at the Bible, God’s word, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is the main way that God speaks to us. Through it we learn what God is like, what he has done for us and how we can live to please him. The Spirit also helps us as we read the Bible, it enables us to understand it and apply its teaching to our lives. You could say the Spirit inspired the writing of the Bible and illuminates our reading of the Bible. In fact, Ephesians 6:17 describes the ‘Word of God’ as ‘the sword of the Spirit.’
If the Bible is God speaking to us by the Spirit, then prayer is us speaking to God by the same Spirit. That seems to be the sense in the verse above, which follows on from the mention of the ‘sword of the Spirit.’ It is the Holy Spirit, that enables and empowers our communication with God in both directions.
In Hebrew, the word for Spirit is the same as the word for wind or breath. For Christians, prayer should be like breathing. Just as we never stop breathing, we should never stop praying. We should always keep on praying.
The key word in the above verse is ‘all.’ Paul is encouraging us to pray on all occasions, at all times and for all the Lord’s people.
Paul also says to pray “with all kinds of prayers.” We can pray prayers written by others and ones we make up as we go along. Prayer can be part of a focussed quiet time with God and just quick sentences in the midst of everyday life. They can be as simple as ‘Help!’ or precisely produced poetry. The key thing is to pray!
Paul Worledge
This Sunday
Christian Growth 101: Prayer (Nehemiah 1)
This Sunday we look at one of the building blocks of how we grow as Christians: Prayer. It will be a service with all the normal children’s groups running.
Key Notices:
When Two become One
From this Sunday, the Parish of St. Luke, Ramsgate and the Parish of St. George, Ramsgate will be officially united to become the Parish of St. George, the Martyr and St. Luke, Ramsgate. This change will help to streamline much of our administration but does require some work in the coming months to make some necessary administrative changes.
David and Caroline Perkins, Retirement from Cleaning Role
After nearly twenty-five years of doing the cleaning in our church buildings, David and Caroline are retiring from this role this weekend. We would like to give a thank you gift for their long-term service. If you would like to contribute, please give money to Andrew McMillan of Paul Worledge.
Wider Church Updates
There is an update from ACTS
The October ACTS update is available at the back of church or here, including news about their new team member.
News from Greg and Sylvia Venables
Greg and Sylvia were sent from St. Luke’s as missionaries to South America 49 years ago. Here is a latest update from them (also available on the World Mission Desk).
Coming Up:
Light Parties
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).
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. It is too late to book online, but there are still spaces so just try turning up on the day at least 15 minutes before the tour is due to start. Tickets are £5. Find out more…
Men’s Group – Film Night
Join the Men’s Group for one of their occasional film nights. This event is free and there’ll be soup and rolls and other snacks, and then from 7:30pm they’ll be watching a film that at the time caused a great commotion. Wednesday 4th November from 6:30pm, St. Luke’s Church.
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.
Gathering in Support of the Persecuted Church
An invitation to the Churches & Christians of Thanet to gather in support of the Persecuted Church. In partnership with Open Doors. We’ll “be inspired by stories of faith under fire” & we’ll pray. It’s on Sunday 8th November, 4pm – 5.30pm at St George’s Foundation School, Broadstairs.
Weekly Calendar
Sunday 1st November – Fourth Sunday before Advent
Family Service (St. Luke’s Church) Nehemiah 1 – 11:00am-12:00pm
Monday 2nd
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Tuesday 3rd
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 4th
Gardening Group (St. Luke’s Church) – 10:30am-12:00pm
Men’s Film Night (St Luke’s Church) – 6.30pm
Joint PCC Meeting (St George’s Church Hall) – 7.30pm
Thursday 5th
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 6th
Play & Praise (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 10:00-11:30am
Saturday 7th
CTiR Prayer Breakfast (Pentecostal Church, Hardres Street) – 9:30am
WW1 Talk – Margaret Bolton (St. George’s Church) – 3:00pm
People’s Emergency Briefing Screening (St. George’s Church) – 6:15pm
Sunday 8th – Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday (St. Luke’s Church) Micah 4:1-4 – 10:45am-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 keep praying!
Yours in Christ
Paul Worledge
(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)
