From the Rector
Dear Friends
I have been told by some of our parishioners that the Ascensiontide prayer booklet has landed on your doormats, by courtesy of our postal workers. This particular set of prayers, to be used between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, is in the form of a Novena. A novena (from Latin: novem, "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in the Christian tradition, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the disciples gathered in the upper room and devoted themselves to prayer, is often considered to be the first novena.
In some Christian communities, such as in Africa, Latin America and the Philippines, novena traditions are popular and include devotional rituals such as congregational prayers; statue decoration; hymn singing with music as well as community fiesta with special food and drink and processions. Individuals will often pray privately by kneeling, burning candles and incense or placing flowers before a holy a statue – often that of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Jesus instructed his disciples - just before he returned to his father in heaven -to go back into the city and pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit. And, so he instructs us, the people of Holy Trinity Church, as his disciples in Horfield, to pray for the Holy Spirit that we may be guided to use our God-given gifts and talents to serve our community in God’s name.
Please join me and Hilary, in praying this Novena, that, as the family of God, we may be blessed by the gifts of God’s Holy Spirit.
God love you and God bless you – Fr David
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL PUBLIC WORSHIP HAS BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
JUST A REMINDER SERVICES ARE BEING UPLOADED TO OUR YOUTUBE PAGE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUgZ0SikJNpAotAdxRpZcJg?fbclid=IwAR2kEQ9BLXizRqNeP-
The above link is a hyper-link and can only be clicked on in the email version of this pew sheet. If this is not possible, simply type Holy Trinity Church, Horfield, Bristol in the YouTube search bar.
You can Google YouTube easily.
"Whoever you are; wherever you come from, everyone is welcome here”
The people of Horfield Parish Church try to make these words come alive by example. We are a community gathered in the Church of the Holy Trinity with St. Edmund, and part of the community of Horfield, Bristol.
Our worship is centred on the Eucharist and the sacramental life of God’s church, that we may grow as people who witness, live and experience God’s love at work in the ordinary rhythm of daily life. We worship in the liberal, inclusive, catholic tradition of the Church of England
You will find a warm welcome in our church from people who strive to follow Jesus through prayer, fellowship and service to the wider community. We understand church is not the place to be given firm answers, but a safe place to ask searching questions, find reflective space and be ourselves before God who is love.
We seek to honour the diversity that strengthens us and enhances and enriches our common life. Our church is a place where we have the opportunity to continue our journey towards God together, young and old, encouraging and supporting one another and welcoming the visitor and the stranger with a hospitality that assures no one need travel alone.
Revd. Canon David McGladdery, SCP.