Join us Online: YouTube (from 6am Sunday)

We are not encouraging people to come to the church building at present, but for those who feel safe and would find it a support to come in person we will be open at 10:30am on Sunday:

Register to attend​

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

Click this link to join the Zoom meeting.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Yesterday was the inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States of America. The moment marked a new beginning for the USA. Such moments are a chance to look back on the past, assess our present challenges and set a vision for the future.

Some people have described our present situation as a bit like being stuck in 'Groundhog Day' Each day seems to be a repeat of the previous. The past rhythms of life that created welcome variety, including going out to work, meeting with family or friends or going to church have been reduced to a daily grind of the same thing day in day out. We find ourselves longing for the excitement of new beginnings, yet also worn down by the grind of the present.

Perhaps one of the most powerful Psalms in the Bible is Psalm 22. The first half contrasts deep complaint to God about the present situation with memories of a far better past. The writer seems to be struggling to come to terms with the tension between God's past care and support and what feels like his distance in present struggles. Perhaps that is how you feel about things now. It was how Jesus felt when he hung on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you  forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1).

However, the second half of the Psalm has a great vision for the future. God will save, he will listen and blessing will return. Let's be real with God about our present struggles, but also remember what God may have in store for a brighter future.

Join us this Sunday as we read about Jesus's encounter with one of the religious teachers of his day. The reading is John 3:1-22.

Please read on...

• Prayer: Let's remind one another of God's love in this week's opener for our online service. Week of Prayer for Christian Unity prayer meetings. Updates on prayer requests.
• Care: ​Some light relief: help to celebrate Burn's Night (Monday 25th) in lockdown. Update on Food Bank requirements. An update on St. Luke's financial situation.
• Share: Bible Society's new Bible Book Club resources.

Contributions to this week's Opener

It is good to speak truth to one another. This week we are going to use perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible. Please contribute!

This week I am going to say, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16) and I need people to send me a video of themselves saying:

• ...that whoever believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life.

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].

I'm planning to start sending this request out as part of the email on Sunday, so people have a bit more time to respond. However, if you can respond by tomorrow for this week that would be great!

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

This week is the week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Obviously, this cannot go ahead in the normal way. However, in Ramsgate we have planned three Zoom prayer meetings. All are welcome to join us:

• Friday, 22nd, 9:30-10:00am
• Saturday, 23rd, 9:30-10:00am
• Monday, 25th, 9:30-10:00am.

Please use this Zoom Link.

Prayer Requests:

This week some updates on last week's 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...

• Colin Ryan (Rita's husband) who has developed double vision. He is getting better, but has some tests coming up to help see what is causing this.

• Janet in the USA (Claudia's sister) who has cervical cancer. Pray that her operation removes all the cancer successfully.

• Annie Harvey's mum. She is getting better, but still in hospital. Pray for wise decisions about her future and for peace for Annie.

• Peter Shakeshaft who has recently been diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

• For Nicky Galer's mum. Give thanks that she is now through her Covid self-isolation and did not develop any symptoms.
• For those whose appointments or operations have been cancelled or postponed as a result of the increase in covid-cases.

• For Barb - Gloria's daughter's friend as she continues chemotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer.

Burns Night

This Monday (25th January) is Burns Night. We cannot have a social to celebrate, but Andrew McMillan has kindly agreed to put together a 10 minute video to help people celebrate at home! The idea is that you provide your own Haggis, swede (neeps) and potatoes, then sit down with your meal and watch the YouTube video, which will include:

1. Welcome & Introduction to Robert Burns - 3 mins

2. Piping in the Haggis, Address to the Haggis, toast to the Haggis & Selkirk Grace. 4 mins (Viewers will be asked to pause the video while they enjoy their Haggis!)

3. Toast to the lassies, reply, first and last verse of Auld Lang Syne - 3 mins

The video will be made available on the St. Luke's YouTube channel on Monday. We hope it can give you some light relief in these strange times!

Food Bank

The Food Bank that is run out of the Salvation Army on Ramsgate High Street is in particular need of UHT milk and tins of cooked meats. Please drop off any donations directly to the High Street.

St. Luke's Finances

2020 has been a difficult year financially for many people and organisations and St. Luke's is no exception. However, there are still many signs of generosity towards the work of the church, which we can be really thankful for. Below gives a brief summary of our 2020 finances:

• Planned Giving was up nearly £2,000 on 2019 with a bigger proportion given with Gift Aid. We are really grateful for all those who continue to give in this way. Without it St. Luke's would be really struggling.
• Loose plate collections were down around £2,300.
• There were a significant amount of online donations with about £2,500 given online in 2020. There was no significant giving in this way in 2019.
• Not including Parish Share our expenses were down around £5,000. This was mainly due to a £2,000 rebate on our electricity bill.
• In total we will have paid 83% of our Parish Share for 2020. This is money we pay to the Diocese to cover the costs of having a vicar, training for future clergy and other administrative costs. That leaves us owing around £10,000 for 2020, which is effectively our deficit for the year.
• The Hall Fund made a loss of £3,776 in 2020 due to a massive drop in rental income. 
• Positively during 2020, we also raised £5,751 to pay for the refurbishment of the church boilers and £940 for new audio-visual equipment to enable Live Streaming of services.

If you have not yet responded to the letter asking you to consider your financial giving to St. Luke's, it is not too late. 2021 is going to be equally challenging financially, so please continue to be generous and pray.

Last Week's Talk:

Not an Institution (John 2:13-22) - Available Online

People often say they don’t believe in organised religion. There are some good reasons for that and at first glance it seems that Jesus is against organised religion when he clears out the temple precincts. On closer inspection we discover Jesus is concerned to reform the Temple and ultimately to replace it with something better.​

Helpful Links:

Bible Society's new Bible Book Club: The idea of a Bible Book Club is to get together with others (on Zoom?), and choose a book of the Bible to read in a month, then meet together to discuss it. The website has lots of advice and links on how to do this, but there are also lots of useful resources that may help in your Bible study elsewhere. Could you use this as a new idea to Share God's word?

Finally, do keep praying as we look to God's future in these difficult times.

Yours in Christ,

Paul Worledge 

Vicar, St. Luke's Ramsgate

www.stlukesramsgate.org​