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St
Alban’s (Grand Cayman) & St Mary’s (Cayman Brac) | |
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16 May 2010 Welcome
to
St
Alban’s Anglican Church
Today's
Scripture: Acts
16: 16-34
Revelation 22: 12-end
S. John 17: 20-end Today:
8.35 a.m. Matins; 9.00 a.m. Church School; 9.30 a.m. Holy Eucharist;
6.00 p.m. EP. This Week: Tues-Fri 12.30 p.m. Midday Prayers;
Sat 10 a.m. Prison Ministry. Next
Sunday: 8.35 a.m.
Matins; 9.00a.m. Ch School; 9.30 a.m. Holy Baptism and Eucharist;
6.00 p.m. EP Sunday
after Ascension Day
O
God the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee,
leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort
us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is
gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end.
FAITH
IN FOCUS: UP AND AWAY? The
Ascension of the Lord is almost the Cinderella of Lent and
Eastertide. While we give great weight to Palm Sunday,
Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost, Ascension seems to belong
to a second division of feasts that rarely get much of a mention. Traditionally
the number 40 has a mystical significance in the bible. The Hebrew
slaves wandered for 40 years in the desert, Jesus fasted and was
tempted for 40 days in the desert, and the Ascension is said to have
taken place 40 days after the resurrection. But what is this feast
actually about? It
celebrates more than the mere fact that Jesus did not stay on earth
after his resurrection. Yes, he went back to heaven. But the
Ascension is not simply a historical memorial of that fact. It has a
liturgical and spiritual meaning. It
allows us to proclaim our confident hope that where Jesus has gone,
we too hope to follow. The ancient Roman preface for today reminds
us that although Jesus has passed beyond our sight he has done so
not to abandon us but to be our hope. God might have gone up, but
he’s not gone away. In
a very obvious way, Jesus’ ascending into heaven is a way of
saying that he has returned to his Father in order to claim for us a
share in his divine life.
WORD OF GOD I
have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we
are one. (John 17:22) ASCENSION
CHRISTIANS are those whose lives are lived in a joyful hope that waits
for the return of Jesus, when all the promises made by God will come
to completion. Where Jesus has gone, we hope to follow. CROWNING
ACHIEVEMENT (May 19th) When
a British monarch is crowned as king or queen the ceremony that is
used goes back to a man named Dunstan. He lived in the tenth century
and was himself the son of a nobleman of royal blood from Wessex. He
was a royal advisor to several kings. Almost middle-aged before he
became a priest, he built himself a little cell near the abbey at
Glastonbury and used to make bells and metal vessels for the
community. …
…King
Edmund eventually appointed him as Abbot of Glastonbury. He
established the Benedictine Rule, rebuilt and enlarged the church
buildings, and turned Glastonbury into a leading centre of learning
and of scholastic philosophy and theology. In 960 he became Archbishop
of Canterbury and was responsible for overseeing King Edgar’s
coronation and it was there that he forged the connection between
Church and monarchy in the crowning ceremony. This has lasted until
our own time. THE
ASCENSION is a festival of the future of the world. The flesh is
redeemed and glorified, for the Lord has risen for ever. We Christians
are, therefore, the most sublime materialists.
(Karl Rahner)
THIS
WEEK’S BIBLE READINGS
Mon:
Num
22:1-35, Luke 7: 36-end, 1 John 2: 18-end Tues:
Num 22:36 – 23:12, Lk 8: 1-15, 1 John 3: 1–10 Wed: Num 23: 13-end, Luke 8:
16–25, 1 Jn 3: 11–end Thurs:
Num 24, Luke 8: 26–39, 1 John 4: 1-6 Fri:
Num 27: 12–end, Luke 8:40-end, 1 John 4: 7–end Sat: Num 32: 1-27, Luke 9: 1-17, John 7: 37-39 NEXT SUNDAY (WHIT SUNDAY) : Acts 2: 1-21, Romans 8: 14-17, S. John 3: 1–8
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