THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

A  near capacity congregation came to St. Augustine’s today to celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord. Father Mervyn presided and preached and Father Martin read the Gospel and prayed with  the Sunday School before they went to the hall. The Mass began with Asperges to remind us of our own Baptism and this theme was taken up by Father Mervyn in his sermon when he reminded us that Jesus, unlike us, did not need to be baptised. Never-the-less Jesus allowed his cousin John the Baptist to baptise him and he received the reassurance from his Father when he said: ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.’ These words show that from the beginning the very close involvement of the Father in Jesus’ ministry. They mark the start of his public ministry and they show the Father’s approval of all that he was to achieve. Probably the most important thing our parents did for us was to bring us to church as babies to be baptised. Now as adult Christians we must bring the Good News of the Gospel to others; we need to remind ourselves of the promises that were made at our Baptism: that we would  not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and we would manfully fight under his banner, against sin, the world, and the devil; and continue His faithful soldier and servant unto our life's end.

Yesterday’s Saturday Shop took £204

CONFIRMATION PREPARATION

Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation will begin on Sunday 3rd February. Following the Parish Mass there will be a meeting in church to discus the time and venue of both adult and children’s preparation.

Future Events

Tuesday 15th January: THE ROSARY in the Lady Chapel at 7.30 p.m.

Friday 25th January: The 4th Friday Club meet in the Lady Chapel between 1.00 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. and will examine the Book of Ecclesiastes.

CHURCH ELECTORAL ROLL

Every 6th year all churches in the CofE are required by law to recompile their Electoral Roll and 2013 is such a year. In February everybody on the current roll will receive a letter about this and a new enrolment form which they should complete and return to the Electoral Roll Officer or to Father Martin by 3rd March, if they wish to stay on the roll. Any person not already on the roll should complete a form to apply to be on the new roll.