Author: Saint Giles Church, Matlock

The energy of Spring in nature is also felt in the festivals celebrated in the Church as the risen Jesus ascends to the Father, and sends the Holy Spirit on the waiting disciples. About this Father Mark writes…

ASCENSION AND WHITSUNTIDE

The first part of Eastertide draws to a close on Ascension Day Thursday 13th May when we recall the last appearance to the disciples of the Risen Lord. There is a Eucharist at Saint Giles at 10 am and then we gather at 7.30 pm for a Eucharist at All Saints Matlock Bank.

On Saturday 22nd May, the Eve of Pentecost, we will have a special service for Churches Together at Saint Giles at 2.30 pm. In recent years there has been an ecumenical initiative to pray during the ten days between Ascension and Pentecost entitled ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. This is our contribution to this initiative. Do please support this event.

On Sunday 23rd May, Pentecost, Eastertide draws to a close with the feast of Pentecost. This, together with Easter and Christmas, is one of the three great feasts of the Church’s year. We recall the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and upon the Church. At the 9.30 am Eucharist there will be the renewal of Confirmation Vows.

Details of each of these services appear in the church calendars. Why not put them in your diary now?

There will be a short service in memory of HRH Prince Philip at St Giles Church on Friday, 16th April at 6.30pm.

A muffled bell will be rung at 9am on the morning of his funeral, Saturday, 17th April.

Saint Giles Church, Matlock will be ringing a single bell half-muffled (leather cap on one side of the clapper to ring alternately loud and soft) in remembrance of Prince Philip at 12 noon today, Saturday 10th April.

This will be as part of the tribute by Derbyshire bell ringers. Due to Covid restrictions, normal bellringing is not permitted, but many single bells will be tolled 99 times to represent the number of years Prince Philip lived.

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Following the sad news of the death of Prince Philip, here is a prayer that can be used during this period of national mourning

God of our lives,
we give thanks for the life of Prince Philip,
for his love of our country,
and for his devotion to duty.
We entrust him now to your love and mercy,
through our Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prayers will be said for Prince Philip and for the Queen and Royal Family at all the services at Saint Giles Church and there will be a brief service at 6.30 pm on the evening before his funeral.

A national online condolence book is now open for individuals and communities to record messages. Government guidance under the current Covid-19 precautions is that physical books should not be offered at this stage. 

Also, because of Government guidance and in line with the wishes of Buckingham Palace we are encouraged not to place flowers in memory of Prince Philip, but rather make a donation to a charity.

Dear Friends,

As Easter approaches I often think of the words of the great Scottish poet George Mackay Brown (1921 to 1996) who spent almost his entire life in the Orkney Islands:

‘Tomorrow the Son of Man will walk in a garden

Through drifts of apple-blossom’

They speak of the happy combination of the Easter message and the new life of spring.

These coming eight days of Holy Week and Easter are the most sacred days for Christians in the entire year. So for your help I attach this flyer with the various services at Saint Giles. 

With every good wish for a blessed and happy Easter from Father Mark

Father Mark writes….Once when I was facing a difficult situation, I called to see my former Professor of Theology. At the end of our short discussion he said to me ‘But you are pressing on with Christian confidence I hope!’ He was well entitled to make such a remark because he had himself as a young man been closely involved with the Confessing Church in Nazi Germany, those Christians who had put up something of a resistance to the totalitarian ideology of Nazism. So he knew a thing or two about being hopeful despite the outward circumstances. And, as I result, I always think of those words ‘Christian confidence’ whenever facing a difficult situation.

When the women at the tomb on Easter morning encounter the Risen Lord, he says to them ‘Do not be afraid’ (Matt. 28: 10). The Easter message of the resurrection calls us to live in hope and confidence, in the conviction that Jesus Christ has conquered evil and death. Whatever we face we are encouraged by our faith not to be over fearful, to keep things in perspective.

As we celebrate Easter together on 4th April, after a cold winter and a difficult time of anxiety about health and of restrictions and also their economic impact, the Gospel will remind us that ‘Christ has conquered! Glory fills you! Darkness vanishes for ever!’ (Words from the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday)

With every good wish for a Happy Easter from Mark Crowther-Alwyn

QUOTATION FOR THE MONTH

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

C.S. Lewis

Go to our YouTube channel to see Father Mark’s reflections on the Stations of the Cross. If you subscribe you will be notified when new videos are uploaded.

6.30 pm at St Giles, Matlock. A meditative service that leads us towards Easter.