What’s on in December
Thu	1	MU&OG. Handbells (Christmas Music & Carols) with Sandra Winter. The Centre	8.00 pm
Sat	3	CHRISTMAS FAIR	11 am to
			3.00 pm
SUN	4	ADVENT 2
Mon	5	Magazine Panel meets at 35 Vanguard Way	10.00 am
Tue	6	St Nicholas
Wed	7	St Mary’s Guild. Advent Meeting. St Mary’s Court	2,30 pm
SUN	11	ADVENT 3
		‘Families’ Christmas Party. The Centre	1.45 to
			3.45 pm
		Christingle & Toy Service	4.00 pm
Tue	13	Bible Discussion Group meets at 66 Ruskin Road	8.00 pm
		(Last meeting until the New Year)
Fri	16	Carew Manor Christmas Service
SUN	18	ADVENT 4
		Service of Nine Readings and Carols	6.30 pm
Wed	21	MU Corporate Eucharist at St Michael’s, Wallington	10.00 am
Sat	24	Christmas Eve
		Family Christmas Service and Building the Crib	6.00 pm
		Midnight Mass of Christmas	11.30 pm
SUN	25	CHRISTMAS DAY

Saints and Commemorations in December

Thu 1 Charles de Foucald, Hermit in the Sahara, 1916

Sat 3 Francis Xavier, Missionary Apostle of the Indies, 1552

Tue 6 Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, c326

Wed 7 Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Teacher, 397

Thu 8 The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Tue 13 Lucy, Martyr at Syracuse, 304

Wed 14 John of the Cross, Poet, Teacher, 1591

Mon 26 Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr

Tue 27 John, Apostle and Evangelist

Wed 28 The Holy Innocents

Thu 29 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1170

Sat 31 John Wyclif, Reformer, 1384

Readings for Sundays and Festivals in December

Sunday 4 December

Advent 2

Isaiah 40 : 1-11 page 444

2 Peter 3 : 8-15a page 446

Mark 1 : 1-8 page 447

Sunday 11 December

Advent 3

Isaiah 61 : 1-4, 8-11 page 448

1 Thessalonians 5 : 16-24 page 450

John 1 : 6-8, 19-28 page 451

Sunday 18 December

Advent 4

2 Samuel 7 :1-11, 16 page 452

Romans 16 : 25-27 page 455

Luke 1 : 26-38 page 455

Saturday 24 December

Midnight Mass of Christmas

Isaiah 9 : 2-7 page 15

Titus 2 : 11-14 page 17

Luke 2 : 1-14 page 17

Sunday 25 December

Christmas Day

Isaiah 52 : 7-10 page 23

Hebrews 1 : 1-12 page 24

John 1 : 1-4 page 26

Thinking of you

Every Sunday we pray for people living and working in two or three roads in the parish.

The roads in December will be:

Sunday 4 December

Chiswick Close

Twickenham Close

Sunday 11 December

Mortlake Close

Richmond Green

Sunday 18 December

Richmond Road

Sunday 25 December

Wandle Bank

Hilliers Lane

Celebrants in December

Sunday 4 December 8.00 am Ven Dennis Ede

Advent 2 9.30 am Ven Dennis Ede

Sunday 11 December 8.00 am Ven Dennis Ede

Advent 3 9.30 am Ven Dennis Ede

Sunday 18 December 8.00 am Canon Andrew Wilson

Advent 4 9.30 am Ven Kenneth Gibbons

Saturday 24 December 11.30 pm Ven Tony Davies

Sunday 25 December 9.30 am Ven Kenneth Gibbons

Christmas Day

Christmas Dates

3 December Christmas Fair - 11.30 am - 3.30 pm

11 December ‘Families’ Christmas Party 1.45-3.45 pm

11 December Christingle & Toy Service 4.00 pm

18 December Service of Nine Readings and Carols 6.30 pm

24 December Family Carol and Crib Service 6.00 pm

24 December Midnight Mass of Christmas 11.30 pm

25 December Said Eucharist with carols at 9.30 am

From the registers

Baptisms

13 November Blake Geoffrey Gascoine

Lily Elise Gardiner

Wedding

9 November Paul Leslie Fitzjohn and Emma Jayne Hallett

Funerals

28 October Anthony Watson, aged 74 years

7 November John Richards, aged 69 years

14 November Phyllis Haines, aged 90 years

17 November Derek Sinclair, aged 75 years

Gargoyles

The Revd Dr Jo White has written a series of articles entitled ‘Signs and Symbols’ about various objects found

in and around churches (though not necessarily at St Mary’s) ……

Looking round church buildings at the various ornaments within them, you could be reminded of the sorts of greeting cards people send: some of them have very obvious meaning, but there are a number that could really be sent for any occasion.

