Rev. Dominic writes:
This year we celebrated the day of Pentecost and held our annual church meeting (APCM) on the same day. A day when we remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church, and a day when we attend to the on-going work of the church, with election of churchwardens, PCC members, receiving reports and accounts. These two things may seem very different events, but maybe they are deeply connected.
Acts 2 gives us an account of the day of Pentecost, a day of new beginnings, with the promised gift of the Holy Spirit poured out so that the disciples were not left alone but were filled with the Spirit of God to live as witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Peter preaches his great sermon and then in vs 42-47 we read how the believers began to live their daily lives. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, breaking bread and prayer, meeting together with a great sense of unity and purpose and sharing with one another so that no-one was in need, and people were added to their number.
The gift of the Holy Spirit forms a new community of believers, who begin a pattern of life that we recognise in the church today. Their priorities were gathering for worship, attending to teaching, prayer, and breaking bread. Their communal life was marked by unity and a mutual care for one another, so that no-one was in need.
As the community of believers at Hull Minster, we move forward from our APCM with a sense of new beginnings with new Church wardens, new PCC members and new staff. We give thanks to those who are stepping down and moving on for their faithful service. May we move forward like those first believers in our devotion to worship and prayer, with mutual care and with a growing sense of unity and purpose, as witnesses to the love and life of God at the heart of our great city of Hull.
REQUEST FOR UKRAINE
Revd. Ben Norton has asked if we could collect sweets and chocolate as treats for the Ukrainian soldiers being trained in this country.
In addition, Olga has asked whether we could collect summer clothes for teenagers in Ukraine, particularly suitable for wearing at school. The temperature there at present is 26 degrees!
WELCOME CAFE
We are delighted to see young people from Hull College popping in to Welcome Café on a Thursday. This young man is proud to be training as a bricklayer – what an important skill to have! Others training as electricians and other practical skills were ‘camera shy’ We wish them all well and hope they continue to visit us.
STUDY GROUPS
These are continuing and you can find them in this week’s diary.
JUNIOR CHURCH
This was a wonderful session today as the older members prepared and ran the morning. It was based on this Sunday being the Day of Pentecost in the Church calendar, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the 120 people gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. The result was the birth of the Church as those in that room experienced the Holy Spirit settling on them with tongues of fire and filling them with power to go out and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some three thousand people joined with them that day.
The tasks for the group were to make headbands with small heart shaped pieces spelling out the different gifts of the Spirit, kites and volcanoes representing the wind and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Everybody joined in with great enthusiasm. Lastly, they marched into the Church with much panache!
HUMBER BRIDGE WALK FOR CHRISTIAN AID
For many years Jessica and Michael joined with Margaret Nicholson to do the Humber Bridge walk each year, raising funds for Christian Aid. I was delighted that Jess and Michael wish to continue this tradition despite the death of Margaret last year.
If you would like to join them, they will be meeting at the Humber Bridge on Thursday 30th May, they would be so pleased if others could join them.
If you are not able to walk the bridge perhaps you would be willing to sponsor Jess and help raise invaluable funds for this wonderful charity.
Please give any sponsorship funds to Jess, Shirley (volunteer manager) or me or one of the team at the Minster.
Thank you. Rev. Irene
ON PILGRIMAGE WITH BISHOP ELEANOR
Bishop Eleanor invited me to join her on a pilgrimage with people who had travelled from New Zealand to discover the ancient roots of Christianity across the British Isles. We joined them in Edinburgh and then travelled to Holy Island and Whitby, exploring the roots of Christianity in the Northeast, sharing the stories of saints and their missionary endeavours.
On day three we had the joy of welcoming the pilgrims to our land of the Diocese of York, in Whitby. We used the traditional New Zealand way of welcome with speeches and singing, a truly wonderful experience. During our time in Whitby, we shared stories of St Hilda, including the story of Caedmon, an uneducated herdsman who became a key figure in mission and the first English poet. This story of Hilda and Caedmon offers a deep connection between two figures from the past and what is happening today through the Mustard Seed programme I lead. Just as Hilda spotted the potential in Caedmon, today we are spotting potential within people on the edge of York Diocese, who can share the Good News of Jesus in their local communities. You can read more about my adventures here https://www.mseed.org/walkinginthefoostepsofsthildaandcaedmon
Many thanks. Heather
TOWER TOUR
A lovely family from Thorne joined us on a tower tour on Saturday and what a pleasure it was leading them up the 170 steps to the top.
I have permission from the lady in the centre of the picture to say she is 92 years young. She made those steps look easy. Jon Major
COLLECT FOR TRINITY SUNDAY
Holy God, faithful and unchanging;enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,
and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love,
that we may truly worship you,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.
AMEN
READINGS FOR TRINITY SUNDAY
Psalm 29
Romans 8:12-17
John 3:1-17
PRAYER POINTS FOR TRINITY SUNDAY
· For the people in Ukraine, for the soldiers being trained in this country, for an end to the Russian invasion.
· For peace in Israel and Palestine and other areas of conflict in the world. For families of the hostages and those suffering the repercussions.
· We pray for food supplies and aid to reach the desperate.
· We pray for safety for all aid workers and for the families of those that have recently been killed.
· We pray for negotiations not retaliation as we try to move forward to peace
· We pray for those who are struggling to keep their homes through no fault of their own. Asking for compassion and help to be shown.
· For all those who have been recently bereaved. Comfort them in their sorrow.
· For farming communities struggling to sow and grow crops. For all those involved in the lambing season where fields are flooded causing extreme stress to all.
DIARY FOR THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS
