Friday 6th February 14.30pm 

w/c Sunday 8^th Feb 2026

Dear Friends,

Here is advanced notice of this year’s Lent course and Lent lunch.
Our Lent Course will be based on the Church of England booklet “Draw Near – Life-giving habits for Lent.”
It is intended to help us practically to develop a rhythm of life that will help us grow as a disciple of Christ day by day.
Further information and resources can be found at cofe.io/DrawNear

The Course will be held weekly at St Luke’s on Tuesdays at 10am starting on Feb 24^th; and at South Brent Methodist hall on Wednesdays at 2pm starting on Feb 25^th.
 Everyone is very welcome to come to all the sessions or whatever you can manage

Our Lent Lunch will start on Wed Feb 25^th at 12.30 at South Brent Methodist church hall

 Thought for the week  

Matthew 5 is the introduction to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
We are all familiar with the beatitudes: blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the meek and so on.
The word beatitude means “blessings” or blessedness and is even used as a title for patriarchs in the orthodox churches.
What is the purpose of this famous sermon? Does it set out entry standards for the Kingdom of God; is it a list of attributes for committed followers of Jesus; does it set out impossible standards that cause us to cry out to God for forgiveness for not getting there?

The context helps us to decide.
Jesus begins His public ministry in 4 v17 with a call to repent, for

the Kingdom of God is come near.
Repent means to turn away but not just from our own shortcomings but from the prevailing attitudes, culture and norms of the “kingdom of this world”.
The Roman Empire was a pleasant place for the elite but it is estimated that 70-80% of people lived poor lives under an authoritarian rule which could be brutal and without any form of protection such as our welfare state.
The Kingdom of God is not like this at all and those who are subjects of God’s Kingdom are characterised by being different too.

 In chapter 4 v 18-22 we read of the calling of the first four disciples and it is clear that the Kingdom of God claims not only our allegiances but redirects our commitments and actions; our very lives oriented toward and in God.
Jesus has given us a new identity, and we belong to a new community which is both here and beyond this earthly life.
Jesus is against the injustices, oppression, greed and corruption of the Roman Empire and that goes for our present “empires” too.

We are to be different because God has made us different.
God loves the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
The beatitudes promise divine reversals in both the present and the future.
Jesus’ miracles and healings work to promote God’s values and justice.
Verses 7-12 show us God’s vision for a just and loving world: we are to be merciful, pure in heart and peacemakers.
Salt and Light then (v 13-14) for, praise God, ours is the Kingdom of Heaven!
David Harwood

Notices and Diary

• Lent courses and Lent lunch.
  • Lent Course at St Luke’s on Tuesdays at 10am starting on Feb 24^th; and at South Brent Methodist hall on Wednesdays at 2pm starting on Feb 25^th.
  • Our Lent Lunch will start on Wed Feb 25^th at 12.30 at South Brent Methodist church hall

Sun 8^th Feb                           Landscove Baptism at 3pm (Church)

Tues 10^th Feb                      St Luke’s Bible study at 10am

Wed 11^th Feb                       St Petroc’s Morning Prayer at 8.30am

Thought for the week at 10am by zoom and telephone

St Petroc’s Parish Lunch 12.30-1.30pm

Fri 13^th Feb                           Morning Prayer at 9am by zoom and telephone

                                                      Staverton and Landscove PCC at 10.30am

Mission Community Services

 Know you are in my heart and in my prayers.
Rev Gina