Weekly letter from St Luke's - 28 April 2023

Dear Parish Friends This Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Easter, is often called 'Good Shepherd Sunday' as in the gospel reading from John 10, Jesus refers to himself as an attentive shepherd, but also as the gate that the shepherd controls (which baffles his listeners!). Central to this is the idea that those who follow Jesus form a group whose identity is determined by their relationship with Jesus, as is the case of a flock with their shepherd. Our reading from Acts 2 follows in the same vein, asking the question as to what it is that defines the church, as those who "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (Acts 2:42). This Sunday is a fifth Sunday of the month, and so our 9am service will be an all-age service (without communion) where we will explore together this image of the early church and how it relates to us today. The 7am service will be a traditional Order 2 service of Holy Communion as usual. The week's notice paper and order of service for the 9am service (also streamed on Zoom) are available via the links below. Yours in Christ Rev'd Timothy