Ian Jennings was an associate minister at Denham Parish Church for four years. After retiring in April 2023 he is occasionally recording a talk for us.
Here he is reflecting on one of our focus areas in our developing mission plan: the place of prayer in our mission.
Almighty and ever faithful God,
We pray for Charles at this time of coronation.
Grant him grace in times of challenge,
Hope in time of struggle,
Support in times of weakness,
And faith in times of doubt.
May he lead in mercy and understanding.
Grant the King knowledge of your presence
and enable him to be a witness to your love and power.
Grant him grace, peace and joy
as he fulfils the role that you have called him to.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Prayer by Fred Drummond, Scottish director and UK prayer director for the Evangelical Alliance UK
Jesus promises us life in all its fulness (in John 10.10) but often our reality seems to fall short. This Lent we are reflecting in our Sunday services on passages from Matthew’s Gospel, combined with Psalms to learn how we can thrive rather than just survive:
Sunday 26 February
Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Turn from Temptation
Mat 4.1-11 | Psalm 141.1-5,8-10
Sunday 5 March
Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Faith in the Healer
Mat 8.1-13 | Psalm 30
Sunday 12 March
Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Plain Priorities
Mat 8.18-22 | Prov. 3.1-8 NLT
(Sunday 19 March: Mothering Sunday. We are pausing the series)
Sunday 26 March
Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Calm in the Storm
Mat 8.23-27 | Psalm 34.1-8
King Charles welcomes Mr Sunak at Buckingham Palace (Photo: PA)
THE Archbishop of Canterbury has asked people to pray for Rishi Sunak as he starts his term of office as Prime Minister.
Mr Sunak was chosen as the new leader of the Conservative Party on Monday afternoon, and became the new Prime Minister on Tuesday morning, when Liz Truss stood down after several weeks of financial and political turmoil.
After the announcement on Monday, Archbishop Justin Welby posted on Twitter: “At a time of great difficulty and uncertainty for this country, please join me in praying for Rishi Sunak as he takes on the responsibilities of leadership. May he, and all leaders of all parties, work across divides to bring unity and offer stability for those who need it most.”
Last Thursday, in a House of Lords debate on the cost of living, the Bishop of Oxford, Dr Steven Croft, exhorted whoever became Prime Minister to address child poverty as a priority.
“The well-being of the nation is now very fragile,” he said. “To the incoming Prime Minister, I say: ‘Please don’t make it worse. Do all you can to make it better. Don’t allow the costs of the economic downturn to be borne by children and the poorest. . . Blessed are those who consider the poor.”
St Mary’s Festival on 11 September will be a wonderful community celebration and we need your help!
Above: Azita with her husband Kamran, their children Rozhin and Rohan and their dog Chelsea
On Saturday, 2 July, our new training curate Azita will be ordained as a deacon in the Church of England. On Sunday 3rd we will welcome her and her family here in Denham.
Ordination Service 2 July, 2pm: Onsite and Online
Azita’s ordination service will be at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford on Saturday, 2 July at 2pm. Everyone is welcome. Christ Church Cathedral is part of Christ Church College (OX1 1DP). If you are planning to attend the service please arrive early to make sure you get a seat. Parking is difficult in the centre of Oxford, so it’s best to use Park&Ride or to come by train (it’s a 15-20min walk from Oxford Train Station).
The service will also be live-streamed on YouTube. The link below will take you directly to the right page:
https://youtu.be/W1O-mgfykV4
Welcoming Azita and her family on Sunday 3 July
Azita and her family will be with us for our services on Sunday 3 July. We will have our usual 9am Holy Communion, 10.30am Sunday service. There will also be Café Church at St Mark’s at 3.30pm. Please join us for one of those services, so we can welcome them together. If you are away, please don’t worry as there will be many more opportunities to get to know Azita and her family. They will move into St Mark’s House on Friday 8 July.
Please pray for them over these next weeks as they step into a new season of life and ministry as a family.
Download Azita’s prayer card with the link below.
Azita Prayer Card
The lighting of St Mary’s Church tower during the Jubilee. Thank you to Encore and Denham Parish Council for their support!
On Tuesday 3 May, our PCC updated the risk assessment for meetings and services in our building:
A PCC UPDATE TO OUR COVID RISK ASSESSMENT
As the country has moved forward with guidance around the wearing of masks and social distancing, we have updated our risk assessment at St Mary’s.
With many people attending weddings, funerals and baptisms without wearing masks, and members of our church family asking if it is necessary to wear masks, we would like to propose that we have changed our guidance to be less rigid. We are also allowing seating in all areas of church.
There is no requirement to wear a face covering inside the building, including when singing. However, if you feel more comfortable please continue to wear a face covering. We ask that if you feel ill that you take part in the church service online. If you choose to attend the church service onsite with symptoms, kindly take a lateral flow test first.
You are welcome to sit in any of the pews in the centre of the church but if you would prefer to stay at a distance from people other than your immediate family please sit in the side pews.
As the warmer weather should be with us for the next few months, we will continue to ventilate the building before, during and after services.
We will continue to serve communion in one kind only in the chancel but we won’t operate a one-way system anymore.
We will use the West door both for entry and exit. The South door will also be open if people want to leave that way.
WELCOME: Sanctuary Foundation is supporting new arrivals from Ukraine. The Sanctuary Foundation invites you to join us to make a real difference to the lives of Ukrainian people.
The UK government has announced it is developing a new humanitarian sponsorship programme that will allow an unlimited number of Ukrainian families to come to the UK.
This humanitarian sponsorship route is currently being designed, but it will assist and accelerate the government response if potential sponsors and supporters can express their interest as soon as possible.
You can pledge your support here:
sanctuaryfoundation.org.uk
Click here for the Sanctuary Foundation website…
Ukraine Welcome:
Share the Ukraine Welcome website with anyone arriving in the UK from Ukraine to provide them with valuable information in English, Ukrainian, and Russian.
DONATE MONEY: Our mission partner Tearfund is a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. You can give to their Ukraine appeal here: www.dec.org.uk
Click here for the DEC website…
DONATE MUCH NEEDED GOODS:
Craig and Caroline, who lead our Give and Share ministry, have been taking donations to a local couple who are collecting and driving back to Ukraine. The following items are still in short supply and very much needed:
Sleeping bags, thermal underwear, hot water bottles, baby milk, nappies, women’s sanitary protection and hygiene products, pet food, tea, coffee, sweets, rice, pasta, cuppa soups, jam, socks, paracetamol tablets, ibruprofen tablets, calpol, bandages, dressings plasters and Imodium.
These are the essential but anything like colouring books pens and backpacks for the children would be amazing as they often leave with nothing. Pet carriers are also needed.
You can drop off any of these items at our church office during office hours (scroll down to the bottom right of this page for more details). Craig and Caroline will make sure they are being delivered. Please do NOT leave donated goods outside the church if no one is in!
PRAY:
St Mary’s Church Office
Village Road
Denham UB9 5BH
Tel: 01895 832771
