Lent Sermon Series starts

Our Lent Sunday Evening Sermon series starts this weekend with Revd Celia Jones talking about Religious Art.

Accused

The Sermon Series will look at a different station of  Nigel Robert Pugh’s Stations of the Cross each week.

Evensong this Sunday is at 6pm in our daughter church, Christchurch, North Street.

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Ashes to go

 

On Ash Wednesday, March 1st we will be outside the Market Hall in Abergavenny offering Ashing to passers by. We will be joined by the Bishop of Monmouth from 10.15am – 11am.

Fr Mark Ashing last Ash Wednesday

Why “Ashes to Go”?
Ashes are an ancient sign of penitence. From the Middle Ages it became the custom to begin Lent by being marked in ash with the sign of the cross. The reminder that we are dust turns our attention to the creative power of God, and God’s ability to heal the brokenness in our lives when we offer that brokenness to God. That turning to God is the work of Lent, preparation for the celebration of Easter.

Fr Mark explained, “This simple act of ashing often leads in to some deep and meaningful encounters with passers by”.

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Parish Pilgrimage to Canterbury & Rochester

This years Parish Pilgrimage between August 11th -14th will be to Rochester and Canterbury.

The pilgrimage will coincide with the Priory Choir singing services at Rochester Cathedral. It will include a tour  of Canterbury by the homeless, which will show some of the less well know parts of the city.

 

Day 1

Travel to Kent with a ‘to be confirmed’ stop on route.

Day 2 Canterbury

MyStreets tours offer a unique view of Canterbury unlike any other you may have seen before. Running since 2014, we guide you on your journey as you explore the historic city of Canterbury and discover some of the less well known stories and facts.

Our knowledgeable and friendly guides delve into the rich history of Canterbury to provide a thoroughly enjoyable and eye opening experience. What makes us unique is that our tours are led by people who used to be homeless here, who will share with you their own experiences and those of others who have found themselves living on the streets of Canterbury, connecting the city’s rich history with modern life.

Day 3 Rochester

The highlight of the day will be going the cathedral congregation for their main Sunday Eucharist at 10.30am led by the Choir of St Mary’s Priory.

There will also be time to explore this fascinating city with its connections to Charles Dickens.

Day 4

Travel back to Wales with at ‘to be confirmed’ stop on route.

 

The cost of trip will include bus travel and 3 nights Dinner, Bed & Breakfast.

 

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Fr Mark preaches at Jesus College, Oxford

Preaching tonight in the College Chapel at Jesus College in Oxford, Canon Mark Soady reminded the congregation that the Lewis Chapel (named after the College’s First Principal) was the scene of two great events last July.  At the beginning of the month, in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales, a new Jesse window was dedicated as a complimentary addition to te world famous Jesse Figure, and later that month the College Principal unveiled a plaque to commemorate his predecessor.

Jesus College Chapel

Fr Mark continued:

“At the centre of the window is the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her Son / the Son of God, and below her are the son of Jesse, David, and his son, Solomon.

Although my subject title tonight is conceived by the Holy Spirit, I am going to take the liberty of adding the next clause of the Creed: and born of the Virgin Mary,  for I believe the true wonder is, that God was prepared to become human  –  and to fully understand that we need to see and hear the human element. It was into a human being that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Jesse tree – the earthly family tree of Jesus – has for nearly 500 years been a tangible reminder of the Incarnation  to all who visit the burial site of your first principal in the  Chapel that bears his name at St Mary’s Priory.

Our faith alone, tells of a God who is so loving that he is willing to take on human form for us. He was prepared to be born as a baby to a single mum  and become himself a refugee, and do al that for you and for me.

So if we are called to be like Jesus, to be like the Son of God, how can we Christians be ‘incarnate’ in the world today?  Professor John Macquarrie says the Church needs to be an ‘extension of the incarnation’.  That I suggest is the challenge for us!

In the Gospels’ account of the call of the  disciples we read how Jesus encountered them in the ordinariness of their every day lives. The encounter did not take place in the synagogue or the temple but out there in the world. Perhaps we as Christians today keep our faith compartmentalised a little to much in to Sundays and in church buildings, rather than being like Jesus and going out and getting our hands dirty. For each of us getting out there, doing the normal things may be different. Here it is being among the college body , back in Abergavenny it is being in and among the town’s people.”

Having given examples of how the church may be incarnate, he concluded:

“I pray that we may be empowered to go forth and be incarnate in the world….our world.”

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TELEPHONE LINES

We are suffering from major problems with our phone lines. The Switchboard number (858787) has been down for two weeks and now the Vicarage Direct Line (853168) has also gone down.

We have an Emergency Day time number for the Priory Site : (01873) 851515.

Out of Hours Fr Mark can be contacted on 07968 753978

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St David’s Day

As Ash Wednesday falls this year on March 1st we will mark St David’s Day a day earlier on February 28th.

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