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Our Vision: "We are a people being transformed by the unconditional love of God; seeking to bless our community, and longing for all to experience the hope we have in Jesus." |
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Sunday 21st April
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
9am - Holy Communion – Saul (1 Samuel 8-10) – David Thomas
10.05am - Prayer Meeting – in Room 4 for approx. 20 minutes
10.30am - Morning Worship – as above
*The 10.30am service will be livestreamed via the Christ Church Bedford YouTube channel*
4.30pm - Wild Church at Leslie Sell Activity Centre, Bromham
6pm - Prayer Meeting – in Room 4 for approx. 40 minutes
7pm - Sundays@Seven – Praise and Prayer Evening |
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Services in the coming week
Wednesday 24th April
10am - Morning Worship - followed by refreshments
Sunday 28th April
9am - Morning Worship – David (1 Sam 16) – Jonathan Templeman
10.05am - Prayer Meeting – in Room 4 for approx. 20 minutes
10.30am - Holy Communion – as above
6pm - Prayer Meeting – in Room 4 for approx. 40 minutes
7pm - Sundays@Seven – Responding to God – David Thomas
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Church Family News
Hilary Deneufchâtel, one of our mission partners, is visiting us (with Benjy and Eve) and will be sharing about her work in our 10.30am service. Hilary is currently training to be a Bible translation consultant and she and the family live in Nancy, France.
Report on our Annual Parochial Church Meeting:
The following were elected as Churchwardens:
Kay Berrington and Andrew Russell
The following were elected as Lay Members of the Deanery Synod:
For two years: Pip Francis and Martin Hamilton
The following were elected as Lay Members of the Parochial Church Council:
For three years: Rachel Day, Gwyneth James, Ben Rowan (né Broughton) and Jonathan Templeman
Thank you to everyone for playing their part at Christ Church in 2023. We thank God for all that happened and look forward to what God has in store for us.
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Thoughts from the Vicar
This Sunday we are blessed to have Hilary joining us, she is of course involved with Bible translation! Whenever I think about Bible translation I return to my Greek class at theological college, where we spent a lesson unpacking this verse, Matthew 1:19 -
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. (NIVUK)
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. (NKJV)
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. (NRSVA)
And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. (ESVUK)
In the Greek, there is no "faithful to the law", it just says dikaios which is usually translated as “righteous”, although in the ESV and NKJV it is “just”. Why then is Joseph righteous? Is it because he is faithful to the law? So that faithfulness, was wanting to divorce his pregnant teenage wife? That seems a bit odd to us for all sorts of reasons, but it would have been the culturally expected and lawful thing to do.
Also, in the Greek, there is no "because", so the translators of the NIV have decided that Joseph was righteous because he was faithful to the law, they have made an editorial decision that the Greek word for righteous here means "faithful to the law". This might well be correct, but the truth is we don't know, it’s an educated guess, because (!) the sentence in Greek includes the word kai in the middle of it, which means “and”. All we know is that Matthew believes that Joseph was righteous, and that he planned on divorcing Mary quietly.
Which leads on to some interesting questions about what it means to be righteous, what it means to both keep God’s law and to break God’s law (ultimately, Joseph was righteous and broke God’s law by not divorcing Mary), to what extent does culture inform God’s law and both our and the Bible’s own interpretation of it? All that, from one tiny verse in God’s word.
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For your prayers this week
Prayer for The Fourth Sunday of Easter:
Risen Christ, faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep: teach us to hear your voice and to follow your command, that all our people may be gathered into one flock, to the glory of God the Father.
Please pray for:
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All those who stood for PCC, especially those who were not voted on this time.
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New PCC Members - Gwyneth James, Pip Francis, Ben Rowan, Jonathan Templeman.
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Hilary Deneufchâtel and the team as they negotiate a time of change in the translation work.
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Foodbank as they navigate a difficult time, that it might not detract from their mission to help those in need.
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Those struggling with loneliness, that they would know Christ's presence, and that his church would serve them well.
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Wars and violence to cease.
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Children's Ministry and Events
THIS SUNDAY AT 10.30am (21st April):
Please register your children before the 10.30am service at the welcome desk in the hub.
AND THEN IN THE AFTERNOON:
COMING UP THIS WEEK:
CHILDREN'S TEAM WANTED
For more information about our regular groups please look on our website here or contact Ruth using: children@ccbedford.org or 07554 537757
Youth Ministry and Events
18-30s Ministry and Events
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What is happening at Christ Church and beyond?
Word for Today: Copies of UCB Word for Today for May - July are now available in the Hub.
 Elizabeth and Angharad's fundraiser for Little Princess Trust: Congregation members Elizabeth Woods-Hughes and Angharad Hughes are going to have their hair cut so it can be made into wigs. The Little Princess Trust provides real hair wigs, free of charge, to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or to other conditions such as Alopecia. Money raised will go towards the cost of producing the wigs for children and young people and the charity is also one of the largest funders of childhood cancer research in the UK. To support them you can visit their fundraising page here
Church Walk: Sunday 21st April meet at 2.30pm to car share for a bluebell walk in Clapham Park Wood. The walk might be muddy, therefore, suitable footwear is essential such as walking shoes/boots, or wellies, not trainers, or light footwear. After the walk we will enjoy refreshments together at the home of John and Fiona Betteley.
Go4Gold Social: Friday 26th April 2-3.15pm. Refreshments provided. No booking needed, just turn up. All welcome.Men’s Breakfast: Saturday 27th April 9-10.30am at Christ Church. Numerous breakfast options: but If you are vegetarian and would prefer a veggie option instead please let us know on mens.breakfast@ccbedford.org]. All for £3 (free on first visit). No need to sign up, just turn up, as we would love to see you. This month we will be looking at the idea of forgiveness. What does it look like? We hope you can join us.
Save The Date
Plant  Sale 11th May @ 11am -12.30 pm.
In church grounds. (In church if wet!)
We need all your  seedlings , cuttings and plants to sell. Start Collecting Now
Refreshments available too!
Proceeds towards curate’s house furnishings and garden.
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Bedford Foodbank: The most needed items at the moment are: Pot noodles, cup-a-soup, fruit juice (long-life), tinned meat (200g), tuna, sweetcorn and fruit, teabags (40), squash and long-life sponge puddings.
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