Our Spiritual Times Together
On this Page:
Welcome
This is the page that leads to photos of our spiritual times together. Click on a photo to open up another page full of photos.
Meditation Group
On Wednesday evenings at 8pm there is a time of Christian meditation offered for anyone who would like to take part. We meet in the chapel, and after listening to a reading about the practice of meditation we have approximately 25 minutes silence together. Sometimes we use a guided meditation, but mostly people use the silence in whatever way is appropriate to them. Many of us have found the teachings of Dom John Main on the use of a mantra to be helpful, others may use Ignatian imaginative prayer. If you would like to know more have a word with the Rev Lynn our priest.
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Pilgrimage to Aylesford Priory
Set in the heart of Kent, The Friars - Aylesford Priory - is an ancient religious house of the Order of Carmelites dating back to the 13th Century. Over the centuries and now today The Friars has become for thousands of visitors and friends a place of peace, a community of prayer and a centre of welcome. You cannot visit and fail to be touched by the presence of God. Some of us from Latton had a wonderful day there enjoying the peace and prayerfulness of this very spiritual place.
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The Christingle Service
Our Christmas Christingle Service at 4pm on Christmas Eve (24thDecember)
is always great fun and the best start to Christmas.
Click on the photo to see some photos of the service when Clown Sparky
joined us for the celebration!
Taize Services at Latton
Occasionally our church worships in the style of Taize (www.taize.fr) where singing is one of the most essential elements of the worship. Short songs, repeated again and again, give it a meditative character. Using just a few words they express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. It allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together and to remain together in attentive waiting on God, without having to fix the length of time too exactly. We use lots of icons and candles to aid us in our prayer.
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Our Patronal Festival
Many Churches are named after Saints, but our church at Latton is named after Mary the Mother of Jesus. She has 3 special festival days throughout the year, but the one we highlight as our main day of celebration is on 8th September, when we remember and give thanks for the birth of Mary, who was instrumental to the incarnation, God's Word made flesh. Every year around this time we celebrate at St Mary-at-Latton with a special Eucharist, a morning of prayer and a celebration party of some sort. Click the photo below to see more or click here to see photos of our Patronal Festival Evening.
'Blessed be that Maid Mary; Born He was of her body; Very God ere time began Born in time the Son of Man'.
Service of blessing for animals
All sorts of creatures of our God and King come along to
Latton for our special services of thanksgiving for all animals
and the blessing of pets. We have had guinea pigs, cats, dogs,
hamsters, snakes, spiders and chickens. It’s not easy blessing a
tarantula, which is one moment on your hand and the next
crawling around your neck! Waaaaah!
But it is always sheer delight to have the house of God filled
as an ark.
‘God Bless all Your Creatures and help us to love them in the
same way that you do’.
Pilgrimage to Bradwell
The Bradwell Pilgrimage is always a great opportunity for Latton to gather with other Christians from across the traditions to walk the path of St Cedd, following in his footsteps and enjoying the fellowship, worship and community which joins us all together in Christ. We gather for the 11am opening service at St Thomas, Bradwell, then a two-ish mile walk to St Peter’s, where the last part of the walk was competed in silence: a time for reflection and prayer. The walk celebrates the mission of St Cedd in introducing Christianity to Essex in AD654. Everyone brings a picnic and there are a number of stalls, youth and children's activities, speakers to hear and spaces to walk, reflect and explore.
Pentecost Praise
Alive, fun and full of the Holy Spirit!
Pentecost is a very special time in the Bible when the disciples and other Christians received the Holy Spirit. It occurred 50 days after Easter Sunday or 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus had already gone back to Heaven so the disciples and new believers of Jesus were waiting to receive the Holy Spirit because that's what Jesus told them would happen. As Jesus wasn't with them any more in the same way, he sent the Holy Spirit to help bring us all closer to God..
Remembrance Sunday
Our church always keeps the 2nd Sunday in November as Remembrance Sunday when we commemorate the sacrifice of all those who have given their lives in the service of their country.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
The church looked beautiful as always, and our thanks go to our team of flower ladies, on this occasion Joan Snell and Pat Stone.
St Mary-at-Latton Church, The Gowers, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JP Registered Charity No 1142425
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