Weekly email. w/b 1st February 2021

I’ve just read the sad news that Sir Tom Moore has died. The 100-year-old who raised nearly £33m for the NHS won the nation’s hearts by walking one hundred laps of his garden before his 100th birthday. He had tested positive for COVID last week.

I’m sure the tributes will be rolling in for him over these next days, for his story these last months has become the ‘stuff of legends.’ His daughters wrote “The last year of our father’s life was nothing short of remarkable. He was rejuvenated and experienced things he’d only ever dreamed of.” If we ever needed a reminder that people of all stages of life can make a difference, and that sometimes the most unlikely of people can lead the most unlikely of revolutions, then look no further.

Isn’t that how God so often seems to work? David – a shepherd boy becomes a King. Esther – a foreign supermodel made Queen. Zacchaeus – vertically challenged and outcast. Simeon and Anna – two elderly people waiting in the temple meet with Jesus. God can use the unlikely and the overlooked, and by his grace bring them into his amazing story. What an amazing example of God’s grace at work!

Meanwhile thank you so much to those who were in touch after last week’s email, and the invitation to be both lamenting and hoping. It has been great to hear from you, and to hear of how you are getting on. I and colleagues on the Ministry Team would love to hear from you, how you are doing at this stage of Lockdown, and if there are any particular ways in which we can be praying for you and supporting you. The Church Office phone number is 01743 362399, or my email phil.cansdale@trinitychurches.org.

Grace and peace

Revd Phil Cansdale, Vicar of Trinity Churches and Area Dean of Shrewsbury

During Lockdown we are here to support and resource you. As part of doing that we’ve just released a new copy of our “Time for God” resource, a short booklet of some simple prayers and readings from the Bible. Each page has one or two short things to reflect on.

Want to get hold of a copy?

1. There’s a sealed box outside Holy Trinity Meole Brace, and also outside Cafe Connect. If you live nearby and are passing – at the shops or on your daily exercise – then please pick one up.
2. You can download a copy from our website.
3. If you know someone who would appreciate a copy – or you yourself would like us to post you a copy or two – then please let the Church Office know on info@trinitychurches.org, or telephone 01743 362399.

Meanwhile don’t forget our Daily Six o’clock Live, meeting Monday to Saturday evenings for twenty minutes of reflection, prayer and worship. We’ve got two weeks left of our “Experience a better story” series as we walk through the big story of the Bible. We’d love you to join us and join in.

Download a copy of the new “Time to pray” booklet

Join us on Facebook for Six o’clock live

It’s not been easy planning ahead these last few weeks, but we are just about finalised on some of our resources for Lent and Holy Week. We’ll say much more next week, but they include:

• Sunday mornings will be looking at the theme of “Worship in the Wilderness”, drawing on those places in scripture where God’s people are shaped and transformed by the experience of being in a wilderness. There are some big themes like simplicity, solitude and being led by the Spirit which are particularly relevant to us today.
• Six o’clock live will continue that theme with daily reflections building on Sundays, and led by different people from across the six o’clock live community.
• Saturday mornings each week will see a prayer gathering, each one reflecting around a different theme or approach to prayer. We’ll be meeting on ZOOM, and seeking to be as practical and as honest as we can about the journey of prayer

We are also producing a Lent booklet which will outline a weekly resource to get individuals, families and anyone else involved and engaged with some of these big themes. Watch this space…

We are gearing up for the “Big Lent Read“, based around the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book. Join others from Trinity Churches – and a sense of joining with churches and Christians all over the UK – with author Hannah Steele who will lead us through her new book ‘Living His Story‘. As we journey through this book, Hannah will unpack liberating and practical ways of sharing the gospel story afresh. Hannah will be sharing with us how we can live Jesus’ story in our own lives simply by being the people God made us and allowing people to be drawn to him through our natural gifts.

We’re hoping to get one or two “book groups” together who could read this book over Lent, and meet up once a week for a conversation about that chapter. This might even work via WhatsApp chat? We’d be particularly interested to hear from those not already in a small group who might want to get involved. As always, join us and join in.

Let us know you’d be interested in joining a book group

These are tough days for many people, and lots of us find ourselves in need of help and support. As a local church we pray regularly for the local community we serve, and we would love to pray for you, your family or friends. Do please let us know what we might be praying for you, or make this link available to others as appropriate.