Take gargoyles on the outside of some of our church buildings. These stone carvings are of monstrous beings, carved into shapes of people, animals or fantastic monsters, with the details being terrifying, comic, bawdy, or macabre, but rarely 'Holy'. So - what are gargoyles all about?

The dictionary definition is a spout usually in the form of a grotesquely carved face or figure, projecting from a roof gutter. It comes from the Old French "gargouille" and the Late Latin "gurgulio", both meaning throat, a root shared with the word 'gargle'.

In the days before pipe-drainage, rainwater needed to be thrown clear of the walls and of the church foundations to prevent damage, and it was done by using a projecting spout. This spout could be decorated, and so came to be carved as the throats of these monstrous beings, spewing the rainwater safely away.

On some buildings you'll find similar figures that are not actually designed for water drainage. In that case they are technically called a 'grotesque'.

It is clear that the Gothic builders and masons relished the opportunity these downspouts provided to indulge their imagination and we can assume that the stone carvers were given a more or less free hand in executing them when we see their impolite gestures such as pulling faces, sticking tongues out, picking noses or worse.

Have a look at a church with gargoyles, and think about what they might be saying to you. Are they illustrating lessons from the Scriptures? Showing you what life is like on the outside of the church? Frightening away evil spirits and the devil? Examples of free expression by clever workmen? Do you enjoy their humour or do you find them out of place on sacred buildings? If you were replacing one of them, what design would you use?

St Winwallow

Last month’s article, “Tenors and Teamwork” caught the attention of former SMYF members, John and Barbara Clayton. Barbara was incapacitated with a broken arm and on seeing the question, “Who was St Winwallow?”, thought she’d occupy her time finding out. I’m indebted to her for her research.

For a start, there are some fifty forms of his name, ranging from Wynwallow through such variants as Wingaloeus, Wonnow, Waloway (a bit drunk?), Wynolatus (a big bag of dog food?), Vinguavally, Vennole, Valois, Ouignoualey, Gwenndo and Gweno (friends of Wallace & Grommit?), Gunnolo (bottom deck of a warship?), to Bennoc. The original form is undistinguishable. In England the commonest are Winwalloc or Winwalloe; in France, Guenole or Guingalois (a cigarette brand?), Guengalaenus …... and anything else you fancy.

A few years ago, I rang at Landewednack, Cornwall, which in itself is a fascinating name. It’s the most southerly parish in mainland Britain and derives its name from the village of Landevennec in Brittany. The parish is almost an island, being surrounded on three sides by the sea and rocky cliffs. The parish church of StWinwallow is thought to have been founded by an evangelist monk called Guenole in the 6th century, as a daughter church of the abbey of Landevennec.

Winwallow’s father was Fragan, a Welsh noble who emigrated to Brittany to escape the Saxon invasion. Winwallow was born about 462 at Plou-Fragan in Brittany. He became a spiritual student of Saint Budoc and later became a monk. When he was 20, he visited several sites in Ireland associated with StPatrick and when he returned to Brittany, he and 11 other monks, founded Landevennec monastery at Brest. He became the Abbot but the site had to be abandoned, due to poor soil and harsh weather. The second site proved successful and Winwallow ended his days there.

In the diocese of Truro, there exists The Association of the Companions of StGuenole. Its aims are to promote unity and include the drawing together of Christians in the south west of Britain and Brittany for the strengthening of relationships and the supporting of the Abbot and monks of the Abbey of Landevennec. Their AGM is held each year on St Michael’s Mount where, in the Middle Ages, Benedictine monks from Mont St Michel had a sister community.

St Winwallow’s Feast Day is held on April 28 and the Collect provides a fitting end to his story.

Almighty God, by whose grace the blessed Abbot Winwaloe became a burning and shining light in your church, kindle in us the same spirit of discipline and love that we may ever walk before you as children of light.

