Christian AID Charity Event
The Galliard Trio in Concert on Saturday 30th March, 7:30pm in St Peter’s Methodist Church. Music featured includes Mozart, Bartok, Bach and Mussorgsky.
Please come and enjoy an evening of beautiful music to support this year’s Christian Aid Week (12th-18th May) events.
Tickets at £10 (£5 for students) available from Jean Barber, phone 831956 jbarber@uk2.net or Doro Thyssen phone 479164 (eve) dorothyssen@outlook.com or come and find me after church.
Presented by the University of Kent, and returning to St Stephen’s after nearly 500 hundred years, John Bale’s inflammatory play about notorious King John is as controversial as ever. Join the Cultures of Performance research group as we workshop extracts from the play, bringing it back to life, along with some of the atmosphere of Reformation St Stephen’s. Featuring music, architectural projections, and some familiar faces from the community, the performance will explore how the play engages with the parish, Canterbury and Kent as they were in the 1540s and how they are today.
To coincide with this performance, the following Sunday, worship will be according to the Book of Common Prayer which has its roots in the sixteenth century, and accompanied by music by John Merbecke who published the Book of Common Prayer Noted in 1550, and by Thomas Tallis who’s compositions straddled the Reformation.
A week of opportunities to explore different approaches to prayer and spirituality in the Christian tradition.
Saturday 9th March to Sunday 17th March 2019
St Stephen’s Church
Hales Drive Canterbury
CT2 7AB
Programme
Saturday 9th March 10 30 am
Introduction to the week and the resources available
Special guest speaker Barbara Wallace,
Sunday 10th March 6pm
Service of prayer and contemplation featuring music and poetry
Monday 11th March – Friday 15th March – 9am- 4pm
The church will be open and a variety of prayer resources available, including art materials, literature and aids to contemplation.
Morning prayers at 9.00 am and evening prayers at 4.00 pm will be followed by a chance to discuss different approaches to the inner journey.
There will be an hour of shared silence between 11 am and noon ending with midday prayers.
There will be said service of Holy Communion on Wednesday at 10.15 am
A labyrinth walk, visit to a quiet garden and evening activities will be available if requested.
Sunday 17th March 4 pm
Closing tea for participants to share experiences and discuss future prayer opportunities, followed by Choral Evensong at 6.00 pm.
This is a week of opportunities. Come to as much or as little as you find helpful. You can use it as a Lenten retreat in everyday life or just drop in when it suits you. There is no charge and no need to register, but email {This email is obscured. Your must have javascript enabled to see it} for further information, to ask for any specific activity to be included, to be kept up to date with developments in the programme or to join in online. For updates see https://www.facebook.com/ststephenscanterbury/
Theology Discussion Group: The next meeting for discussing theological ideas will take place in the church hall on Tuesday 5th February at 7.30pm. The topic will be: “How ‘do’ we Start Theology?: Three Ways of (Not) Speaking of God” and will be led by Dr Philip Knight. All are welcome so please come along and share your thinking.
This year there are three special services to mark the Christmas season:
On Sunday 2nd December at 6.00pm we have our Advent Carol Service where we prepare ourselves and look forward to the coming of God’s Son.
Our Service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas is on Sunday 23rd December at 6.00pm where we will hear readings, choral pieces sung by our choir, and join together to sing well-known Christmas Carols.
Finally, on Sunday 6th January we will be marking the Epiphany, when we remember the visit of the wise men.
Everyone is warmly welcome at all of our services.
Ride and Stride is the sponsored bike ride or walk in which people all over England walk or cycle between churches, exploring and enjoying the countryside from Cornwall to Northumberland. The money they raise helps to save historic churches, chapels and meeting houses for future generations by helping to fund urgent repairs and the installation of modern facilities.
The next Ride and Stride will take place on 8 September 2018, from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, and you can be part of it! Participants plan their own routes, and seek sponsorship for riding, cycling, walking, or manning the church. After the event the money is collected and divided between churches in need of repair, by your own choice and by the Friends of Kent Churches, the area organiser.
Would you like to ride or stride, contact the local organiser: Eduard Heyning, {This email is obscured. Your must have javascript enabled to see it} or 07748 787373.
Other links:
http://friendsofkentchurches.co.uk/ride-and-stride/
This year Lent starts on 14th February (also St Valentine’s Day!) and as part of our observance of Lent a Week of Accompanied Prayer (also known as Week of Guided Prayer) is being held at St Stephens from 11th – 17th March 2018
This is a marvellous way to make an individually guided retreat in the midst of ordinary life and is for EVERYONE – no previous experience necessary! Unlike traditional retreats which are the same for everyone, because you will be allocated your own prayer companion for the week, it starts where you are and goes where the Spirit wants to take you.
The week will start at our evening service on Sunday March 11 and end with a special service on the morning of Saturday 17th. Between these times your commitment for the week is to set aside 30 minutes each day for prayer and to meet with your trained prayer companion for about 30 minutes at St Stephen’s Church, at a previously agreed time.
The week is a journey in the love of God and you will be encouraged in your own unique pathway of prayer. A key factor of the whole experience is that there is no pressure and it is based on the principle that Jesus meets us “where we are”.
The role of the prayer companion is not to tell you what to do or even to teach you, but to help and support you as you reflect on your prayer life. All conversations with prayer guides are seen as confidential.
Places are limited so if you want to get your name down now please email {This email is obscured. Your must have javascript enabled to see it}, heading your email WAP, or collect one of the forms from the back of the church and return it to the Rectory.
A Peaceful and Holy Christmas to everyone visiting our website. Don’t miss out of hearing some carols sung by our choir, recorded at the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on 22nd December.
Everyone is welcome to join us to prepare for and celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. There are quiet said services of Holy Communion, and sung choral services with choral music sung by our choir alongside seasonal hymns for everyone to sing together.
Sunday 3rd December 2017 – Advent Sunday
8.00am Holy Communion
10.30am Sung Eucharist
6.00pm Looking for the Light – a special service for Advent Sunday
Sunday 10th and 17th December 2017
8.00am Holy Communion
10.30am Sung Eucharist
6.00pm Choral Evensong
Friday 22nd December 2017
7.30pm Traditional Service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas
Sunday 24th December 2017 – Christmas Eve
8.00am Holy Communion
10.30am Sung Eucharist
2.00pm Family Crib Service
11.30pm Midnight Mass
Monday 25th December 2017 – Christmas Day
8.00am Holy Communion
10.30am Festival Sung Eucharist with carols