Revd. Alison Heal's Ordination

Is the Revd. Alison Heal the first woman to be ordained in Luxembourg?

Probably...

Click here to read all about Alison's ordination in the Chronicle!

Languages of the soul - this week, poetry!

Sunlight

The Sun adorns the shimmering leaves

With a lace dress of gold.

Green and gold dance as he weaves

Patterns of life untold.

 

Suspended in the firmament

Of earthly dust and flame

The leaves tell of Love’s long lament

At worldly loss and pain.

 

Beauty of the leaves cast its

Heavenly made design

Imbuing with hope as befits

Those still entrapped in time.

 

Sharp light invades my soul

Golden pure notes of life

Time’s passing shadows toll;

Falling leaves cut like ice.

 

Good death come swiftly now

Repay your lover’s lament

With a silent heart that no pain

Can reach,

nor fear can tear from a life

So spent.

© Iona Waters 

The Slow Work of God

Saving Humanity from Itself

A new unmissable book from Steve McCarthy!

The Earth is getting hotter and life as we know it is under threat. Will just a few of us survive? Or can we act together to avert the crisis?

The root cause of this looming existential crisis is our addiction to the consumption of material goods, and our unquestioning acceptance of the outrageous maldistribution of wealth among individuals and nations. Can we throw off these addictions and assumptions, to tread more lightly on the Earth? McCarthy believes that we can. He starts by delving into the last two thousand years of Christian history. He traces the role of Jesus’ revolutionary teaching in a series of dramatic convulsions of human consciousness that have, suddenly and unexpectedly, changed attitudes and behaviour in previously unthinkable ways. In a world where violence, slavery, power and patriarchy were once universal, we are on the way to one that strives for peace, freedom, human rights, universal democracy, and equality for everyone.

These transformations – still in progress – are instances of a complete change of heart and mind: ‘metanoia’. They are the quiet, usually unacknowledged, ‘slow work of God’.

We must hope and strive for a new metanoia – one that overturns our materialist obsessions. In the final chapters, McCarthy proposes a radical way to launch this seismic change of heart, prevent catastrophe and ‘save humanity from itself’.

 
His book is full of hope and promise. We just have to make it happen.

***

Copies from the author for €10.

Steve's email: sjmc@pt.lu

IBAN: LU49 0019 1007 9812 4000

Or from bookshops, or online.

A love poem to Elohim

Elohim is the Trinity and contains the Trinity

The spirit of love in every child’s soul.

Elohim is in the call of the wood pigeon
The cry of the buzzard, and the humming of the bees.

Elohim is the wind blowing in the trees 

and the eternal, ancient, ancestral home.

Elohim is the joyful embrace of loving hands 

and the smile of Jesus.

Elohim is every Child of God 

and the beauty in Everyman’s soul -
the universal pearl in the dust and grime of Earth.

Elohim is the alchemist of time 

and the timeless majesty of mountains 

that crumble into the deep blue sea.

Elohim is described by C S Lewis 

in storybooks for children, 

as magic, from before the dawn of time.....

© Iona Waters 2025

Yule's prayer in the film 'Don't Look Up'.

 The character Yule (played by Timothée Chalomet) in the film 'Don't Look Up' delivers a beautiful, sad and poignant prayer; that in the tradition of great art, encapsulates profound themes that are almost impossible to express. 

It is the Last Supper for a group of brave individuals who have tried to warn the world that disaster is about to strike.

Click here to watch Yule's prayer on YouTube

Jennifer Lawrence plays 
Kate Dibiasky, a PHd student, in the film
Don't Look Up!

'Don't Look Up!' is a cinematographic masterpiece. 

A black SciFi comedy, it tells the story of a meteor that is about to hit the Earth and extinguish all life through the eyes of characters from Gen Z, who are ignored, rejected and abused for trying to make society wake up to the truth. Most of their help comes from a flawed and aging professor who is out of his depth.

Gripping, funny and beautiful, this movie is film making at its finest.

Prayers for Luxembourg Mothers’ Day and Pentecost

Here are the prayers we prayed on Sunday 8th June 2025. 

