Friday 10th April 17.50pm 

w/c Sunday 12th April 2026

Dear Friends,

A Year of Prayer in the Mission Community

As we announced in the Newsletter last week, we want to strengthen our communal prayer life across the Mission Community, to make it a real focus of our life together.
There is much we need to pray about – our world, our communities, our churches and ourselves.

So, we are launching our Year of Prayer. Our launch event will be on April 19^th in the following churches:–

St Petroc’s – coffee from 8.30am; prayer from 8.45-9.15am in the church room

St Luke’s – coffee from 10am; prayer from 10.15-10.45am in the café

Thereafter we hope to have a time of prayer in each of our churches each month – more details to follow.
Please do support these times of prayer and let’s Pray Grow and Serve!

Thought for the week:  John 20 v19-31

This week’s Gospel features one of my favourite characters in the Bible – Thomas.
Sadly, he is often known as Doubting Thomas.
I think he is better known as Honest Thomas.
The wonderful thing about Thomas is that he shows up.
The other disciples spend a week buoyed by the sight of the risen Jesus. Thomas has no such assurance.
He could have easily walked away from it all.
He didn’t know Jesus would appear again.
Yet something made him show up a week later.

Sometimes this is all we can do – just show up.
Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to ask questions, to allow doubts and uncertainties to move us beyond what we think we know, to open our minds and hearts to recognise Jesus as more than we can fully understand.
This can be scary; it can be disturbing.
But his encounter with the risen Jesus changed Thomas’ understanding forever.
Thomas is a man who does not leave his brain at the door – he embraces his faith and continues to question, a man who Jesus honours by meeting him where he is in his questions and responding to them. 
Are we prepared to open ourselves to the possibility that Jesus is more than we can ever imagine?

Think of the parting of the Red Sea.
We have this movie version in our heads where Moses lifted his arms and you could see across to the other side.
The reality was probably more like this: the people put one foot into the water, tentatively, and the waters rolled back a little.
And so on, and so on, until they found they had safely reached the other shore.

It’s the same with us. We can’t see to the other shore. And we don’t have to.
God is already there. And God is with us in the waters.
Doubt as much as you need to, ask questions, explore uncertainties, but leave just enough room for the faith that God will show you the next right step.
And just keep putting one foot in front of the other. That’s the life of faith.

Notices and Diary

• Apr 24^th at St Mary’s, Rattery – the Sgrafitto Quartet playing a wide variety of music for all tastes. Starts 6.45pm, cost £10 at door to include a drink. All in aid of saving the church sgrafitto!

Sun 12^th Apr                         St Petroc’s APCM after the service at about 10.45am

Wed 15^th Apr                       Ministry Team meeting at 10.30am

Sat 18^th Apr                          St Luke’s APCM at 10am

Sun 19^th Apr                         Mission Community Year of Prayer begins

                                                      Staverton and Landscove APCM after service

                                                      Rattery Baptism at 1pm (Talbot)

Mission Community Services

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