A warm welcome to this week’s newsletter.
Ascension Day can feel a bit overlooked — sandwiched between Easter joy and Pentecost fire. But it’s such a powerful moment: Jesus entrusting his mission to ordinary people, and promising the Spirit’s help. That’s still our calling today — to wait, to trust, and to witness. May we hold that space well in the days ahead.
Ascension Day Service – This Evening, Thursday 29th May at 7pm
Please join us this evening for a special Ascension Day Holy Communion service at St Matthew’s Church, Cainscross at 7pm, as we remember and celebrate Christ’s ascension into heaven. All are warmly welcome – come and share in worship, prayer, and hope together.
24 Hours Of Prayer!
As part of our Pentecost celebrations, we’re launching 24 Hours of Prayer from Saturday 7th to Pentecost Sunday, 8th June. It begins with a short act of worship at 11am at Holy Trinity, Stroud — and wherever you usually worship, you’re warmly encouraged to take part.
Holy Trinity will be open for a time on the Saturday for anyone to drop in and pray, with resources available to guide you. I’ll also share some digital resources nearer the time. I
It’s worth remembering too that St Matthew’s, Cainscross, Holy Trinity, Slad, St Pauls, Whiteshill and St John the Baptist, Randwick are also open on Saturday 7th — and every day during daylight hours. And St Laurence, Stroud is open every Saturday morning from 10.30am -12.30 pm. These are your sacred spaces. Places to be still, reflect, and pray.
We’re inviting everyone to sign up for at least one half-hour slot on June 7th/8th to pray, wherever you are. Bring whatever is on your heart, but especially pray for your local church, for the Stroud Team Ministry, and give thanks for the gift of being church here.
There’s something powerful about choosing an early morning slot — those quiet dawn hours often become sacred and deeply personal encounters with God.
We’ll end the 24 hours with Pentecost services across our churches. The sign-up sheet is open and visible to all — a gentle encouragement, especially if you’re taking the 3.30am slot!
Sign up here: 24 Hours of Prayer Sign-Up Sheet
Or email me your chosen time and I’ll add your name.
Let’s join together in prayer — for renewal, for our communities, and to be open again to the Spirit’s wind and fire.
Come, Holy Spirit!
9.30 Saints Alive at All Saints, Uplands
9.30 Holy Communion at St Matthew’s. Cainscross
9.30 Cowshed Communion at St Laurence, Stroud
11.00 Holy Communion at St John the Baptist, Randwick
11.00 Sunday Worship at Holy Trinity, Stroud
11.00 Sunday Worship at Holy Trinity, Slad
11.00 Frontline Sunday at The Church of The Holy Spirit, Paganhill
16.00 Choral Evensong at All Saints, Uplands
Coffee Morning at The Church of The Holy Spirit, Paganhill
Saturday 29th May, 10.30.
Come and join us for a friendly and relaxed morning with coffee, cake, and conversation.Whether you’re a regular, a newcomer, or just passing by, everyone is welcome. It’s a great chance to connect with others in the community and enjoy some refreshments together.
Bring a friend – we’d love to see you!
Stroud Team Family Picnic and Pilgrimage –
Sunday 29th June
Advance notice to put our annual picnic and pilgrimage into your diaries.
The day will start with Communion and Breakfast at St. Laurence at 8.30, before walking via St. Matthews, Paganhill, and Randwick to a lunchtime Picnic and Praise session at St Paul’s, Whiteshill at 12.15.
After lunch the pilgrimage continues (for the very committed!) to Slad, Uplands, and St. Albans, before a final service of thanks, praise and cake at Holy Trinity, Stroud at 4pm.
As always, this day is for all of us, however little or much we can manage.
This Sunday will also be our curate, Rev’d Steve’s last Sunday with us. So, it will be a chance to say farewell and worship together one last time.
Praise in the Park – A Joyful Start to the Season!
Last Sunday, we gathered at the bandstand in Stratford Park for the first Praise in the Park of the season. It was a wonderful time of live music, joyful worship, and community spirit. It was great to see people from different churches and all walks of life coming together in the sunshine to praise God.
The next Praise in the Park will take place on Sunday 31st August at 2pm, again at the Stratford Park bandstand. All are warmly invited – bring a friend and your singing voice!
Organised by Churches Together in Stroud, this is a great opportunity to worship together in the open air and celebrate our shared faith. We hope to see you there!
Open the Gospel – A Learning Community for Preachers and Listeners
Open the Gospel is a learning community for anyone who wants to engage more deeply with Scripture—whether you:
regularly preach or lead Bible studies,
enjoy listening to sermons and want to reflect further, or
are simply looking for a space to explore the Bible alongside others.
Through a series of short weekly podcasts, Open the Gospel explores the coming Sunday’s Gospel reading from the Common Lectionary. Each episode features a thoughtful and down-to-earth conversation between a member of clergy, a lay person, and someone reflecting on the passage from the perspective of the child at the centre. Their insights open up new ways of hearing the text and its relevance for today.
The conversation then opens to the online community—offering a space to respond, reflect, and learn together. The podcasts can be used in sermon planning, for personal devotion, or even as a resource in services where no preacher is available.
Find out more and get involved at:
https://gloucester.anglican.
Come and be part of this growing conversation—everyone is welcome!
With every blessing for the week ahead, let’s keep looking for signs of God at work—within us, among us, and around us, and do take a look at the website for a full list of events and services.
www.stroudparishchurches.org.
Blessings,
James