This week
In the church
See the listing in the next box
Online or Telephone
Tuesday: No Discussion group this week. Poetry cafe 4pm
Wednesday: Selina available for phone conversations 3-6pm
Thursday: Discussion group 10.30 am. No Gospel study this week.
Friday: Tom available for phone conversations 3 - 5.30pm
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Communion
As previously announced, we were intending to share out communion in the services on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Sadly, in the last few days, we have become aware that there have been a few cases in some of the institutions that are close to our community. Whilst we know that people are exercising a lot of caution, we feel it would not be responsible just in this time to take the step of sharing the communion.
We are aware that this come as a disappointment for many of the members. We hope that you can feel that the decision was not taken lightly. We are very much looking forward to the time – hopefully soon – when we will be able to share out communion again.
- Selina and Tom
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Holy Week and Easter
Good Friday, 2nd April
10am The Act of Consecration of Man
from noon
Church open for quiet prayer and contemplation
3pm The Words from the Cross
Programme of Readings, Sermons and Song
with Katharina Baiter and Anna Cooper
Holy Saturday, 3rd April
10am The Act of Consecration of Man
6pm Evening Service for Holy Saturday
(this is combined with the service for those who have died)
Easter
Easter Sunday, 4th April
8am The Act of Consecration of Man
10am The Act of Consecration of Man
Booking needed for Easter Services. Please use this link, or leave us a note / voicemail at the church by 27th March)
11.15am Family Easter Service
Monday, 5th April 10am
The Act of Consecration of Man
followed by a festive talk:
‘For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore,
and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.’ (Galatians 5:1)
Tom Ravetz
Saturday, 17th April 10am
The Sacrament of Confirmation
Saturday, 24th April at 9am
Die Menschenweihehandlung (Act of Consecration of Man in German)
Further events are added each week. Subject to alteration.
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Update
The church is currently only open for services. Our discussion groups and gospel study group are being conducted online.
Please wait to return to church if you have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 10 days or have new symptoms.
There are now 53 seats available in the church, with slightly fewer on days where we share out communion.
It is mandatory to wear a face-covering in the church and surrounding rooms, unless you are exempted. We are aware that they cause some of our members discomfort and misgivings. Thank you to those who have started wearing them out of consideration for others.
Please note that we need to avoid ‘mingling’ in the foyer and entrance lobby. This means that you cannot speak with anyone from outside your household. Unfortunately, it is also not permitted to congregate outside the church. We hope that you will understand that we need to remind you about these restrictions, which we hope will not be necessary for long.
The priests are keeping designated times free for phone calls. Our numbers are listed at the end of this Update.
Selina will be available on Wednesdays from 3 until 6pm.
Tom will be available on Fridays from 3 until 5.30pm.
You are of course welcome to ring outside these times as well!
There will be two services on Easter Sunday, one at 8am and one at 10am. Please be mindful that the 10am service is likely to be fuller.
Please note that the Tuesday discussion group and Thursday Gospel Study will resume on 13th and 15th April respectively.
With best wishes,
Selina and Tom
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Resurrection
The Act of Consecration of Man speaks of sin as a sickness, a fundamental malady bound up with our physical constitution. This chimes with our experience, echoing St Paul:
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:19-20).
We have a dual experience of ourselves: we can feel our ideals, long to live according to them and even succeed on occasions; at other times, we put them aside and do the very opposite. If we deny either of these aspects of our experience, we are have fallen away from the truth. In moments when we manage to live up to our ideals, we can be overtaken by a proud detachment, forgetting how hard our struggles can be and judging others; if we allow ourselves to be crushed by the awareness of our limitations, we can fall into despair and lose sight of our God-given capacities.
We hear in the Bible that Christ died to help us with the sickness of sin. How does his deed make a difference to us, here and now? St Paul brings another powerful image:
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22-23)
Paul’s image of the First and Second Adam speaks to us across the ages. In our age we are only too aware that our physical constitution is a gift of our ancestral heritage. Modern research into human evolution shows ever more clearly how, beyond the genetic heritage, choices made by our most distant ancestors affect the structures of our brains and bodies today. The change in attitude towards ourselves and the divine world that took place as human beings grew towards individual selfhood made lasting changes to our possibilities.