Jean Kimber

Derek Gordon Sinclair

18.2.30 - 6.11.05

Many will have been saddened to learn of the Derek’s death on 6 November. His funeral and memorial service were held on17 November.

Derek had been born and brought up in Kenya, on his father’s coffee estate close to Nairobi. He was the third in a family of three boys and a girl who lived their early lives in this idyllic location.

Derek trained as an electrical engineer at Faraday House in London and then returned to Kenya where he joined the East Africa Power & Light Company after serving for a period in the Kenya Police Reserve towards the end of the Mau Mau emergency.

He met his future wife, Mary, on the Union Castle liner whilst sailing to England on leave, and they married in England before returning to Kenya where their children, Gordon and Katharine were born. However, the “wind of change” that blew through Africa in the 60s saw them relocate to England where they settled in this area. Sadly, Mary died in 1993 but over the past 12Derek had found great comfort and delight in his four grandchildren.

St Mary’s will remember Derek as a great supporter of our church: the socials, parties, doing things for the Mothers’ Union and, of course, St Mary’s Guild. Derek was a fine carpenter, cabinet maker and engineer, and he was always undertaking tasks for the benefit of the church and its members. He made the baptismal candle holder; for the Friends of St Mary’s he made the wood and glass display cabinet for the Book of Remembrance; then there is the cross on the Centre door, the hand-rail to help the congregation when approaching the High Altar, and the bookcase in the Centre.

Derek was also a wizard with keys and locks. He repaired the ancient locks on the West Door and South Porch, and made duplicate keys for the South Porch door. The Vestry clock was perhaps one of his biggest challenges and he carried it away on many occasions to have another go at making it keep the correct time.

And then there was his great interest in words: he would invent new words or give new meaning to old ones - causing some confusion if the person being spoken to had not followed his reasoning closely.

Derek was a big man, both in stature and heart. Again and again we have heard of his kindness and gentleness. We shall all miss him.

PCC Notes

Our meeting on 1st November opened with prayer led by Jenifer. We were a select group as seven members were either away on holiday or otherwise unable to come.

Under matters arising, Derek Whiting, for the Social Committee, reported that preparations were well in hand for the Christmas Fair which will take place on Saturday 3rd December. It is hoped that this year we shall reach our target of £1500. The PCC was told that the restoration of the Hamilton window may be delayed if the DAC does not approve the proposed wording in the design. Ian Akhurst will liaise with the DAC and an altered form of words was agreed in case the DAC will not be persuaded.

We learned that plans for the parent and baby area in church are making good progress. A demountable ‘Noah’s Ark’ is to be constructed and the ‘Families’ Group is raising funds to equip it. Concern was expressed that we seem to have lost our quiet time before our Sunday service. All PCC members were asked to encourage silence when Andrew begins to play the organ five minutes before the start of the service. All members wished to record their thanks to Jake Adams and one of our neighbours, Mr Bodie, who have both worked so hard to mow all the grass in the churchyard and to make it look respectable again.

Ian Akhurst brought to the PCC’s attention the leaflet from our local councillors expressing environmental concerns (a Ward Clean Up, Action on Weeding etc.). He felt that the council needs reminding that God’s acre opposite our lych-gate is part of Sutton Council’s own Conservation Area. For a few hundred pounds a complete restoration could be made to the gateway to God’s acre. This might dispel the impression now given that nobody cares about the structure and thus won’t care what happens to it. He was asked to write to the council on the PCC’s behalf.

Under any other business, Chris Morgan and Marion Martin were asked to investigate various possibilities for replacing our photocopier which has not been working efficiently or reliably for some time.

Jean Kimber reported that there had been some problems with the new installation in the belfry; a slider had broken and also a stay. The Foundry had been made aware of these breakages and had supplied a new slider within 24 hours. A representative will be coming in December to make an inspection. JK felt that a maintenance checklist from the Foundry would have been helpful.

The PCC was encouraged to learn from Pat Kingsbury that the Annual Congregation Count, currently underway, seems to be showing a slight increase from last year, especially among numbers of young people with their parents. Marion Martin also confirmed that the number of communicants had increased.

On this encouraging note and as there was no further business, the meeting ended with prayer.

