Posted by During 2020, we will be trying each month to share an idea for worship that has worked well at St Clare’s. We have often adapted other good ideas we have stumbled on, and you will no doubt do the same with our thoughts. This first idea is ‘A service of sending on’ for when someone…Read more »
Posted by Listening to the Passion Narrative on Palm Sunday, I winced at the description of Jesus’ humiliation, torture and death. It is a painful story for anyone, Christian or not to enter into, but perhaps as a trauma survivor it is particularly triggering. I still find it difficult to watch atrocities on the news, or read…Read more »
Posted by For many reasons, not everyone can make it to church on Christmas Day. But we can all find a few minutes to remember God with us, to hear the Christmas story, to give thanks, and to pray for the world. This simple liturgy is designed to help us do this. It can be prayed alone…Read more »
Posted by This time last week I was in Berlin. I was privileged to be part of a group of clergy from the Diocese of Coventry visiting communities of the Cross of Nails in that great city. For four days we heard extraordinary stories of people working so hard to bring reconciliation to that great city. Stories of past,…Read more »
Posted by I love board games. I always have done. I still remember the glorious triumph of finally beating my Auntie Pat at Scrabble for the first time when I was seventeen (it’s possible I’m a bit competitive). I was in hospital at the time, but she wasn’t going to let a small thing like that stop…Read more »
Posted by How do you connect to God? It won’t be the same answer for everyone, so at St Clare’s we like to try lots of different ways of praying. One thing we’ve found is that most of us really value having something visual to focus on, and one idea that has really worked is ‘Gazing Prayers’. In…Read more »
Posted by My journey to St Clare’s by Ruth Nelson Thirteen years ago I was a member of my local parish church and even in a leadership role. However, I wanted a more relational type of church gathering and what did all that church thing mean anyway? Locally there was a group of people in their twenties who…Read more »
Posted by INTRODUCTION Reflecting on Christ’s death is an important part of our spiritual journey. We can do this at any time, but Holy Week is the week in the church calendar when many Christians put aside time to think about Jesus’ last days and crucifixion, culminating of course with Good Friday. One way that many Christians use to…Read more »
Posted by All sorts of interesting people pop in to St Clare’s during the week; to shop, to browse or just to chat. Last week, an older man came in and had a quick look around, before settling himself down into one of our lovely chairs, clearly ready to pass some time with me. We got chatting,…Read more »
Posted by It’s just three weeks since we were given the keys to the building that would be St Clare’s. We had just three weeks to transform a tired and somewhat neglected building into a warm and hospitable space, ready to open our doors on St Clare’s day. It’s amazing what you can achieve in three weeks…Read more »