Trinity 6 News

Priest-in-Charge Fr John Ainslie (revjohnainslie@gmail.com; 01628 629827)

A very warm welcome to any new readers, and to visitors and newcomers to St Michael’s. If you are new to St Michael’s, do join us for refreshments in the Vestry Hall after the service, so we can welcome you properly.

SERVICES THIS WEEK: Mass on Thursday at 10.30am (St Benedict of Nursia). Next Sunday Sung Mass for Trinity 7 at 10.30am, with a focus on the Revd John Keble and the Oxford Movement.

SAINTS’ DAYS THIS WEEK: This Saturday is the memorial in the Church of England of the Reformation martyrs St Thomas More and St John Fisher. Thomas More was born in 1478, studied classics and law and was called to the Bar at the age of 23. His talents and integrity impressed Henry VIII who appointed him as his Chancellor. However, Thomas could not support the King in his break with Rome and he was imprisoned and then executed on 6th July 1535 for refusing to acknowledge the King as the supreme head of the Church in England. John Fisher was a close friend of Thomas, he reformed the life of the University of Cambridge and was made Bishop of Rochester, where he proved an effective pastoral Bishop. He was admired by Henry VIII until he too could not stomach the King declaring himself supreme head of the Church in England in place of the Pope, whereupon John was imprisoned and executed two weeks before Thomas. We in the Church of England still live with the legacy of Henry’s decision to split from Rome (which was initially entirely about power and control, and not about fundamental doctrine – though it paved the way for divergence in matters of faith and doctrine).

Thursday 11th is the Festival of St Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Casino and Father of Western Monasticism, who died ca 550. Next Sunday the Church remembers John Keble, Priest, poet and a leader of the Oxford Movement.

LATER TODAY, SUNDAY there is the Blessing of the Fisheries ceremony at St Peter’s Folkstone at 3pm, followed by tea. All welcome – I know some of you enjoy this event and are planning to go again this year.

THE PCC meet on Wednesday of this week at 7.30pm.

DATE FOR THE DIARY: The annual Canterbury FiF BBQ at St Michael’s Harbledown is on Sunday 28th July starting at 3pm and ending with Evensong and Benediction at 6pm. We enjoy very strong links with St Michael’s Harbledown, they had a strong representation at my Licensing Service and Fr Peter there has been very encouraging to me in my ministry here – so it would be good to have a strong contingent from St Michael’s Maidstone to join in that enjoyable afternoon. If you need a lift, or want to do some car-sharing, please let me know.

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK AND THOSE IN NEED. Forms are now available at the back of church for requesting names to be included on our prayer list. If you wish prayers for yourself or someone you know, or for a particular situation, just fill in a Prayer Request form and pop it into the post box at the back of church. Names will be prayed for at Mass on Sunday and Thursday.

FOR OUR PRAYERS: This week in our National life we pray for our new Government; in the wider world we pray for peace in places of war including Ukraine, Sudan and Gaza, and for those affected by the devastation in the Caribbean; in our Church life we pray for our PCC meeting this coming week.

We pray for all those in need, and especially Paul Jones, Glynis Reynolds, Yvonne Young, Jessica O’Sullivan, Ellie Pointer, Rue McGeouch, Frank Carr, Lindsay Wheeler, Peter Rowe, William Danes-Volkov, Martyn Nash and Fran.

We pray for the recently departed, for all those who faithfully served God in this place in previous generations, and for those who’s year’s mind occurs this Sunday and in the coming week: Helen Bird, Christine Strachan, Robert Hickmott, Reginald Rust, Joyce Banfield and Irene Horton

From the Bell Tower: Friday, 28 June 2024 in 38m (6–1–24 in C)
1272 Triffid Surprise Minor
Composed by Mark T Elvers
1 Janice Byrne 2 Jacqueline Barlow 3 Stephen Coaker 4 Mark Elvers 5 Pam Thomas 6 Neil Jones (C)

Remembering Christine Webb (25/6/2024) R.I.P.

Rung on the Saint’s Day of Irenaeus, Bishop of Alexandria, Teacher of the Faith, 444.