The Act of Consecration of Man
The Act of Consecration of Man is celebrated on Thursdays at 9am and Sundays at 10am
Study Groups and Discussion Groups
Tuesdays
10.30am Discussion group
4pm Poetry cafe via Zoom (fortnightly)
Other Events
1st August, 11.30am The Lord’s Prayer I: Addressing the Heavenly Father (Tom Ravetz)
7th August at 6pm
Evening Service for those who have died
15th August, 11.30am The Lord’s Prayer II: Heavens above and Heavens below (Nigel Lumsden)
Tuesday, 10th August, 3pm
Concert by Sarah Lett: 'Threads of Silver, Threads of Gold'
22nd August, 11.30am
Congregational meeting
With updates on matters of concern and open discussion
28th August, 9am
Die Menschenweihehandlung (Act of Consecration of Man in German)
2-5pm Open Gardens
29th August, 11.30am The Lord’s Prayer III: Living with the Lord’s Prayer. Discussion (Tom Ravetz)
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Update
The church is now open in the mornings Tuesday-Saturday 10am-12pm. We have a wonderful art exhibition featuring work from two painters and a sculptor at the moment for you to come and see in the community room and foyer.
Please wait to return to church if you have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 10 days or have new symptoms.
In the congregational meeting on 25th August, we agreed that we will not wear face-coverings in the church or when sitting in meetings. We need to maintain the flow in our public spaces, particular the foyer and entrance lobby, which are not large enough to allow for circulation with a lot of space. We also announced that we will be joined by a new priest in September, when Selina takes her annual holiday and then goes on maternity leave. More details about this will follow soon.
There will be coffee after the services on Sundays from 25th July, and we will open the french windows in order to maintain ventilation in the Community Room.
We are now sharing out communion in every service. Please leave space between each other when you stand at the front, and let the row before you sit down before you stand up to come forward.
With best wishes,
Selina and Tom
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The plank is always bigger!
The basis of community living
‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5, NIV
If we hear these words from the Sermon on the Mount with our logical mind, we may hear ourselves saying: ‘But surely sometimes the other person is wrong: blinded by their prejudices, or their lack of insight!’ The law of averages dictates that error must be distributed. Surely sometimes, just sometimes, Jesus must be wrong!
Such moments of incomprehension are valuable, and it pays to attend to them and not explain them away, or give up too easily, thinking that that we won’t ever understand.
Jesus is encouraging us to make the discovery that what we experience in the social life is always our co-creation. Our way of looking changes not only our perception, but how the person at whom we are looking, can be. We can probably all remember the critical eye of a teacher before whom we were guaranteed to make a mistake. I hope we can all remember those teachers whose kindly gaze enabled us to surpass ourselves. The gaze that is searching for specks – however ‘right’ we may be about the other’s shortcomings – becomes a plank in our own eye. Only the way of looking that looks at the person in their becoming, clears our own gaze of its hindrances, whilst enabling the other to become who they truly are.
We have all had a lot to bear in these last 16 months, and in such times it is easy to look critically on what others are doing. Just when we are feeling uncertain, perhaps even threatened, ourselves, it is harder to be charitable to each other. However, it is just in these times that our way of beholding each other can make all the difference. For this reason, I found Eugene Petersen’s translation in The Message a breath of fresh air:
“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbour’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbour.”
- Tom Ravetz
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The Lord’s Prayer
In three sessions with presentation and discussion, we will turn to this great prayer of humanity.
In the background is a practical question, namely that we are close to making the change in the rituals from Thee and Thy to You and Your. In many cases, it is relatively straightforward to make the change.
In the case of the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer, there are a number of possibilities. At our last synod, the priests agreed to open this discussion out to the congregations. In order to avoid possible misunderstandings, we need to make it clear that the priests’ circle it carries the responsibility for this decision and we are not asking for a vote. However, it would help us in our decision-making to hear the spectrum of opinion in the congregations.
The second session will be held by Nigel Lumsden, who will be staying in the guest room as he prepares to go to Toronto for Ordination Preparation. In the third session, we will leave time to hear reflections on the translation question.
