Saints
and Commemorations in December
Readings
for Principal Services in December
Deanery
Synod 6th November 2008
This is our story, this is
our song
Im writing this on the day
that the lead news story is John Sergeants decision to quit Strictly Come
Dancing. Its being covered as a major news story. It wasnt because as some
suggested that he lacked the stamina and staying power to continue with the competition.
Rather John has been quoted as deciding to quit because he didnt want to bring
the competition into disrepute or draw the focus away from the dancing skills
of the competitors. This week, Im a Celebrity has also launched its new
series with the Bushtucker Trial already claiming its
victims. All of these areas have claimed a significant part of the national
awareness and even if you dont watch the programmes youre still likely to
know whats been going on.
The French philosopher and
psychotherapist Julia Kristeva talks about the way
that this need for celebrity and spectacular is an important aspect of our
current society, but she suggests not in a good way. She suggests that there is
something about our need for sensation, for immediate access to emotion without
engagement that fills an important need in our lives, that its a failure of
the traditional supports of society. She suggests that the stories that we used
to tell, the narratives that shaped our community and our lives are no longer
there and that as a result we miss the language that enables us to engage fully
with ourselves and so with others. Celebrity and sensation for Kristeva are the way we try to fill the gap.
But Christianity is all
about narrative, about the story of the Son of God who came to live on earth, who was part of our human experience, who shared his story
with ours. We know of God through his birth, his life, his death and his
resurrection. In the Bible we read the stories of people who struggled to hear
Gods story in the world. We read the stories of their successes and their
failures, their moments of sublime insight and all too human disaster. We hear
the stories of communities who are trying (and often failing) to live in
accordance with Gods will and love, and we hear their reflections on the
stories that make up their inheritance.
Most of all, though, we
hear, read and experience the story of Gods love a love that acts, that
saves, that heals, that transforms broken lives and gives them new meaning. Its
not a glamorous celebrity - filled story - it contains the story of a bloody
cross and a tomb, a story of apparent failure. But its a story that gives new
hope and new joy. Its a story that we can take as our own this Christmas time,
to tell the world about that baby in the manger who transformed the world.
And thats a story with much
more staying power than any celebrity.
Wed 3 Eucharist 10:00 am
Carew Chapel
St Mary's Guild St Marys Court 2:30pm
Thurs 4 Praise
and Play St Marys Centre
Meeting
for those interested in Young Peoples work
Church 7:30pm
Mothers Union
Christmas Table Decorations St Marys Centre
7:30pm
SUNDAY 7 Morning Services at usual times,
St Marys Children's Party (all welcome) St
Mary's Centre
Christingle and Toy Service 4pm
Compline 6:30pm
Tues 9 Time
for God Quiet Worship Carew Chapel 9:30am
Wed 10 Eucharist 10:00 am
Carew Chapel
Fri 12 Sherwood
Park School Service 10:30
Sat 13 Cantate
Handbell Ringers, Millennium Square Sutton 4pm
SUNDAY 14 Morning Services at usual times,
Compline 6:30pm
Choir Party at Rectory
Tue 16 Carew
Manor School Service 9-11:30am
Link Second School Service 1:30-3:15pm
Wed 17 MU Corporate Eucharist 10:00 Carew
Chapel
Poetry for Pleasure St Marys Centre 2-4pm
Thurs 18 Praise and Play
Fri 19 Kith Kin and Kanine St Marys
centre 10:0011:30am
SUNDAY 21 Advent 4 Morning Services at usual times,
Christmas Carol Service 6:30pm
Mon 22 Advent
Meditation 9:30 am and 7:00pm Carew Chapel
Tue 23 Advent Meditation 9:30 am and
7:00pm Carew Chapel
Wed 24 CHRISTMAS
EVE
Crib Service for Families 5pm
Midnight Mass with Choir 11:30pm
Thurs 25 CHRISTMAS DAY
Eucharist with Carols 9:30am
SUNDAY 28 !st after
Christmas All Services at usual times
Said Evensong 6:30pm
Wed 31 Bell Ringers ring in the New Year.
