From One Sunny Island to Another
Written by Marisha Carter | July 2023
Many of you will know that Richard and I have a home in Jersey as well as Tenerife. It is where all of our family are still living, so the call to spend more time there has been strong. To that end we have re-establishing ourselves there over the last few months. Part of that is, where will be my church home. For various reasons and with encouragement from Christian friends I am now attending St. Martin's Parish church. I have never attended a rural Parish church regularly before so it has been a very different experience. This is what St. Martins says of itself:
St Martin's is a beautiful rural parish steeped in history. The church of St. Martin le Vieux stands at the central crossroads of the parish, and is always close to the heart of community life. Doors are open from around 8.30am - 4.30pm every day. Our worship is mainstream Anglican, with a deep appreciation of contemplative spirituality. As well as our regular Sunday services, we have a midweek Healing Service which draws on Celtic liturgies, and a monthly Julian Group with guided silence and meditation. Our tranquil church yard has a large prayer Labyrinth at its heart and all are welcome to come and find God’s peace there.
Children are always welcome in church. We hold an all age Family Service on the last Sunday of every month where we celebrate being a part of God’s family through worship that is accessible to all. Every Monday in term time we run Smarteenies, a thriving baby and toddler group and our children’s area is well stocked with books, toys and activities.'
Before venturing to go to a Sunday service I visited the church midweek, when no one was around. I felt a deep sense of peace and a real feeling that this was a place where there was activity and opportunities for spiritual growth. They have a new Rector, the Rev. Pete Stone who has come to lead the church, together with his wife Ann who is a nurse and an accomplished trumpet player.
I feel it is the right place for me; I have been made very welcome at both the Sunday service and the mid-week healing group.
If you are wondering about my involvement with St. Francis church..... I, for the time being at least, am still committed and in almost daily touch with the church and continue to manage the Facebook page and provide intercessions. There may be others of you who might be interested in taking that over at some point.
We will be returning to Tenerife in due course and look forward to catching up with you all again.