Weekly Notices - 10th May 2026
Looking ahead a little, I notice that Ascension Day this year falls on Thurs of next week. This gives us a clear framework in which our Gospel for this Sunday sits. “I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus assures His disciples, but he also says that they don’t need to be despondent about that because God will still be with them – just in a different form: through the Holy Spirit.
And that is true for us today, of course. Jesus is no longer here, he returns to heaven at the Ascension. Jesus is gone – he doesn’t live on our hearts. He is in heaven where he is constantly praying for us.
But the absence of Jesus in our lives does not mean the absence of God in our lives because God is still with us, through his Holy Spirit. We proclaim that truth as we start our Communion Prayer: I say, “The Lord is here” and you reply, “His Spirit is with us”.
And we do need to be absolutely sure that the Holy Spirit is ‘God with us’. The Holy Spirit is not the spirit of life within each one of us. The Holy Spirit is not the human spirit striving to be the best it can be. The Holy Spirit is not the divine spark within us that empowers our soul. The Holy Spirit is the embodiment of God – dwelling within each one of us who have become united with Christ through our salvation.
May God always bless St Aug’s through the Holy Spirit.
Your Friend and Vicar, Kofe
Vicar Kofe
This Sunday’s Service (10th May)
Theme: Strengthening for the Christian life.
Sentence: ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life,’ says the Lord. ‘No one comes to the Father except through me.’
John 14:6
Collect:
Eternal God,
light of the minds that know you,
joy of the hearts that love you,
strength of the wills that serve you;
grant us so to know you that we may truly love you,
and so to love you that we may gladly serve you,
now and always.
Amen
Readings: Acts 17: 22 – 31 & John 14: 15 -21
Parish Prayer Theme for month of May: World Peace and Social Justice.
Here's a suggestion for this week: every time you read or watch a news report that speaks of world-wide conflicts and war, offer up to the Peacemaker even a quick heart-felt prayer for His intervention - His Peace..
‘Prayer Changes Things’
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