Dear all,
Yesterday was the commemoration of the D-Day landings, I'm sure you’ve seen all the ceremonies and acts of remembrance honouring all those brave men and women making the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom and protection of others. It is absolutely right to honour their courage with gratitude but I confess it also makes me so sad for the state of our world today. Remembering these significant moments in history just bring to mind all the mindless acts of violence, the very much mind*ful* acts of aggression, the wars, the conflicts and the battles that have raged in these intervening 80 years. Wars that we sometimes seem to forget still rage. For some of us it leads to switching off the news and avoiding painful reminders. For some of us it leads to immense gratitude for the relative peace and security that we have. And for some of us, it leads to losing faith, overwhelmed by the seeming endless brutality of humanity.
It is facing this very real risk of losing faith with God that we will be exploring in our Psalm Series this Sunday. What do we do when we begin to feel that God is absent? When we feel forsaken by God? Where do we take our pain and disillusionment? Psalm 22 will be our guide as it powerfully, and evocatively, takes us on a journey we may be very familiar with – oscillating between utter despair and confident trust. At one point feeling dejected and physically distraught, the next finding strength and hope in God, but then cast back into anguish, before proclaiming confidence in God once more. If you have ever wrestled with the question of “Where is God in all this?!” I would invite you come dwell in Psalm 22 with us for a while and explore the idea that we can rail at God, we can take our pain and anger to God – we don’t always have to wear the mask of “Chipper Christian!”. It takes 2 minutes to read but I would imagine the emotional roller-coaster of this psalm took much longer to live through. What images or descriptions from the psalm resonate with you I wonder? Have you ever undergone just such an experience? What triggered the turning points for you?
*My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,*
* by night, but I find no rest. (v2)*
*I will declare your name to my people;*
* in the assembly I will praise you. (v22)*
What I love about Psalm 22 is the fact that both agony and trust are held together in fragile faith. It gives me both permission to share the same experience and affirmation that if I waver or have serious doubts this is not the end of the story. There is room for despair and there is power to effect change.
*For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one;*
*he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. (v24)*
Our pain is never scorned by God.
I pray that if this is your lived experience right now, that you will know God listening to you and being with you. And may the creative genius of the writer of Psalm 22 bless you.
If you want to get a great overview on the book of Psalms those fabulous people at The Bible Project have made an overview video: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/psalms/
*News and Upcoming Events*
*Tuesday 11th - 6.45 for 7pm - Climate & Environment Cambridge Election Hustings, *this is a free ticketed event taking place at Wesley Methodist Church (Christ's Pieces, CB1 1LG), and hosted by Cambridge Friends of the Earth. It will be chaired by Terry Macalister. The following candidates have confirmed their attendance; Cheney Payne (Liberal Democrats), Daniel Zeichner (Labour Party), Khalid Abu-Tayyem (Workers Party), Sarah Nicmanis (Green Party), David Carmona (Independent)
*Click here to get your free in-person ticket * https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cambridge-climate-and-environmental-hustings-tickets-915422402047?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl - Click here to get an *attend* *online ticket* https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/online-attendees-tickets-cambridge-climate-and-environmental-hustings-tickets-915951213737?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl
*Saturday 15th June – 10am-1pm - Repair Café at St Martin’s Church *Organised by Coleridge Community Forum, visit www.coleridgecf.org/whats-happening to book in your repair or to book in for DIY advice. There will also be a cake sale, crafting and a bric-o-brac stall
*28th-29th June Cambridge Apologetics Summer Conference *A two-day conference in Cambridge bringing together local Christians to support and equip one another in engaging the thinkers around us with the gospel. At St Andrew the Great, CB2 3AX. Find out more at 2024 Summer Conference – Cambridge Apologetics https://www.cambridgeapologetics.org/2024-summer-conference/
*Monday Small Group. *A new small group for Bible study, discussion and prayer will meet for 6 weeks, starting May 27th, on Mondays 11am-12.30. We’ll meet in the Prayer Room with tea/coffee and discuss passages from Mark’s gospel. Email lucy@stphilipschurch.org.uk if you would like to come or have questions!
*Prayer Room furniture. *Now that we have small groups meeting in the Prayer Room, we would love to make it cosier by replacing the green church chairs with living-room furniture. Please talk to Ruth or Lucy if you have a chair, cushion or throw that you no longer need. We hope to find things that are comfortable, sturdy and go with each other. It would be great to do this with second-hand, home-like items but please be aware we can only accept furniture with soft furnishings that have fire safety certificates (there should be a tag on them!)