Kith Kin and Kanine:
Friday 19th December
10:00 to 11:30 St Mary's
Centre
Meeting about Children and Young Peoples work in the
Parish
Thursday 4th December 2008
7:30pm in Church
Refreshments provided!
Sunday 7th December 2008
Childrens Christmas Party
St Marys Centre 1:303:45pm
Christingle Service
4:00pm in Church
Christmas Eve
Crib Service for Families
5pm
Midnight Mass with Choir
11:30pm
Christmas Day
Eucharist with Carols 9:30am
3 Francis Xavier, Missionary, Apostle of the
Indies, 1552
4 Nicholas Ferrar,
Deacon, Founder of the Little Gidding Community, 1637
8 Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
14 John of the Cross, Poet, Teacher of the
Faith, 1591
17 Eglantine Jebb,
Social Reformer, Founder of 'Save the Children', 1928
24 Christmas Eve
25 CHRISTMAS DAY
26 Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr
27 John, Apostle and Evangelist
28 The Holy Innocents
29 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury,
Martyr, 1170
31 John Wyclif,
Reformer, 1384
Funerals
Peter Webb 17th November
2008
Ada Rose Cook 18th November 2008
Baptism
Stephanie Buchanan, Jack
Barton
Confirmation
Alison Brann,
Vivien Thompson, Joanna Thompson,
Stephanie Buchanan, Oliver Hargreaves, Oscar Brann, Jack,
Barton, Samuel Atkins,
Aiden Rumbles, Thomas Pullicino
Every Sunday we pray for
people living and working in two or three roads in the parish.
7th Lytton Gardens & Evelyn Way
14th Ferrers Avenue & Greanleaf Avenue
21st Dell Close & Desmesne Road
28th Raleigh Avenue
Sunday 7th December
Advent 2
Isaiah 40:1-11
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8
Sunday 14th December
Advent 3
Isaiah 61 1-4, 8-end
1 Thessalonians 5 16-24
John 1 6-8, 19-28
Sunday 21st December
Advent 4
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
Romans 16:25-27
Luke 1:26-38
Wednesday 24th December
Midnight Mass
Isaiah 52 7-10
Hebrews 1 1-12
John 1 1-14
Thursday 25th December
Christmas Day
Isaiah 9 2-7
Titus 2 11-14
Luke 2 1-14
Sunday 28th December
Holy Innocents
Jeremiah 31 15-17
1 Corinthians 1 26-29
Matthew 2 13-18
We welcome the new members
of our Choir and hope that they will have a fruitful and long relationship with
us here at St Marys.
Chris and Tamasine Kimber run a choir called Cantate
Voices, which includes several ex-members of St Mary's choir. They entered the
Sutton Music Festival in November and won their section (for the second year
running). They have subsequently been awarded the Sutton Borough Shield for the
best vocal performance of the Festival and have been invited to sing at the
Prize winners Concert. Their own Christmas concert, which includes Chris's Cantate Rhythm percussion group, is on December 14, at
Collingwood School at 6.30. All welcome.
Cantate Handbell Ringers, under
the auspices of St Mary's, will be entertaining in the Millennium Square in
Sutton on Saturday December 13 at around 4 o'clock. We are part of the Mayor's
Charity event and would be pleased to see some familiar faces around that day.
On Thursday 7th December,
the church is the venue for a meeting for those interested in Children and
Young Peoples work at St Marys. All are
welcome as families include both young and those who have lived a while!
Refreshments will be provided and we hope to have a good discussion and come up
with some workable ideas to take this forward please come and contribute.
Wednesday 17th December
2-4pm St Marys Centre
Poetry for Pleasure
Members are asked to bring a
poem or a piece of prose with a festive theme to share with other members of
the group. There will also be some
festive refreshments.
We give thanks for those
baptised and confirmed at the recent service at Holy Trinity Wallington, it was
a good evening and Bishop Nick presided in his usual calm confident and
inspiring manner. Our prayers go to all
involved.