The picture is a mosaic of the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples like fire at Pentecost and it was used in our service on Sunday in a slide presentation.* 

Keep us from harm and enfold us in your love, for ever.

Loving God

Mosaic from
the former Constantinian Basilica
in Trier now the
protestant church in Trier (see above)*

Strengthen and protect your church and those that depend on her

We pray for those who can’t worship in freedom
We pray for the diocesan bishops, Robert and Andrew, and for the whole clergy team of All Saints

We pray for all small groups in the church

We thank you for the music ministry of the choir and organist and pray that they will be encouraged

 

Maranatha

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

 

We pray for peace and justice where there is conflict, fighting and discord, thinking of Gaza, Ukraine,  Lebanon, Syria and other places on our hearts.
We pray for people working to bring peace and justice
Guide decision makers and those in power. Give them integrity.

 

Maranatha

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Breathe your love and light into our darkness
And into the darkness of the world around us
Some of our neighbours are starving, sick, and sleeping on the streets
Meet their needs for water, food and healthcare

We pray for all who are displaced from their homes and unable to return

We pray for the work of organisations like the FMPO
We pray for people who are trapped in prostitution, for those who have been trafficked and for all organisations, such as Spring2Freedom, that work to alleviate their suffering

 

Maranatha

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

 

We pray for all families, especially mothers, on this Mother’s Day and for those who are isolated without families or friends,

We pray for single mothers and fathers, and especially for parents who are separated from their children.

We pray for those who would like to have children, and for those whose children have passed through the veil into eternity.

We pray for reconciliation and healing.

Pour your love beyond measure into our hearts for ever.

 

Maranatha

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

We pray especially for children and young people, for any that are lost or broken, and for all who are starting their journeys to you.

We trust your children of all ages into your hands. Lift, protect and heal them.

 

Maranatha

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

 

Bring your healing where we’re hurting
Heal the sick and draw close to the dying and
strengthen those that watch over them.
Bring your comfort and accompany the elderly and all those who live alone
Comfort those who mourn

We lift to You those in need who are known to us in the silence of our hearts

Maranatha

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

We pray for your creation and for the environment
Help us to celebrate your love and life in our lives

Keep vigil over us and water our vineyards

Help us to be thankful for your good gifts
Keep us from harm and enfold us in your love for ever.

 

Merciful father

Accept these prayers

For the sake of your son, our saviour, Jesus Christ.

 

Pope Francis with Robert Francis, Cardinal Prevost, now Leo XIV   (Vatican Media)

A Statement from the Archbishop of York

I share in the great joy of our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers in welcoming His Holiness Pope Leo XIV as the Bishop of Rome. With Christians around the world, I will be praying for the new Pope as he takes on the enormous challenges and responsibilities of the Petrine ministry.

Pope Leo XIV’s many years of pastoral experience, his commitment to justice, and his deep spirituality are an example of life lived in service to Jesus Christ. As Anglicans we give thanks for his call to Christians to be bridge-builders across the divisions of our world, and the divisions that continue to exist between churches. This is something Jesus asks of us. He prays that the church will be one.

This evening, the new Pope spoke of a Church that seeks peace and remains close to those who suffer. Our wounded world needs the justice, healing and hope of Jesus Christ, and we look forward to working with Pope Leo XIV and Roman Catholics in every place to share that love with those in need.

I pray that God’s sustaining Spirit will uphold the new Pope in his service of Christ.

 

Click here to read a statement by the Bishop of York following the Death of the Pope

The Resurrection by Sieger Köder

God of glory,

by the raising of your Son

you have broken the chains of death and hell:

fill your Church with faith and hope;

for a new day has dawned

and the way to life stands open

in our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Click here to read All Saints' text for Easter Day from the Gospel of John 20:1-18

Commemorating Palm Sunday

Instead of the usual Sunday sermon the story of Jesus' trial and execution from Luke's Gospel was read in Church.

Please pray for Myanmar

 BBC News link to the earthquake in Myanmar