The Season of Lent
at St Edmund's Church Northwood Hills
LENT 2023 - A MESSAGE FROM FATHER MICHAEL
It is easy to think of Lent as a miserable and grim season, but it really shouldn't be. It is a time for us to take stock of our lives and get closer to God - and surely getting closer to God is not something miserable. Martin Thornton, sometime Chancellor of Truro Cathedral, wrote a Lenten book of meditations called A Joyful Heart. It was first published in 1987 (sadly after his death) but is still I think very relevant today. It is an easy read and in it he maintains that 'theology can be light-hearted, that the perfect humanity of Jesus had to embrace a sense of humour; and that a devotional heart seeking forgiveness and prayer was also a joyful heart'. It is still available today and I would thoroughly recommend it as Lenten reading. I do hope we can all have a joyful Lent this year, particularly as the last couple of years we have been limited in what we can do.
LENT COURSE
This year's Lent Course will again be on Thursday evenings and is called From Now On. It is based on the film The Greatest Showman. It is a course on hope and redemption which will continue the joyful theme. Everyone is welcome to join the course whether or not you are a regular worshipper at St Edmund's.
The book From Now On by Rachel Mann and published by Darton, Longman and Todd, accompanies the course and is available here as either a paperback or a Kindle edition.
We will be showing the film in full on Sunday 26th February at 3pm in the Lady Chapel.
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The course will be held on:
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Thursday 2nd March 7.45pm in the Small Hall (next to the Hall carpark)
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Thursday 9th March 7.45pm in the Lady Chapel
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Thursday 16th March 7.45pm in the Lady Chapel
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Thursday 23rd March 7.45pm in the Lady Chapel
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Thursday 30th March 7.45pm in the Lady Chapel
FRIDAY EUCHARIST AND LENTEN LUNCHES
Each Friday Eucharist in March (except March 10th) will be held at 11am and will include a Lenten devotion. It will be followed by a Soup and Roll Lunch. All are welcome.​
LENT GIVING 2023
This year our Lent Giving will be split 50-50 between:
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THE FELIX PROJECT a London-based food redistribution charity set up in 2016 to tackle food waste and hunger. 4.7 million adults in the United Kingdom struggle to afford to eat every day and 2 million children are at risk of missing their next meal. Meanwhile, our food industry generates 3 million tonnes of surplus good, edible food each year. You can find out more about the work of this charity here.
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MOZAMBIQUE CONFLICT TRAUMA SUPPORT This year the Diocese of London are partnering with MANNA (Mozambique Angola Anglican Association) to raise money to train leaders in Mozambique who can provide pastoral care and support for those with trauma. Since 2017, over a million people living in northern Mozambique have been displaced by a violent insurgency and 4,000 have been killed. This is a population now who are deeply traumatised. Many professionals have said that their need for trauma counselling and support is as great as their need for food, but agencies and organisations do not have the funds for this. Find out more information here.
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You can donate by:
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Inserting cash or a cheque into a Lent Giving envelope available at the back of Church before or after the 10am Eucharist on Sundays and placing it into the offertory dishes next to the Font.
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Sending a cheque made payable to PCC of St Edmund The King to:
St Edmund's Church Lent Appeal 2023
2 Pinner Road
Northwood
HA6 1QS
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Bank Transfer (BACS)
If you are considering donating via BACS please complete the form below and we will e-mail you the bank details:
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