*Warm Spaces (Young Adults’ Version). *From May 29th, Warm Spaces will be open on Wednesday evenings (7-9pm) to provide a relaxed social space, tea and snacks, friendship and maybe some board games for younger adults. The aim is to create a coffee-shop-type atmosphere, for people who may be at work while cafes are open, house-sharing or living with family, and short of opportunities to socialize and meet new people. Please do spread the word among 20s/30s you know!
*CIO Summer Outreach – Hosts needed *Each year Friends International run 6 weeks of summer teams (3 x 2 weeks) for outreach to (mostly) language students and equipping/Christian growth of the team members. Home (cambridgeinternationaloutreach.uk) https://cambridgeinternationaloutreach.uk/ Our team members stay with local Christians who kindly open their home for 2 weeks to offer bed and breakfast for free. If you have a spare room and would be willing to host a team member the team would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Jenny.Hunter@friendsinternational.uk
*Toilet Refurbishment* these are progressing – thanks for bearing with us as various toilets have been out of action.
*Opportunities* - An announcement from Cambridge & Peterborough Adoption
Adoption is a way of providing a new, permanent family for a child or siblings who cannot grow up with their birth parents or family. It’s a legal procedure where all the parental responsibility is transferred to the adopters and the child becomes a full legal member of their new adoptive family. The child you adopt will take your family’s surname and assumes the same rights as if they had been born to you.
If you’d like to find more information about Adoption, get in touch or visit the links below.
Visit our website at www.cpadoption.co.uk Email us at adoptionenquiries@cambridgeshire.gov.uk Call us on 0300 123 1093 or head to our YouTube channel @cambridgeshirepeterborough2747 where we post podcast episodes speaking to our adopters about their experience and our team.
*Eco-Bite – our new green “nugget” each week: *
Co-op has re-opened! This means you can once more recycle your soft plastics at their tills – particularly those crisp packets and pet food pouches that we can’t put in our blue bins in Cambridge.
*Last Week’s sermon*
The link to our sermon archive: St Philip's sermon archive http://sermons.stphilipschurch.org.uk/
*This Sunday 9th June *
*10.30am – Holy Communion with Explorers *We will be continuing our sermon series on the Psalms with Mike talking us through Psalm 22 this week. How do we talk to God when it feels like God has abandoned us? Our other reading this week seed this Psalm used in action: Mark 15:25-39
If you can't attend church in person you can always use this Zoom link:
meeting ID: 976 3739 9129 and Passcode: 330714
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/97637399129?pwd=TGhKWWxOcWF1S242aVhrWDlJdUkxZz09
*Prayers *
If any of you have specific prayers you would like us to include in this newsletter do please get in touch.
Please pray for General Election. And if you’d like guidance as to how on earth to do that, the Church of England have produced a resource for 21 days of prayer from 14th June to 4th July. You can either buy a little booklet or sign up to daily emails. Find out more at Pray Your Part https://www.churchofengland.org/about/topics/pray-your-part-general-election-2024 (let me know if you are interested in the booklet and I can investigate buying a bulk lot!)
*Please also pray for our Mission Partner this month:*
*Friends International Cambridge* – is a group of Christians who love to meet internationals from all over the world and to welcome them into community, no matter their faith background. Through regular meet-ups and activities, Friends International get to know internationals who come to Cambridge and talk about faith with those who are interested. Find out more at www.ficambs.uk
*Regular Weekly Services/Prayers to join:*
*Wednesday 12noon Reflective Holy Communion* A quiet time to help find space and peace in the middle of the week.
*Monday & Friday 8.30pm – Compline on zoom *
Meeting ID: 836 5965 9953 Passcode: 749968 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83659659953?pwd=btP5AjGMu1s-dE_2W9T0MMFqnnPKSS.1
*Wednesdays 7.00-7.30pm - Weekly Prayers on zoom*: -
Meeting ID: 852 1105 2733 Password: 397987
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85211052733?pwd=OE52bm9NS1RtQVQ0ZytTc0xBZnVsUT09
*Saturdays 8.15am - Morning Bible Discussion and Prayer on zoom*:
Meeting ID: 143 338 655 Password: 824271
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/143338655?pwd=L1JJTFZJNU9EaFZjaUFjQzVlalpMZz09
With love and prayers
Ruth
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Blessings Ruth
*Revd Ruth Barry* *Vicar, St Philip's Church, Cambridge*
185 Mill Road, Cambridge, CB1 3AN 01223 318315 vicar@stphilipschurch.org.uk *My day off is Tuesday*