Pam Akhurst

Secretary to the PCC

Praying and kissing equal in time

In an average lifetime, an adult will spend an equal amount of time praying and kissing - two weeks for each activity. Nearly 25 years will be spent asleep, and about seven years working (minus eight weeks of tea breaks). Five and a half years will be spent watching television, and three months sitting in the doctor’s waiting room, says the “Life By Numbers Survey”, which assumed the average lifetime to be 78 years.

The research was carried out by the German Magazine Geo Wissen and looked at both national statistics and the results of personal questionnaires

Church Times

21.10.05

VERY IMPORTANT DATE

Wednesday, 25 January 2006 at 8.00 pm

The Licensing Service for the Rev’d Justine Middlemiss

as Priest in Charge of St Mary’s.

More details of this service later.

Sutton Deanery Synod

Monday, 3 October, St John’s, Belmont

Revd Mark Williams welcomed us to St John’s and gave us a brief overview of the parish, which includes Sutton Hospital and the Sutton Day Care Centre.. They have strong links with the Methodist Church and they worship together; Revd Williams says that it is difficult to tell where Anglicanism finishes and Methodism begins. St’s has a strong choral tradition. In 2002 the Community Hall was finished and it is very much used by the local community.

The Revd Tina Turner from St Michael’s was introduced and welcomed to the Deanery.

The main speaker was the Revd Chris Lee, Head of Pastoral Care and Senior Chaplain at the Royal Marsden Hospital, and he spoke to us about caring for the dying and the bereaved. He said that we are in a death-denying society and people do not want to speak about death at all. Dying people may enter hospices and that they are not seen, but death is part of life and something which needs to be acknowledged. People do not know what to do with death and bereavement. Metropolitan Anthony once said, “If we are afraid of death we will be afraid of life”.

Caring for the dying requires certain qualities: compassion - we need to be alongside them and understand where they are at; listening skills - the dying need to talk, to be able to tell their story; awareness - we need to be aware of what is going on and what the person’s needs are; availability - it is important to stop and be available; spirituality - death has been medicated, the emphasis is on palliative care and pain control, but the big issue about death is the spiritual side; and finally, competence - there is nothing worse than being incompetent, causing further distress to the patient.

Henri Nouwen in his book “The Way of the Heart” said, “We ignore our greatest gift to the patient, which is our ability to be there”.

Revd Lee went on the speak about certain stages through which the dying patient may pass: denial and feelings of isolation; anger; bargaining; depression; acceptance, and how these feelings should be approached both in the medical context and considering spiritual factors. Revd Lee finished by saying that talking about spirituality is talking about how we relate to God and to others. The world of spirituality is not about religion. Churches usually have agendas - we need to stop and hear other peoples agendas.

The date of the next Deanery Synod meeting is Monday, 6 February, and will be looking at the subject of “How Churches Grow”. All are welcome, but only Synod members can vote.

Jenifer Davison

The Writing of Silent Night

On Christmas Eve morning in 1818, in the little Bavarian village of Oberndorf, there was panic in the church of St. Mice had eaten through the bellows of the great organ and it could not be fixed until the snow melted in the spring. There would be no music for the Christmas Eve service.

The priest of this town was a young man and also a musician, called Joseph Mohr. Joseph was not disheartened and was determined that there would be music that Christmas. He remembered a simple poem he had written two years earlier and thought if only he could find an alternative instrument and suitable melody they could sing it in church.

He asked his church organist, a man named Franz Gruber, to look at the poem and see what he could do. Franz was startled by how good the poem was and, used to writing music at short notice, came up with a soothing lullaby to accompany Joseph’s words. That evening the congregation of St Nicholas, Oberndorf, sang a new Christmas Carol - with only a guitar as accompaniment.

Silent Night! Holy Night! All is calm, all is bright!
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child,
Holy Infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Sadly, there's no record that the organ in the church did break down that year, but whatever the reason for its composition, Silent Night remains one of the world’s most popular Christmas carols and every year it is sung in many different languages throughout the world.

What’s so ‘Happy’ about Christmas?

Many people won't have a happy Christmas this year. And they are not just the famine victims and the hurricane victims and the earthquake victims and refugees in far-off countries, or those who sleep rough in most British cities and towns, or even people who ‘live’ in hostels or bed-and-breakfast accommodation. These unhappy people will include many ‘ordinary’ English people who have enough food and a roof over their heads.

