THE PARISH CHURCH OF STOKE                
DAMEREL (ST. ANDREW & ST. LUKE)

For the 10.00am Parish Eucharist  for today click here

Email:   info@stokedamerel.church                                          
www.Stokedamerel.church
www.facebook.com/StokeDamerelChurch

Sunday 13 April             Palm Sunday

THIS WEEK'S READINGS Merciful God,
we entrust to your tender care
those who are ill or in pain,
knowing that whenever danger threatens
your everlasting arms
are there to hold them safe.
Comfort and heal them,
and restore them to health and strength;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:-
The sick:-
Maureen, John and Shirley, Margaret, Graham.
The long term sick and infirm:-
George, Peter, Diana, Liz, Keith, Rob, Clive.
The recently departed:-
We give thanks for the lives of William Clemens,
Marguerite Pike and Ronald Walke and we pray
for their families and friends at this sad time.
The Ministry Team:-
Wendy, Ruth, Fiona, Marilyn and Rhona.

BLESSED SACRAMENT CANDLE

If you would like to have the candle lit for a week
for a particular prayer / thanksgiving /
commemoration, etc., please send a £5 donation to
Debbie Smith, clearly marking your donation as
being for the candle. Details of your intention can
be emailed to:- sarah.lundstrom@virginmedia.com
so that a mention of the commemoration, etc., can
appear in the Sunday Sheet.

SERVICES THIS WEEK
Stoke Damerel Parish Church is a hybrid church
open for public worship and private prayer and all
services will be live streamed.
By attending a live streamed service, you give
implied permission to have your image captured
on CCTV and to be broadcast as participant in the
liturgy.

In order to watch the livestreamed services please
‘click’ on this link to
make your way to YouTube site:
https://www.youtube.com/c/StokeDamerelChurch

Sunday 13 April               Palm Sunday
0800 Holy Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Sue Nicholas
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Sue Nicholas

Wednesday 16 April
NO Morning Prayer this week (or next week)

Maundy Thursday 17 April: 7.00pm
We gather with the disciples as Jesus conducts
the Passover meal and institutes the Last Supper.
He also shows us how to be his disciples by
loving one another.

Good Friday 18 April: 10.00am
We gather in a solemn church building to mark this
day with: the reading of the Passion; the praying of
the solemn prayers; the Proclamation of the Cross;
and the reception of Holy Communion.
We leave the church in silence as befits a grave.

Saturday 19 April: 8.00pm
We gather in a darkened church in anticipation of
Our Lord’s glorious resurrection. Candles are lit
and bell rung and the singing of the Easter anthem
is made. We renew our baptismal vows and make
our Easter Communion.

Sunday 20 April                Easter Day
0800 No service
1000 Sung Parish Eucharist
Celebrant: Rev’d Sue Nicholas

WELCOME BACK
To the Rev’d Sue Nicholas who will be leading us
through Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good
Friday and Easter Day.
Rev’d Dr. Sacha Pearce will be with us for the
Easter Vigil service on Saturday 19 April.
Although there is no 8am service at Stoke Damerel
on Easter Day, there is an ecumenical sunrise
service at Blockhouse Park at 6.15am to which
everyone is welcome.

FLOWERS FOR EASTER
We plan to have lilies in church for the
festival of Easter. If you would like to
make a donation towards this expense,
maybe to remember a friend, family member or
to give thanks at this special time of the Church’s
year, please could you pass it to Pam or Julia.
We would welcome any help on Saturday 19th
April, when we shall be arranging flowers and
decorating the church from 10.00am.
All are welcome.

ANNUAL CHURCH MEETING AND
ANNUAL PAROCHIAL CHURCH MEETING
The Electoral Roll has now closed and the names
of all those on the Roll are displayed on the church
doors.
On Sunday 27 April 2025, following the 1000
Parish Eucharist, there will be two meetings:
The Annual Church Meeting (to elect
churchwardens) and
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting, during
which we elect members of the PCC.
If you would like to stand as a churchwarden or
PCC member, please fill out the relevant form on
the table at the back of the church.

