Services
The Act of Consecration of Man is celebrated
on Thursdays and Fridays at 9am and Sundays at 10am
There will be no service on 28th and 29th October, when the priests will be attending the synod in London.
The Menschenweihehandlung (Act of Consecration of Man in German) is celebrated on the first Saturday of every month at 9am
There is an evening service for those who have died at 6pm on the first Saturday of the month
The Sunday Service for Children is held fortnightly at 11.15am, followed by a story. 24th October, 7th and 21st November, 5th of December
Other regular events
Tuesdays 10.30am
Discussion Group (the church will be open from 10am and tea and coffee will be served)
Thursdays 7.45pm
Gospel Study Group (please note the new time)
Diary
Please note that events can be changed and updated as the public health situation changes. Please refer to the latest Update and our online diary, which you can view here.
Sunday, 31st October, 11.30am
Members’ Meeting
Friday, 5th November, 8pm
Spiritual Journeys – Talk by Julia Katharine Soper on her inner and outer journeys
Saturday, 6th November, 6pm
Memorial Event followed by an Evening Service for those who have Died, with Music and Sermon
There will be an opportunity to hear the names of those whose funeral service has been held by The Christian Community in the last year, and also to name anyone with whom you are connected.
Friday, 19th November, 7pm
The journey towards making an altar painting
Illustrated talk by Greg Tricker
Saturday, 20th November, 10-12.30, followed by bring and share lunch
Garden and House day.
We will prepare our garden and church for Advent. Please bring garden tools.
Sunday, 21st November, 11.30am
The Companion
A Norwegian Wonder Tale Told by Kenneth Gibson
Saturday, 27th November at 7.30pm
Signs in the Heavens
Evening Service for Advent
Sunday, 28th November at 4pm
Advent Spiral
Wednesday, 8th December, 7.30-9pm:
Contemplative evening with artistic contributions: music, poems, reading, singing, listening. Please let Katharina Baiter know by 30th November if you would like to contribute
Sunday, 19th December at 11.30am (following the Children's Service)
Carol Singing with Katharina Baiter
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Update
The church is open in the mornings Tuesday-Saturday 10am-12pm.
Please wait to return to church if you have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last ten days or have new symptoms. 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.
There will be coffee after the services on Sundays, 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.
For the moment, we are using the weekly Updates as our rolling programme of events. Please do make sure to consult the latest Update for full details of any changes that may be necessary, or visit this link, where you will see a diary that is constantly updated and contains all the regular events as well.
Many of you will be aware that Lavinia has been in hospital for the last few weeks. She greatly appreciates receiving cards. There is a basket in the church by the book stand which Mike Small or Tom will empty when they go to visit her.
We are looking for two more volunteers for the coffee rota. Please ask one of the priests, or Ria for more information.
With best wishes,
Nataliia and Tom
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Encounter, Christiane Haid
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Shaping the world
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. The one who sits upon it was called Faithful and True. He judges and rides to battle in alignment with divine purpose. (Revelation 19:11)
‘Why are we human beings here on the Earth for? What is our purpose?’ - I asked the confirmands last week.
‘Human beings are here to shape the world,’ - said one of them. ‘Obviously – because we all have an impact on each other and on the world.’
What might it mean to shape the world in the eyes of confirmands? How do we understand that through our grown-up, adult eyes? Is the world only for our benefit, or is there more to it than that? Is there a responsibility, a call and a task to learn to look wider, to increase our consciousness and lately, to become co-creators of the world?
When we look at nature, we observe constant movement and change. The trees are getting golden-red now, the leaves cover the paths and the roads. Fruits, which have been ripening over summer time, have been gathered and are stored in the barns for winter.
There is a living force behind nature, which underlies its constant renewal, its out-breath in spring and summer and the in-breath that will come in autumn and winter.
As human beings we carry these living forces within ourselves. During the day, we work with them and use them up, which is why we get tired towards the end of the day. And during the night as we rest, we regenerate and gather strength for the next day.
