May 2019
1st 9.30am Holy Communion (1662) (Tansley)
1.00pm Wednesday at One (Lady Chapel)
2nd 2.00pm Longmeadow Service
4th 2.30pm Chat-a-Cake (Hall)
5th 8.00am Holy Communion [Easter 3]
10.00am Prayer Time (Lady Chapel)
10.45am Family Communion
7th 7.30pm Matlock Churches Together AGM (Matlock Bath)
8th 9.30am Holy Communion (1662) (Tansley)
1.00pm Wednesday at One (Lady Chapel)
CHRISTIAN AID WEEK
12th 8.00am Holy Communion [Easter 4]
10.00am Prayer Time (Lady Chapel)
10.45am Family Communion
4.00pm Bank Road Messy Church (MMURC)
15th 9.30am Holy Communion (1662) (Tansley)
1.00pm Wednesday at One (Lady Chapel)
8.00pm PCC (Meeting Room)
19th 8.00am Holy Communion (1662) [Easter 5]
10.00am Prayer Time (Lady Chapel)
10.45am Family Service
6.30pm Evensong (Tansley)
21st 2.00pm Valley Lodge Service
7.30pm Study Group I (Meeting Room)
22nd 9.30am Holy Communion (1662) (Tansley)
11.00am Lilybank Service
1.00pm Wednesday at One (Lady Chapel)
25th 2.00pm Holy Baptism
2.30pm Installation of Bishop Libby (Derby Cathedral)
26th 8.00am Holy Communion [Easter 6]
10.00am Prayer Time (Lady Chapel)
10.45am Family Communion
6.30pm Evensong
28th 7.30pm Archdeacon’s Visitation (St. Helens)
29th 9.30am Holy Communion (1662) (Tansley)
1.00pm Wednesday at One (Lady Chapel)
30th 7.30pm Holy Communion [ASCENSION]
Baptisms
9.3.2019 Madeleine Palmer
Weddings
Funerals
BISHOP LIBBY will be installed as the Bishop of Derby at the Cathedral on Saturday 25th May at 2.30pm. Please remember her and her family in your prayers as she begins this new phase of ordained ministry.
ASCENSION DAY 2019 – Bishop Libby will be touring Carsington Deanery on the 30th May, starting near Ashbourne and joining All Saints’ at 7.30pm for our annual united Ascension Day Service – Come along to worship the Lord and to meet our new Diocesan Bishop.
Matlock Churches Together AGM will be held this year at Matlock Bath Church on Tuesday 7th May @ 7.30pm. Guest speaker will be Canon Paul Morris who will be speaking about town centre chaplaincy work – all are welcome
THY KINGDOM COME – As part of this national initiative, Matlock Churches Together invite local Christians to gather at the Imperial Rooms on Saturday 1st June at 2.00pm for a special service of worship and prayer for our community. We will be joined by our guest speaker, the Rt. Revd. Jan McFarlane, Bishop of Repton. Please do come along and support
Congratulations to Shelley Fairey who ran the Manchester Marathon on 7th April in aid of the All Saints’ Schools & USPG
APCM 2019
Congratulations to Chris Lowe & Derek Mitchell who were re-elected to serve as Warden for the coming year (And to June Greatorex & Kath Cummings who were re-elected to serve at Tansley)
Part of the Rector’s Report…
So, what lie ahead in the coming year?
There lie the opportunities presented by new housing developments that are already spreading round the town (The new Rectory being on one of them – We must note that the old Vicarage next to the Church, which has been in use since 1912 was sold within two weeks of going on the open market. It is particularly pleasing that the whole building is to be renovated as a family home) and we can pray that new residents might feel drawn to be part of the local Christian fellowships. There is the opportunity presented by the Bank Road Messy Church and the ongoing Family Service Worship, engaging with young families. Work with the Schools, Care Homes and developing our system of pastoral care for the lonely are another priority. Our challenge remains as always in the size and age profile of the congregation, and the ongoing pressures of finance – the PCC recently welcomed David Meredith from the Diocese to talk about the Parish Giving Scheme, which will be decided upon at the May Meeting. We look to welcome and encourage new members as we seek to discern and develop God’s vision for All Saints’ Church & how to develop the facilities to the glory of God & for the benefit of local residents. We mustn’t lose sight of the truth that our primary calling is to the worship of God & to enable others to encounter the Divine Love, grace & mercy, that they too might become disciples of the Lord.
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your good wishes to me and my family as we moved out of the old Vicarage into the new Rectory. Life is still full of boxes to be emptied and sorted, adjusting to the new reality & trying to get organised. Familiar objects are finding new homes whilst we also learn to adjust to a different situation, plus the increased commute to work!
I suppose in a roundabout way, that must have been how the disciples felt in the light of the events of Easter Sunday. All of them were now having to adjust their way of thinking to a new reality; that of the Risen Christ. The Jesus that they had journeyed with over the years, whom they’d listened to and watched perform miracles; the one whom in their fear, they had abandoned and seen nailed to the cross, was once more with them physically, and yet transformed to a new level of being.
No longer would they be able to go about their lives in the same way. Nor could they continue to view the world and life in the same way: the religious authorities had for the most part been exposed as self-serving & self-preserving, even to the point of condemning an innocent man to be sent to his death. In the figure of the Risen Lord the new creation was being born and the kingdom of God breaking into the world. The resurrection of Jesus was the Divine Affirmation of His earthly ministry; His words and actions. Above all, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s love and mercy for creation is revealed.
Mind-blowing stuff for those first followers to come to terms with, but it led to transformation and a renewed energy and focus to spread the Good News throughout the world, even at the cost of witnessing with their lives.
Thankfully in this country we don’t face the same dangers that the first disciples did, nor do we face the prospect of persecution and martyrdom as so many Christians round the world do, even to this day. But, we too are called to be transformed by our knowledge of and our encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian Church fails when it forgets its vocation to reach out and tell the story of God’s love for the world revealed in Christ. We can never afford to be complacent because God calls us to be transformational in our society and enable people to encounter the Word of God and to recognise the Lord at work in their own lives.
The Easter story is one that tells the triumph of life over death; of love over hate; of hope over despair. Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Every blessing this Easter-tide
Richard
