‘O be joyful in the lord all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song’ Psalm 100
The whole Christian calendar has an overarching pattern which parallels real life. There are for the most part very ordinary days and weeks, then there are times when life is a challenge and just hard, and then there are often little more than moments when we put all that aside and celebrate and party. There are noisy times and quiet times when we either reflect or words simply fail.
This same pattern exists in family life, in civic life, in the agricultural cycles….. and increasingly we see people of faith (or none) joining in with festivals that are not their own.
After Brexit and the long path through this pandemic – it is a joy this year for Britain, but actually also the Commonwealth, to have a reason to celebrate ! Queen Elizabeth II has been monarch for these countries (and others) for 70 years. There will be events throughout the year of course and many local expressions of celebration and thankfulness of a life lived in service. In the UK the highlight of these celebrations will fall on the first weekend of June.
The founding Commonwealth nations included India and Sri Lanka and the UK. (The Commonwealth Charter – committed members to the values of democracy, gender equality, sustainable development and international peace and security).
and we have members at St Catherine’s from these nations still. Other Commonwealth nations from which we have members at St Catherine’s are Ghana and Kenya, Nigeria and Malaysia (and online also Canada).
The Chaplaincy Council have put their thinking hats on as to if and how and when we can participate alongside other celebrations going on in Stuttgart among communities from these nations, and indeed to offer anything ourselves during that June weekend.
- This coming Sunday 06.02.22 is the Actual 70th Anniversary of the ‘Accession of Queen Elizabeth II’ and we shall certainly pray for the Queen during that service and possibly also the Commonwealth Nations.
- Then on Saturday 30.04.22 as part of our next Open Church Event we will offer Cream Teas.
- Finally on Saturday 04.06.22 we are hopeful of a ‘Hymns and Pimms’ event.
Volunteers can please offer their help via chaplain@stcatherines-stuttgart.de and/or communications@stcatherines-stuttgart.de
Do please feel free to be in touch with friends and others particularly from Britain and Commonwealth nations so they can enjoy our hospitality and celebrate with us.