But there is an inner force within us, which needs our attention, which does not happen by itself: we have to help it to reveal itself. We can experience something of this when we meet someone who does not have the same opinion as we do. One could easily end up arguing about an issue; however, we can break this pattern, looking at the issue with the attitude: there is another side to it which I do not understand yet, which I do not see as the other person does. This requires acceptance, listening to someone else, listening deeply and broadening our horizons, overcoming our tendency to become one-sided and to think that we are right. In such moments, if we observe them, we can discover that the inner force in us helps us to shape two worlds - two human beings with their individual worldviews. If this is to happen, it is essential that we don’t separate, perhaps ‘agreeing to differ’, but that we let each person live and be in that moment, in that conversation. In the moments such as this, we contribute to life, creating a new space, a new possibility, a new understanding which shapes us and others, creating living forces.
One of our tasks as human beings is to enable life to stream within us and from us in every meeting, in every thought and every deed. And this is possible, when we find in ourselves, in our I, in our middle, that inner moral force, out of which life streams and enables others to live within it. In those moments we may feel blessed and grateful, as we are taking part in co-creation of the new world from within, from the inner kernel.
This is the place where Christ wants to dwell - in our hearts and in our midst, as it is only from within we can change ourselves and the world around us with him.
- Nataliia Shatna
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Invitation
You are warmly invited to the premier of the film 'Breathe'
at the Advance Centre Station Road East Grinstead RH19 1DJ on
Friday Oct 22nd
Drinks at 7pm
Film starts at 8 pm. Please RSVP lindascotson@protonmail.com
Directions
Proceed up station rd keeping to the right hand side.
Continue towards the top of the road and
over the pedestrian crossing.
Look to your right, there is an iron railing along the foot path.
Slow down.
As the iron railing ends and the road bends to the right.
You will see a small unnamed alleyway between the ex service club and Holtye windows.
This takes you into the courtyard where there is a chance you can park .
But better perhaps there is free parking in the carpark beside Aldi's and opposite La Farola Restaurant.
Park there and just walk across the rd back to us.
The building is in the centre of the courtyard. Take the right hand entrance in.
Linda and Doran Scotson
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Ordinations
On Sunday, 24th October, Rafał Duszyński, Anna Kruczek and Grzegorz Kozioł will be ordained in Warsaw.
More information is available here.
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Felling the Copper Beech Tree
We have been advised that the beautiful Copper Beech tree that overlooks our carpark has wood decay fungus (Kretzschmaria duesta) This fungus ultimately causes a brittle fracture at the base, with no external signs of decay as an indicator. With huge regret, we have notified Wealden Council and received permission to fell the tree. We will replace it, of course, but it will leave a gap until the new tree grows.
The work will take 2-3 days, and will take place from 28-30th October. We have arranged for it to be carried out during half term in order to cause the least disruption. There will need to be a traffic control on the roads for some of the time. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience.
Please contact the church with any questions.
- Tom Ravetz
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The latest edition of the Logos newsletter is available here.
The new podcast is available here.
A new special letter is available here.
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Information from the Regions
The quarterly report with information about The Christian Community worldwide is available for download here.
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Gospel readings
| Sunday, October 24 |
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Revelation 19:11-16 |
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| Sunday, October 31 |
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Revelation 1:1-3;9-20 |
| Sunday, November 7 |
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Revelation 7:9-17 |
| Sunday, November 14 |
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Revelation 14:1-13 |
| Sunday, November 21 |
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Revelation 21:9-27 |
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Advent |
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| Sunday, November 28 |
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Luke 21:25-36 |
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Some useful resources
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Landline |
Mobile |
Email |
| Church |
01342 825 436 |
n/a |
tccinfr@gmail.com |
| Tom Ravetz |
01342 458132 |
07749 662717 |
lenker@tcc-mrr.co.uk |
| Nataliia Shatna |
n/a |
07763746175 |
nataliia@tcc-mrr.co.uk |
- You can download a shortened, printable version of this email here.
- See previous issues of our Updates here.
- If you are not on our mailing list, you can subscribe 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.
- Header picture by Deborah Ravetz
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