Mar 09

Lent 2021 at St Thomas's

This year Lent begins on February 17 (Ash Wednesday) and ends on April 4 (Easter Sunday). Lent offers Christians a chance to reflect, to examine themselves and their faith and to give up something to give to others - all as a way of preparing for Easter.

In normal times St Thomas's would offer a series of talks, courses, shared meals and other activities to help us prepare for Easter. However, during the pandemic, our Lent preparations all online and have three strands: Study and reflection, services on Zoom and our giving appeal.

Study and reflection

The St Thomas’s Education Team has planned two opportunities for members of the Parish to meet and discuss together online this Lent. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further details.

The Pilgrim Course. ‘Pilgrim’ is a course for our Christian journey. It has books covering various topics and this Lent we will be looking at the Beatitudes. This group will meet via Zoom on six Thursdays at 4pm, starting on 18th February, led by Selina Deacon and Fiona Hulbert.
Bible Book Club. A book club with a difference: read a book of the Bible each week then meet to discuss it. This group will meet via Zoom on Monday evenings at 7.30 for an hour starting on 22nd February, and each session will stand alone. Led by Wendy Pugh and Ian Alexander.

Services on Zoom

On Ash Wednesday 17th February Two worship services on Zoom, at 9am and 6pm. Details from the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Lent giving appeal

A chance to give to this year's Lent charity: Salisbury Hospice Charity.

Tamsin Murley, Community Fundraiser for the Hospice, tells us that the pandemic has severely cut its fund-raising. It has forced
it to adapt to the ever-changing conditions and "shone a light" on the core aspects of its care services for patients and their families in their
homes, in the hospice, in care homes and in the hospital.

The Revd Canon Kelvin Inglis

The Rector writes . . .

Those who listened to Jesus must have been familiar with one of his more enjoyable teachings: ‘Whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in places of worship and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing ...'.

I love the idea of the two hands: the one prudent and the other impulsive. With all the hardships of the last year, it is evident that the response of many has been an outpouring of kindness and generosity. The 'Let's do something about it' hand has had its way, and the 'Are you sure that's wise' hand has been otherwise engaged. This is a beautiful thing to behold, not least for those who seek to live now as citizens of God's coming kingdom. Lent offers an opportunity to reflect on God's blessings in troubled times, and on hands and alms.

Truth to tell, I don't mind whether you give in secret or commission a brass band - Paul said, 'God loves a cheerful giver' after all - but do please support our Lent Appeal as you have the means.

Here are three ideas for giving up and giving to others, even during the pandemic:

1. Give up and Give
Why not give up a habit of pre-Covid times? Maybe a regular coffee or another beverage – remember those days when that was allowed? Work out how much these treats cost per week. ‘Give them up’ and give to the Lent Appeal instead.
2. Get Together and Give
Get together for a ‘Virtual Coffee Morning’ or ‘Afternoon Tea’ with some friends old and new. Create a zoom time and invite 4 or 5 people to join you for a chat. Ask them to give the cost of a cuppa or two to the Lent Appeal. (Fi Green will be available to help you to create or join a zoom call)
3. Get Out and Give Gratefully
Be grateful if you are allowed out of your house for exercise. Think up a sum that you could gratefully give each time you leave the house, make a note of how many times you go out and at Easter make that donation to the Lent Appeal.

You can donate online by pressing the yellow Donate button, using secure arrangements we have made with Charities Aid Foundation - CAF Donate. We accept debit and credit cards as well as PayPal. If you're eligible, please make a Gift Aid declaration to increase the size of your gift at no additional cost to you.

You can also send a cheque to: Lent Appeal Treasurer, St Thomas’s PCC, St Thomas’s House, 5 St Thomas’s Square, Salisbury SP1 1BA.
Cheques should be made payable to ‘PCC of St Thomas and St Edmund’. Please make it really obvious that this money is a Lent Giving gift.