Swaffham Newsletter

The Mystery Of God
St Thomas Aquinas says that we do not know what God is;
we only know what God is not. Over the centuries Christian
mystics have sought to abandon all images of God, all that
we thought we knew and enter the Cloud of Unknowing.
All theologians as well as mystics teach us that whatever
else, God is not an object! We cannot count God as an
object in the world, not even the greatest of all things, as
God is not a thing. What then is God? Theologians speak
of God as Mystery. A mystery is by definition unknown
and unknowable. But that does not mean that what
we call mystery is not real! We know that it is, even if
we do not know what it is. God is not simply a mystery
among mysteries, God is the Ultimate mystery! God is the
mysteriousness of all things! You and I are part of this great
mystery. God is the source of our being, as St Paul tells us:
‘In God we live and move and have our being; (Acts 17-28)
Jesus taught us that the Father is near, nearer to
us than we are to ourselves. His use of the word
‘Abba’ implies a closeness and intimacy. There is
a mysterious oneness between God and my true
self. The mystics were often accused of heresy for
seeming to deny the distinction between the creator
and the creation, the world and humanity.
We are loved! Jesus tells us that God is not only close to us,
but also that God loves us!. The unconditional love of God
was the foundation of Jesus’s teaching and spirituality..
What does this mean for us? It means that the mystery
in which I live and move and have my being is loving. It
is very difficult for us to understand this! Jesus inherited
the Jewish tradition of speaking of God the Father as a
person, and he underlined it and deepened it. Theology
today points to God as personal, rather than person. Let us
learn from Jesus and come to experience God in personal
terms. (Adapted from Jesus Today by Albert Nolan)
Fr Gordon Williams , Our Lady of Pity
Our Lady of Pity
Easter times of Services at Catholic Church Swaffham
Holy week:
Saturday 8th Vigil Mass of Palm Sunday (in Methodist
Church ) Watton with blessing of palms: 5.30pm
Sunday 9th April Palm Sunday: Our Lady of Pity
Swaffham; Mass times: 8.30am & 10.30am with
blessing of palms
Thursday 13th April Maundy Thursday: Mass of the
Lord’s Supper 7.30pm with watching until 10pm.
Friday 14th April Good Friday: Churches Together
Act of Witness at Buttercross: 11am Solemn Passion
of the Lord 3pm
Saturday 15th April Holy Saturday: The Easter Vigil
in the Holy Night 8pm
Sunday 16th April Easter Sunday: Mass of Easter
Day 8.30am & 10.30am (no evening Mass)
8
Family Action Swaffham would like to wish a fond
farewell to Christine Goddard.
After 10 years working with Family Action as a
Family Support Co-ordinator in the Wellfamily
Service, Chris Goddard will be leaving Family Action
on 31st March.
We would like to invite all colleagues, clients and
well wishers to join us for tea and cake on Friday
31 March from 2.30-4pm in Swaffham Community
Centre to say goodbye to Chris and celebrate all the
hard work she has done in the community.
Church of St Peter and St Paul
April Services in Swaffham parish church:
Sunday 2nd 8.00am Holy Communion
9.30am Sung Eucharist
6.00pm Evensong
Wednesday 5th 10.00am Holy Communion
Palm Sunday 9th 8.00am Holy Communion
9.30am Sung Eucharist
Wednesday 12th 10.00am Holy Communion
10.45am ‘Stations of the Cross’
Maundy Thursday 13th
8.00pm Holy Communion
Good Friday 14th 11.00am Churches Together
Act of Witness at the Buttercross
6.00pm Service for Good Friday
Easter Sunday 16th 8.00am Holy Communion
9.30am Sung Eucharist
Wednesday 19th 10.00am Holy Communion
Sunday 23rd 8.00am Holy Communion
9.30am Sung Eucharist
11.15am Family Service
Wednesday 26th 10.00am Holy Communion
Sunday 30th 8.00am Holy Communion
9.30am Sung Eucharist
united service with the Sporle congregation