There's a major service this Thursday evening (21st May) at 8pm, celebrating the Ascension, the time when Jesus completed his work on earth and returned 'to the right hand of the father'.
It will be a peaceful eucharist (though with good music too).
Do join us. I'll be preaching (but don't let that put you off...)
Here's a photo of the baptism from last Sunday's service, kindly sent by the photographer, John Whitfield (www.johnwhitfieldphotography.com).
It was a double baptism: there's Kyan, who's 2, in the suit, who's just been baptised seconds before, watching his little sister, Nyah, get baptised. Parents Chi and Odili look on. I love the look on Kyan's face: so interested. You can just seem him questioning what's happening in his eyes.
And the guy on my right, assisting, is Martin.
He and Ian C were sworn in as churchwardens for the year at Southwark Cathedral on Monday. It was a good service and it was really interesting to hear their formal responsibilities. Things like keeping the churchyard in decent order and ensuring dignity and lack of disruption at times of holy worship. The words sounded old: I suspect they've been the same for centuries.
It's a really significant job, being a warden. On the surface, it's often about fabric and functional things, but really they keep an eye on the wellbeing of the church as a whole. We're very lucky to have them. (And Graham did a great job before, too.) In the title, I say "new churchwardens": that's not exactly right as they've both been wardens before, but it is their new term of office.
Father Robert
