#540 It’s another Harvest Festival
Fr Sam writes
Last weekend was a very special trip to Rochester Cathedral. The choir sang superbly at Evensong, and Rochester itself proved a lovely spot for a day out. You can find photographs of the trip and recordings of the music at Evensong on the parish website.
This week we have started auditions for choral scholarships thanks to the generosity of the congregation. Please pray for our music team and for those auditioning.
This coming Sunday is the Harvest Festival at St Paul’s: do read further down the newsletter for all the information, and get your singing voices ready: Come, ye thankful people come…
(And for those who miss Bertie’s contributions to the weekly email, it is his very favourite day of the church year…)
This Sunday: raise the song of Harvest home
This Sunday is the Harvest Festival.
Our first reading this Sunday is from St Paul’s first letter to Timothy, reminding him to beware the love of money (1 Timothy 6.6-10).
In our Gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples not to worry: God will look after them just as God looks after the ravens of the sky and the lilies of the field (Luke 12.16-30).
Services this Sunday
| 8am | St Paul’s | BCP Mass | Fr Sam Tanna-Korn |
| 9.30am | St Paul’s | All-Together Mass | Fr Sam Tanna-Korn |
| Organ Prelude: Prelude on ‘East Acklam’ (op. 60, no. 4) – Francis Jackson Anthem: The heavens are telling (from The Creation) – Joseph Haydn Voluntary: Festal Voluntary (op. 87) – Flor Peeters | |||
| 10am | Woosehill Church | Harvest Festival | Revd Cara Smart |
| 11am | St Nicholas’ | Community Eucharist by extension | Mrs Mary Cassidy |
Harvest Festival at St Paul’s
This Sunday is the Harvest Festival at St Paul’s. We gather collections for the foodbank in February, so this Sunday you are warmly invited to bring items for auction, such as cakes, biscuits, puddings, and all kinds of produce!
Please do not drop these off in the Parish Rooms before mass but bring them to church so they can be collected as the Harvest Offering.
After mass we will have the Harvest Auction over coffee.
Later on is the parish Harvest Lunch.
Confirm, O Lord, your servant…
Over the past few weeks we have been advertising confirmations in November. There has been massive change (on account of huge numbers coming for confirmation across the deanery). The result is that our parish confirmations will now be on 17 January 2027 at St Paul’s. Time and further details TBC, but do speak to Fr Sam if you are interested in confirmation.
A bit bazaar
The autumn bazaar will be on 7 November between 12 noon and 3pm in the St Paul’s Parish Rooms.
Grand Draw tickets are on sale now. These are available from Liz Gallagher or Teri Austen. The first prize is a Lovely Luxury Hamper, the second prize a Wine Hamper and there are many more prizes. We would be grateful for donations for the hampers. There is a sign-up list at the back of St Paul’s and St Nick’s. We would also be very grateful for donations of other suitable prizes!
Lucky Numbers
The lucky numbers winners for September were: Liz Gallagher (£50), Jean Vaughan (£25), David & Lesley Ruddock (£15) and Gordon Lupton (£10).
Lucky Numbers is a monthly draw. Each share in the draw costs £2 per month and you can apply for as many shares as you wish. Every month £100 of prizes are given out, with the remainder supporting the restoration and renewal of St Paul’s.
If you are interested in taking part, please contact Jenny Perris at St Paul’s (contact details) or Tony Roberts at St Nicholas (contact details).
Quiet Day
Mother Jane Kraft will be leading a parish Quiet Day at St James Church Centre, Finchampstead on Saturday 17 October. The focus of the addresses will be on three Marys in the New Testament: Mary Magdalene, Mary a friend of Jesus and Jesus’s mother Mary.
All are welcome. Precise start and end times will be confirmed soon, but our usual pattern will be followed: Coffee and welcome around 10am, addresses and quiet reflection until lunchtime, followed by another address and celebration of the Eucharist to end the day.
Hot drinks will be available all day; please bring your own lunch
To reserve a place, please email mary.cassidy@spauls.org.uk
This week’s calendar: a hermit and a distiller?
On 6 October, the Church remembers St Bruno, a teacher and priest who left his career at Reims to seek a life of greater prayer and solitude. In 1084 he and six companions settled in the remote valley of Chartreuse near Grenoble, founding the community from which the Carthusian Order would grow, combining the solitude of a hermit with the worship and fellowship of a monastery. The order also gave the world the vibrant green liqueur named after its home!
St Bruno’s example shows us the importance of making space for silence and prayer, so that amid the noise and busy-ness of life we may learn to listen more attentively to God.