Traditionally there have been strong pressures on us all to enjoy Christmas as a family occasion. This is rapidly altering Christmas-time in our pleasure-seeking society into a party opportunity. But those without families, or with family pains and pressures, or with recent bereavement, can find Christmas one of the worst times of year. And those who cannot cope with parties and bonhomie feel left out and lonely.

Over recent years it has become more of a television time, but many are realising the emptiness of television (Christmas viewing figures keep falling, even including satellite and cable channels).

Isn't it time that we re-evaluated how to celebrate, how to enjoy ourselves? No one is against families or parties, and television brings us real benefits. This is not even a plea to put Jesus Christ or religion back into Christmas (though a trip to church and a reading of the opening chapters of Luke's Gospel wouldn't do any harm). It is simply that many of our ways of enjoying ourselves are actually destructive, bringing about more misery than happiness.

What we often end up doing is worshipping the god of family or television or food or alcohol. All these things are right and good in their place. All have a real part to play in most of our lives. But when we elevate any of them to the highest position then we experience a few days of selfish over-indulgence, followed by a time of miserable recovery, then an increased sense of emptiness and pointlessness as life begins again after the New Year.

Why not get our priorities right? Learn to spend time in God's presence. Learn to receive his love and forgiveness. Learn to accept others as he accepts us. Learn to make our whole lives, not just Christmas, celebrations of love, goodness and generosity.

Donald Allister

Archdeacon of Chester

Glory to God – in Your Street – and Mine!

A Christmas Meditation by the Revd Dr Herbert McGonigle, former Principal of Nazarene Theological College, Manchester

It was 1974. I was Minister of the Dewsbury Road Church of the Nazarene in Leeds and two days before Christmas I was driving through the city, making some pastoral calls.

It was late afternoon and getting dark. All the lights were coming on in Leeds, from the usual street lighting to the illuminated Christmas trees, fairy lights and all the flashing, coloured neon signs along the streets and in the shops. Heading for the city centre, I drove into the Headrow and there in front of me was Leeds’ largest store, Schofields. It was a very prestigious shop with five large display windows. All the windows that December evening were bright with Christmas goods and twinkling lights.

But there was something more than just sparkling decorations in Schofield’s windows. There was a Bible text displayed! Yes, right along all five of the windows were the words from Luke 2:14, ‘GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST.’ Each letter was at least three feet high and they were hung inside, across the five windows, to spell out the words of the angel on that first Christmas night in Bethlehem, long, long ago.

The text in Schofield’s store, however, actually read a little differently. What I saw was startling. One of the letters, the ‘E’ from the word ‘HIGHEST,’ must have lost its support for it had dropped down. Now the words read, ‘GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGH ST.’

What a text! God’s glory in the High Street! – in the Headrow in Leeds! I thought about that all the way home, and the more I reflected on it, I thought how right it was. Yes, that’s what Christmas really means! God came into our world! The Saviour of the World was not born in a grand palace, or a five-star hotel, but in a cattle shed in a street in Bethlehem. The Lord came into the world He had made by the back door.

That evening experience in the Headrow in Leeds many years ago was very special to me. Glory to God in the High St! And why not? That’s exactly what Christmas means. God came into our world on that first Christmas night and ‘glory shone around.’

But, and this is the truly wonderful news, His glory was not confined to Bethlehem. It was meant for all the world. It was meant for Leeds and for Lahore; for Birmingham and for Budapest; for Manchester and for Marrakech; for the whole wide world. The Bible text in Schofield’s windows lost nothing by dropping the letter ‘E.’ It preached a great truth that never changes. Glory to God in the High St! and in the side street, and in the back street – and in your street, and in mine!

Five Practical Tricks to Play on Father Christmas

- Instead of milk and biscuits, leave him a salad and a note explaining that you think he could stand to lose a few pounds.

- While he's in the house, go find his sleigh and write him a speeding ticket.

- Leave him a note explaining that you've gone away for the holidays.Ask if he would mind watering your plants.

- Leave him a note explaining that you've moved.a map with unclear and hard-to-read directions to your new house.

- Paint ‘"hoof-prints’ all over your face and clothes.he's in the house, go out on the roof.he comes back up, act like you've been ‘trampled’. Threaten to sue.