Perhaps unexpectedly, the field of genetics, which can be seen in a limiting way, reducing us to nothing more than the expression of biological imperatives, can open up the possibility of the kind of change that Paul is speaking of. We are able to change the expression of our genetic heritage through our choices, which in turn will influence what other human beings can do in the future. What St Paul adds to the picture of epigenetics is the idea of a future self that is drawing us towards it: the Second Adam, or Christ. This new ancestor seeks to draw us into another heritage – one which streams from the future into the present, with influences more subtle but no less real than our past heritage.
When we celebrate the Act of Consecration of Man together, we are creating a place where those forces that stream towards us from the future can find their expression, touching us and working through us into the world.
- Tom Ravetz
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Join us for an online Poetry Cafe!
Continuing theme: Suffering
This week we heard poems written during World War 2 by Wilfrid Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, poems about the Sri Lanka Massacre that happened on an Easter Sunday, poem about Crucifixion and Christianity, poem on the suffering of love by A.E Hausman and about the midnight rain by Edward Thomas.
We welcome all to this drop-in group who would like to sit back and listen to poetry. Just come along and have a nourishing listen with your afternoon tea or bring a poem that you've come across related to the theme.
~ Victoria Storey and Selina
Poetry Cafe - Tuesday 6th April 4pm
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.
Rain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain
by Edward Thomas
Rain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain
On this bleak hut, and solitude, and me
Remembering again that I shall die
And neither hear the rain nor give it thanks
For washing me cleaner than I have been
Since I was born into this solitude.
Blessed are the dead that the rain rains upon:
But here I pray that none whom once I loved
Is dying tonight or lying still awake
Solitary, listening to the rain,
Either in pain or thus in sympathy
Helpless among the living and the dead,
Like a cold water among broken reeds,
Myriads of broken reeds all still and stiff,
Like me who have no love which this wild rain
Has not dissolved except the love of death,
If love it be towards what is perfect and
Cannot, the tempest tells me, disappoint.
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Discussion Groups from afar
Our discussion groups (10.30am on Tuesday and 10.30am Thursday mornings) and the gospel study group (8pm on Thursdays) take place via Zoom. Zoom offers those who don’t have access to a computer or smartphone the opportunity to take part by ringing a phone number at the national call rates.
We will open the ‘meetings’ at 10.20 on Tuesdays, 10.20 on Thursdays, and 7.50pm on Thursday evenings, so that there is time to get ready before we begin.
If you wish to join the Tuesday morning group (recommencing on 13th April) you can follow this link if you have – or want to install – Zoom.
To take part by phone, you can ring this number:
0203 481 5240 and enter the following numbers when asked:
Meeting ID: 878 9199 3921 Passcode: 211189. It's a national-rate call.
For the Gospel Study group (recommencing 15th April), follow this link or ring
0131 460 1196, enter these numbers when asked: Meeting ID: 895 6044 7039 Passcode: 643483.
For the Thursday morning group follow this link or ring
0203 481 5237 and enter these numbers: Meeting ID: 863 8299 2957 Passcode: 416000
Some of those who come to services in Ringwood are meeting fortnightly for gospel study on the Book of Revelation. Ask Tom Ravetz for more details.
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Could you help at the altar?
The inner participation of the congregation in our services finds its outer expression through the servers. We have a small, dedicated group of servers who take on this task for the congregation. This group has become smaller for various reasons and is due to get still smaller soon. We are hoping to increase its size again.
For this reason we are asking whether you have learned to serve at this church or another and would consider serving again. We can offer you a mini refresher 'course' if needed, to go through the steps of serving. There are also the evening services in Holy Week, which you might consider, as they are simpler to help with than the main service.
We are also looking for new servers. Would you like to learn how to serve? We offer an induction course for new servers.
Please get in touch if you would like to find out more, or sign up for serving if you have already learned how to do it. All servers should have access to the rota, which is accessible online.
- Selina and Tom
You can also contact the servers’ co-ordinator Antoinette Reynolds - antoinetteservrey@gmail.com
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What makes us whole?
- as individuals
- as a society
- as a world
Over the last year, questions around health and illness have dominated the headlines in a way that none of us have experienced before. As always, crisis brings opportunities and also dangers. Perhaps more than ever, the world is waking up to the need to find holistic solutions to problems that do not respond well to reductionist thinking. We have discovered that a virus cannot be ‘stamped out’; that a divided society leads to desperate health-outcomes for all; that all our decisions affect the health of the whole world. Along with an upsurge in compassion and new thinking, we have also seen the growth of worrying tendencies in the measures that governments have taken and in the reactions of some of those affected by them.
