Photo by Brady Leavall on Unsplash.

Join us Online: YouTube (from 6am Sunday)

For those who feel safe and would find it a support to come in person to church, then the church is open at 10:30am on Sunday.

If you plan to come please book to attend

(booking possible for Sunday 28th March and Easter Services):

Register to attend​

Remember the Clocks go forward

on Sunday Morning

Also, join us for a chat at 11:30am on Sunday: 

Click this link to join the Zoom meeting.

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."

(Psalm 118:22)

When I received my covid jab recently, the nurse said, 'I bet you feel relieved now!' The roll out of the vaccines has given us some real hope that the end of the Pandemic is in sight. Yet, there is still a lot of uncertainty and we are not quite there yet. Yes, we should rejoice and celebrate the vaccines, but real relief from the restrictions is still a few months off and we do not know what ups and downs we will face before we reach that moment.

Palm Sunday was a moment of joy and celebration for the disciples of Jesus. Finally, he was coming to Jerusalem, riding on a donkey as its rightful king. There was a sense of promise and hope that the climactic moment had come. This was true. They were right to celebrate, but they did not really understand the extreme lows and highs ahead of them.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem they cried out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" It is a joyous phrase from Psalm 118. However, only a few verses before this verse is: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."

Jesus came to Jerusalem and faced the worst imaginable rejection. Its leaders arranged his crucifixion. Yet, this was all part of God's plan and through the resurrection God placed Jesus as the cornerstone of a new kingdom. Not an earthly kingdom, that many were expecting, but an eternal one that offers us a real hope of eternal life. 

To take a vaccine risks some minor side effects, but wonderful protection against something much worse. To become a Christian risks being rejected like Jesus, but brings the certain hope of eternal life. Now that is something we can feel relieved about!

Join us this Sunday as we continue our series: Encounters with Jesus. This week we are looking at Pilate: Are you the king of the Jews? (John 18:28-19:16a).

Please read on...

• Prayer: Opener to send in, further details and sign up for our Easter services and the weekly prayer requests.
• Care: A note on our Annual Meeting and leaving legacies for the church in your will.
• Share: News from Dick and Caroline Seed and a powerful video about how a computer game designing couple dealt with the death of their child.

Contributions to this week's Opener

For this Sunday: We need people responding to: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" with Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Please send contributions in as soon as possible (by 10am on Friday). You can send them by Whatsapp (07769 871520) or by WeTransfer.com to: [email protected].

For Easter Sunday:  We need people responding to: "Hallelujah, Christ is risen!" with He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!

Easter Services:

All online services and talks will be available on our YouTube channel.

If you want to attend an in-person church, then please check out the restrictions and make sure you register to let us know you are coming. See this page for details and to register.

From Monday 29th there will be a daily 'Easter Reflection' put on YouTube. This will be a 10 minute reflection on a part of the story of the cross from John's gospel with some questions to help you reflect further. These talks will also be given live as part of the Good Friday Meditation in church.

On Good Friday the Easter Story service will be available on YouTube. This is aimed at children and builds up a collage of the events of the first Easter.

On Good Friday in church from 12-3pm there will be the Good Friday meditation. You can come for one or more half-hour slots. Each half hour slot will include some music, a Bible reading, one of the Easter reflection talks and some quiet space to reflect further with some questions for guidance.

On Easter Sunday  there will be an online Easter service and a similar service in church at 10:30am, which will include Holy Communion. 

Read more about the Easter Services here...

Prayer Requests:

​​Be assured I will do my best to check that people are happy for the requests to be shared before including them. Please pray for...

• Joy Smithers is in hospital. She had an operation last Friday to remove the pins from the leg she broke last year, because these were infected. She has also now broken her other leg.

• Pauline (Gloria's friend) give thanks that the operation went well on Monday.

• Shirley Crabb that her hip operation can go ahead soon.

• Annie's mum that they can find the right residential care home for her.

• Flo Baldock having problems with her stomach, having a scan on 23rd.

• Jean Mayton, after a serious bleed on the brain recently.

• Nathan Court for his continuing treatment.

• Barb (Gloria's daughter's friend) starting radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

• Jeannette (Claudia's sister). The cancer has not spread and she has started chemotherapy.

Thank you to all who helped on Tuesday...

Many thanks to those who volunteered to help open the church up for the day of Reflection on Tuesday!

Annual Meeting

In the hope that we will be able to hold our annual meeting in person, we have decided to hold it the day after step 3 of lockdown lifting is planned. So, the meeting will be on Tuesday 18th May at 7:30pm in church. We will be electing up to two Church Wardens and three PCC members, approving reports and thinking and praying for our plans coming out of lockdown. Please put the date in your diary!

Leaving St. Luke's a Legacy

In the past the church has benefitted greatly from people leaving St. Luke's money in their will. We know that some people may be concerned that to do so would see the money used up on running costs that should be covered by regular giving.​

So at our last PCC meeting we passed a new policy that unless it is stated otherwise, any money left to St. Luke's in a will will be put in a restricted fund that can only be spent on Capital Costs (i.e. major new works rather than regular maintenance or running costs of the church). 

If you would like advice on writing a will or leaving a gift to St. Luke's, then please check out this website.

Last Week's Talk:

Encounters with Jesus: Peter - Are you going to wash my feet (John 13:1-17) - Available Online

Peter is flabbergasted that Jesus would wash his feet. How can the one who is Messiah degrade himself and act like the lowest of slaves? Yet, Jesus’s actions are designed to help Peter understand some very important truths.

St. Luke's Stories

​Do keep sending in more 'life stories' so we can add them to our page. You could use the online survey for reflecting on the Pandemic​ to submit some thoughts to share on St. Luke's stories.

If you haven't read any of the stories on the page yet then check it out here.

Interesting Blogs and Videos

Update on Dick and Caroline Seed

We have been supporting Dick and Caroline Seed for a number of years. They have worked in a number of African countries encouraging and helping to develop the teaching of church ministers there. At present they are based in South Africa. Read this article for the latest update.

Unwinnable: The Game that is true to life

Thanks to Eleanor Dawson for sharing this very thought provoking, poignant and moving video. It is the story of a couple that created a video game as a memorial to their two year old son who died of a brain tumour.

Finally, let's rejoice in the hope that Jesus brings, despite rejection.

Yours in Christ,

Paul Worledge 

Vicar, St. Luke's Ramsgate

www.stlukesramsgate.org​