Mothering Sunday

This week, you can feel the first hints of spring. The sun is out, the daffodils are beginning to reappear and in the middle of our Lenten discipline, then there's a break, when we celebrate mothering and what it means.
For me, a lot of it is caught up in this picture called "Cuddle" from a local artist, Anita Klein.
There's an openness and an intensity in this cuddle, and it's a natural fit with the link between a mother and a child.
Yet that's not the only context for this kind of love. This kind of love - nurturing, open, intense - can occur in a range of contexts. We all know what it is to be mothered and it would be rare if the only person who we had received it from was our own mothers.
That doesn't mean we don't celebrate motherhood. And it certainly doesn't mean I won't be sending my mum a card on the day: that would be a major offence if I didn't!
Rather, it's time to celebrate this most wonderful, intense (even divine-like?) of loves, and to do that in Church.
It's always one of our most popular services. So arrive early on Sunday (for the main 10am service) to get your seat!
Fr Robert
PS Meantime, our Lent courses continue to run, of course. This week, we're discussing Prayer, even as we think about Confession from last week.

Lent continues

As Lent continues to draw us in, now is the time when it's harder to stick to that Lenten discipline which we began last week.
Our Lent course, Cleanse... Inspire... Perfect should help us some of the way there: it is full on Tuesdays at noon, Wednesday evenings and on Fridays at noon, but there are some spaces for the Tuesday evening slot.
This week, we'll be focussing on the Cleansing part through confession: this is largely in the context of private prayer and relationships, but could be in the context of confession to a priest.
We'll be thinking this through this week.
Fr Robert

Lent: Cleanse...Inspire...Perfect

We are now in the season of Lent, the Church's season of penitence in anticipation of the drama, tragedy and triumph of Holy Week culminating in Easter Sunday.
Lots of people give up things for Lent: I've given up television and am reaping the benefits. I have so much time! But I am missing the new series "Ashes to Ashes", not to mention "Dancing On Ice". Oh well, I'll just have to get the DVD. And the house is extraordinarily quiet, which is great.
Fr John is fasting on Fridays, and you'll have heard about his successes and failures with that one if you were in Church on Sunday.
We're also marking Lent at our Church with a Lent course called Cleanse... Inspire... Perfect, a Spiritual Detox.
Basically, we're often too busy to see the wood for the trees in our lives. This week, we'll be thinking about what are things that are important to us, things that we know we need to address, but things we don't actually do.
It's a course written by Fr John that draws on the Bible, the liturgy of the Church and the insights of human resources psychology.
It's going to be brilliant.
There are a few places left: Tuesday lunchtimes, Tuesday evenings, Wednesday evenings.

Then there's our art focussed Lent alternative on Friday lunchtimes.
More on that later.

Otherwise, services go on well. There was a wonderful baptism on Sunday for Ilana. Next week, do come at 10am on Sunday for our usual Sunday eucharist, and join us at any time throughout Lent.

Fr Robert

Candlemas and Lent

When Jesus was brought as a baby to the temple, that's what we celebrate at Candlemas.
It was the time of the remarkable response by Simeon, realising who he had seen, as he beheld the baby, "Now Lord, let your servant depart in peace."
On a personal level, my wife and my first child, Tessa, was born on Monday, so though I won't be at church for a couple of weeks, it will be a greatly resonant festival.

Then, by quirk of dates, Lent follows very soon. This season of penitence and abstinence is being marked by our "Spiritual Detox" lent course, "Inspire, cleanse, perfect". Specially written for this Church, it happens on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and Tuesday lunchtimes. Do sign up.

For those with an artistic bent, we'll also be running concurrently a Lent programme with the Dulwich picture gallery on Fridays. A great way to explore that spiritual side.

Lent starts of course with services on Ash Wednesday, Feb 6th, both in the morning and in the evening.

Fr Robert