In this context, the weekend event that we planned long ago with Michaela Glöckler seems more relevant than ever. We will look at questions around salutogenesis, the furthering of health and at the role of the religious and spiritual life in helping us and our world to become whole. We hope that this event will be informed by questions submitted in advance by those attending, and by the questions we gather through the days.
Friday, 7th May at 7.30-9pm via Zoom
What are the Sources of Illness and True Healing?
Talk by Dr Michaela Glöckler
followed by gathering questions to take with us for tomorrow’s discussions
Saturday, 8th May 10am-12.30pm
Discussion in groups and all together
Sunday, 9th May
The Act of Consecration of Man will be held at 9.30am in Forest Row
11 am via Zoom
The Medicine that Makes Whole – how does Christ heal us and our World today?
Talk by Revd Tom Ravetz
12pm via Zoom
Concluding plenum
The lectures on Friday 7th and Sunday, 9th will take place via Zoom.
The discussion sessions may be a mixture of Zoom and in person, depending what the public health measures allow.
We are asking all participants to register using a simple form, so that we have an idea of numbers. The form can be accessed here. Please note that you can take part in Zoom events by dialling a national call-rate number.
It would be a great help to us to receive questions in advance. Please email tccinfr@gmail.com or send them to the church.
This event is open to all but we would ask you please for a donation to support the work of The Christian Community and of ELIANT, which Michaela Glöckler has nominated for our contribution to her to support.
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Gospel readings
| Sunday, March 21 |
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John 8:1-12 |
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| Holy Week |
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| Palm Sunday, March 28 |
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Matthew 21:1-11 |
| Thursday, April 1 |
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Luke 23:13-32 |
| Friday, April 2 |
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John 19:1-15 |
| Saturday, April 3 |
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John 19:16-42 |
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| Easter |
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| Sunday, April 4 |
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Mark 16:1-8 |
| Sunday, April 11 |
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John 20:19-31 |
| Sunday, April 18 |
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John 10:1-16 |
| Sunday, April 25 |
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John 15:1-27 |
| Sunday, May 2 |
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John 16:1-33 |
| Sunday, May 9 |
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John 14:1-31 |
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Suggested Reading for Holy Week
Here are some suggestions for readings at home, if you wish to accompany the Gospel events of each day. The Old Testament readings are those parts of 'scripture that is fulfilled'. The New Testament suggestions are based in the Gospel of Luke, but all four Gospels recount the events in their own way.
Palm Sunday
On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem with his disciples riding a borrowed donkey. He arrived to much celebration, but it was the beginning of the end of his human life.
Monday
On Holy Monday, Jesus asserted his authority by throwing out anyone and everyone who was doing business inside the temple complex. The Jewish leaders were less than impressed with the display of power.
Tuesday
On Holy Tuesday, temple leaders challenged Jesus by putting him to the test. They raised a number of theological debates with him and questioned both his teaching and his God-given authority.
Wednesday
Jesus continued his teaching and a woman honoured Jesus by anointing him with expensive oil. This was a catalyst for Judas, who went straight to the religious authorities and offered to deliver Jesus into their hands.
Maundy Thursday
On Maundy Thursday, where Jesus washes his disciples feet. After celebrating the Passover with his disciples, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, where Judas betrayed him. He was arrested and tortured while Peter denied him.
Good Friday
On Good Friday, the Jewish leaders, with the help of Pilate, subjected Jesus to a mock trial that resulted in a death sentence for the one who would be called the King of the Jews. He was hastily crucified and quickly buried before the Sabbath began that evening.
Holy Saturday
On Holy Saturday, since it was the Jewish Sabbath, all activity came to a grinding halt, and Jesus' followers had to wait until the next day to properly prepare his body for burial.
Easter Sunday
On Easter Sunday, some women went to Jesus' tomb to anoint him for burial, but when they arrived, he wasn't there. The tomb was empty, and an angel greeted them with the news that Jesus was alive. The women hurried back to tell the others, and Jesus surprised his grieving disciples by showing up in their midst.
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Family Services have begun on fortnightly Sundays at 11.15am with the next service and story on Easter Sunday. Click here to download a flyer. There will also be copies in the church soon that you can pass onto families you think might be interested.
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Information about The Christian Community worldwide
You can read the latest roundup of information here.
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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.
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