The Collect for the seventh Sunday of Easter
O God the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,
but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us
and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Thy Kingdom Come: 26 May - 5 June
Thy Kingdom Come is a period of prayer from Ascension to Pentecost in which we prepare ourselves to receive afresh the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There is a Novena booklet (we have some copies at church) mainly for personal use, and each year the diocese shapes some liturgies to accompany each day’s content. These can be found on the Daily Waitings liturgies available online in a variety of formats. These help to create space to reflect on the artwork and the Bible passages in the booklets, and carry some of the themes on into prayer. If you would like to receive prayer update emails from the diocese sign up here: https://www.canterburydiocese.org/prayer. More Thy Kingdom Come resources can be found here.

Platinum Jubilee Celebrations in church
Sunday 5^th June 10am Thanksgiving Service –  
Different ways to help us celebrate

• Wear something red! – its Pentecost Sunday too and red is the colour the church uses to celebrate the Holy Spirit.
• Someone from every decade of the Queen’s reign to lead our prayers - Sign up
• Refreshments will be served after the service and before the picnic – bring a commemorative mug to use or display

Followed by picnic in church grounds. Bring your own picnic and rug.

Family Time Together – Jubilee themed crafts and activities from 11:30am. Family Time Together – Lego or Duplo?
We’d like to use Lego or Duplo for some activities – please speak to Laura if you have any you’d like to donate to church.

PCC meeting 30^th May 7pm

Children’s work meeting
On June 9^th at 5pm at Bronny’s – to share news, ideas, and planning. If you are involved in Live Wires or Family Time Together, please come along.

Cream Teas
The first of our summer fundraising cream teas is on Saturday 11^th June 3-5pm. See poster/website for further details.

Advertising Process
A new advert has been placed for an Incumbent for the benefice. Interviews will be held in July. Please continue to pray that the right candidate will be found, and for all those involved in the appointment process.

Louise’s Sabbatical
A sabbatical is a period of extended study leave granted to clergy to enable time for vocational development. Louise will be on sabbatical 8^th June – 10^th September. During this time services that would be taken by Louise will be led by local clergy. Taking Biblical Literacy a Step Further: the Old Testament and the New Testament, a Two-Way Relationship
9 July 2022, 9.30am-1.00pm, Canterbury, St Mary Bredin (book here)
Led by: Revd Dr Miriam Hinksman and Revd Dr Stephen Laird

•  Session 1: Old Testament - Explores a theological framework for making sense of the Old Testament, making connections between the (sometimes strange) world of the Old Testament, and the good news of Jesus Christ. 
• Session 2: New Testament - Simplifying and explaining the significance of recent studies focusing on how and why the Gospel writers and Paul used the Old Testament. Not as straightforward as you think, and currently one of the most hotly debated topics in New Testament Studies!

Lay Pastoral Ministry Course - autumn 2022
The Diocesan Mission and Ministry team are delighted to be offering a hybrid Lay Pastoral Ministry course commencing on 17 September
The course will be facilitated by Di Dawson and Lesley Hardy and consist of:

• 2 x face to face sessions (first and last sessions)
• 4 online zoom sessions

For details of dates, times, syllabus and to download an application form visit the Lay Pastoral Ministry webpage. The deadline for application is 18 July 2022. Next Sunday’s readings for the Jubilee Thanksgiving service:
Romans 13:1-10 & Luke 22:24-30