FIONA’S FOOTNOTES
One of the discussions we had over our residential
week has been about our power. When we initially
began our discussion we all looked rather
quizzically at the PowerPoint slide wondering
what exactly was meant by our power. Some
thought we might be talking about those in power,
or who wield lots of power politically. That lead on
to the power that we will have as ordained people.
But when we actually got into our discussion it
turned out that we were actually talking about our
freedom, the freedom we have to choose. Or more
accurately, do we have free will to choose, or are
our choices predetermined for us. At this point our
discussion got rather philosophical!
Our groups had differing opinions about whether
we do have freewill, and to what degree we do
have that freewill. Reading this you will no doubt
have your own opinion and philosophy on whether
we do indeed have choices. My contribution was
that God is so powerful and all knowing and
seeing that he knows all of the possible choices we
can make, and the repercussions of each choice,
for everyone who has, does, and will ever exist.
I won’t go into all the details of the discussion
which followed, but suffices to say that there were
as many differing opinions as there were people in
our group!
What our tutor wanted us to grasp was that whilst
we probably have choices to make, those choices
are limited by our circumstances and experiences.
For example, a single parent who is offered a free
holiday during term time is significantly less likely
to be able to take up the offer of the holiday than
someone who is single and has no children. A
generalisation, but I hope you can get the point.
What does freewill and God have to do with this?
Well, our tutor reminded us that God knows us
better than we know ourselves, so knows more
than we do about any decisions we may potentially
make. He knows what we’ll answer before we
even get asked the question.
What does this have to do with this weeks’
Gospel? Throughout Lent and Holy Week we are
reminded of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, and the
actions of the chief priests and the leaders of the
people. When I was a child I looked at the actions
of all these people and had a real dislike for them;
how could they betray Jesus in this way. But then I
came to understand that none of what happened
was a surprise to God. He knew what Judas would
do before Judas was even born. Everything
happened did so to fulfil what Jesus intended to do.
Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen; He
knew exactly how he was going to suffer, and still
He fulfilled God’s plan for him.
The only response I have to that is, wow. It’s just
mind boggling! It’s mind blowing! It’s an act of
such immense love that I can’t begin to
comprehend it. And that’s why during this Holy
Week, and in particular over the Triduum, we will
spend time in our church, in silence, in the dark,
and on consecutive days, thinking about the
remarkable gift that Jesus gave us when He
suffered and died for each one of us.
With love and prayers
Fiona

HOLY WEEK
This is a very special time when we remember
Christ’s last meal with his disciples, his passion
and death on the cross and his body placed in a
tomb in the garden.
On Maundy Thursday we have the washing of
feet. I am assured the water will be warm. If you
wish to have your feet washed by the priest may
I suggest ladies that you don’t wear tights. For
everyone slip on shoes are easier to cope with
than laces.
On Good Friday the Passion is read from the
gospel according to St John. Rev Sue has agreed to
take the role of the evangelist and John has agreed
to take the part of Jesus. There are many other
characters involved for members of the
congregation. All fairly brief but important.
On Holy Saturday we have the Easter Vigil. We
gather in the parish centre with the new pascal
candle which is then brought into the main body of
the church. The bible readings recall God’s saving
work from creation through to the death and
resurrection of Jesus. We have the opportunity to
renew our promises made at baptism and receive
holy communion. We leave in silence.
There will be a list at the back of the church for
you to say which services you will be coming to.
It would be helpful to know as quite a lot will be
happening and we want things to go smoothly.
Every blessing
Wendy

OUR NEXT CONCERT
Sunday April 13: 3pm
Plymouth Concert Series: a Baroque Ensemble

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN APRIL
Chris Tozer, Jenny Storey, Deborah Turner,
Matt Forster.