1st August Addressing the Heavenly Father (Tom Ravetz)
15th August Heavens above and Heavens below (Nigel Lumsden)
29th August Living with the Lord’s Prayer. Discussion (Tom Ravetz)
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Transcript of Michaela’s talk here
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Concert on Tuesday, 10th August, 3pm
'Threads of Silver, Threads of Gold'
Sarah will sing songs of her own making and others close to her heart. A few poems will also be shared.
The programme lasts approximately 1 hour and can be seen to chart a day or a life.
Entry by donation, which will be shared equally between the Church and The Godparents Anthroposophical Training Fund that supported Sarah during her Early Years training.
There will not be refreshments this time.
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We've decided to repeat the Open Gardens as the weather (and possibly Wimbledon!) deterred many from coming .
Those who did venture out said they had such a lovely afternoon and suggested we could have it again in better weather.
Come along to church on Saturday afternoon the 28th of August 2-5pm for a ticket and map.
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Poetry Cafe - Tuesday 3rd August 4pm
Next Theme - continuing William Wordsworth's poetry
This week we explored the life of William Wordsworth. He was born April 7, 1770, Cockermouth, Cumberland, England and died April 23, 1850, Rydal Mount, Westmorland at the age of eighty. 'Lyrical Ballads' (1798), which was written with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped launch the English Romantic movement.
To take part in the Poetry Cafe, follow this link if you already use Zoom or would like to install it. Otherwise, you can join by dialling a national rate number: 0203 481 5237 and entering the following numbers when asked:
Meeting ID: 885 8806 8572 Passcode: 769554
The meeting space will open at 3.50pm.
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Gospel readings
Sunday, August 1 … Matthew 7:1-14
Sunday, August 8 … Luke 15:11-32
Sunday, August 15 … Luke 9:1-17
Sunday, August 22 … Luke 18:35-43
Sunday, August 29 … Mark 7:31-37
Sunday, September 5 … Luke 10:1-20
Sunday, September 12 … Luke 17:5-24
Sunday, September 19 … Matthew 6:19-34
Sunday, September 26 Luke 7:11-17
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Free Thursday Art History talks at 12 noon
online
Each session will be new content and will not be a direct follow-on from the week before but we will hold to our ongoing theme of the evolving of consciousness as it can be found in art over the ages of time.
Please note our new programme is as follows:
29th - Early Renaissance - Giotto, Duccio, Cimabue
August:
5th - no course on this day-
12th - Fra Angelico and Benozzo Gozzoli
19th - Piero Della Francesca, Tomaso Masaccio
26th - Michelangelo, Raphael Santi, plus various other Artists
September:
2nd - Leonardo da Vinci — lecture by Andrew Wolpert
9th - Landscape and Sky-scape : Constable, Casper David Friedrich, Turner
16th - Impressionists and Expressionists - Deborah Ravetz will join us.
23rd - Modern Art - Deborah Ravetz
30th - Ninette Sombart - a Christ inspired artist in colour, form and depth.
I look forward to welcoming you to our journey through the ages in art and the unfolding of human consciousness.
Greetings and good wishes,
Peter van Breda
peter.vanbreda@mac.com
Join Zoom Meeting at 11.50am ready for 12 begin:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88328567566?pwd=QzY2OFdsYXI4L0dZRUFZaCt6d0lNZz09
Meeting ID: 883 2856 7566
Passcode: 797461
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Some useful resources
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Landline |
Mobile |
Email |
| Church |
01342 825 436 |
n/a |
tccinfr@gmail.com |
| Selina Horn |
01825 790452 |
07742 280147 |
selinaclarehorn@gmail.com |
| Tom Ravetz |
01342 458132 |
07749 662717 |
t@ravetz.org.uk |
- You can download a shortened, printable version of this email here.
- Reply to this email direct or by clicking this link.
- Gospel readings for the Act of Consecration of Man are listed here.
- Our Facebook page.
- Perspectives, quarterly journal of The Christian Community.
- The website of The Christian Community in Great Britain and Ireland has a blog where we are posting some of the material that priests have been sending their congregations in the last weeks and months. There is a facility to subscribe to that directly.
- Header picture by Deborah Ravetz
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