WaterAid will be the beneficiary of our Big Card for
Christmas Appeal. The PCC approved the grant at its
recent meeting and guaranteed at least 75, enough to dig a well, would be
given. WaterAid works in 17 countries providing
water, sanitation and hygiene education to some of the world's poorest people
St Marys will be replacing
Evensong with Compline on the 7th and 14th of December.
The ancient office of
Compline derives its name from a Latin word meaning ' completion ' (completorium). It is above all a service of quietness and
reflection before rest at the end of the day. It is most effective when the
ending is indeed an ending, without additions, conversation or noise. If there
is an address, or business to be done, it should come first. If the service is
in church, those present depart in silence; if at home, they go quietly to bed.
In keeping with the earliest
practices of the monastic communities, Compline is offered when the work of the
day is completed, and the quietness of evening settles over the hearts and
minds of those who have come together in thankfulness for the blessings of the
day which has passed and in anticipation of God's gift of a new day.
As it has for centuries, Compline invokes a sense of protection and peace for
the night that is to come and thanks for safe passage through the day that has past.Fear of the night and concern for our mortality are
integral parts of the texts-"your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
Characteristic of Monastic offices, Compline consists of psalms, short passages
from scripture (chapters), an office hymn, a canticle (Nunc
Dimittis), a litany, collects, and additional prayers.The Office of Compline originated and developed in
southern Europe and the Middle East during the first six hundred years of Christianity.At first, Compline was offered primarily by
the monastic communities, but as Christian influence spread throughout Europe
and the Mediterranean area, the office found a place in local liturgical settings
The 'Partners in World
Development' site, www.wdanetwork.org.uk, provides parishes with up-to-date
information on issues such as trade justice, debt relief and climate change. It
also provides profiles of many Church of England dioceses, with overviews of
the projects they have underway and details of their link dioceses overseas.
These profiles also include contact details for each diocese's World
Development Adviser, or similar usually a volunteer who helps co-ordinate
structured work to raise awareness of these subjects locally.
The site features a calendar
of forthcoming local and national events, links to Anglican development
agencies and other in-depth resources, including prayer prompts.
The Rt
Revd Tony Robinson, Bishop of Pontefract, is the Episcopal Adviser for the
Church of Englands growing network of diocesan World Development Advisers. He
comments: Exactly three months ago at the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican
Communion showed what impact a public commitment to work together on pressing
world issues can have, when the bishops and their spouses walked through London
to urge international governments to keep their promises on the Millennium
Development Goals. And exactly one month ago, this call was echoed at the UN summit
in New York.
This new site makes a vital
contribution to the ongoing process of encouraging and resourcing
such campaigning. Its inspiring to see the contributions that parishes and
dioceses are making to building a world in which people everywhere can have an
opportunity to flourish.
Archaeologists have
discovered what they believe to be the largest ancient Christian church in
Syria. The remains of the building, thought to date back some 1,500 years, were
found in Palmyra in central Syria. A small amphitheatre and two rooms that may
have been used for baptisms, prayers and other religious ceremonies were also
found on the site of the church.
Palmyra, 220km (135 miles)
north-east of Damascus, was an important Roman-era desert stop for caravans
travelling to Mesopotamia and Persia. Much of the city was destroyed by the
Romans in the third century, in revenge for rebelling against their rule under
Syrian Queen Zenobia.
The site remains a treasure
trove for archaeologists. The director of Palmyra museum, Walid
Assad, said the latest find by Syrian and Polish
archaeologists was the fourth church to be discovered in the city - and the
largest in Syria. Its base measures 12m by 24m (39ft by 79ft) with 6m-high
(20ft) columns, the AFP news agency reports.
"Christianity came to
Palmyra in the year 312, at a time when Christians had begun to build
churches," Mr Assad told AFP. "And this one
is huge - the biggest ever found in Syria. It dates back to the fourth or fifth
centuries after Jesus Christ."
Israeli police have had to
restore order at one of Christianity's holiest sites after a mass brawl broke
out between monks in Jerusalem's Old City. Fighting erupted between Greek
Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the
traditional site of Christ's crucifixion. Two monks from each side were
detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said
police. Trouble flared as Armenians prepared to mark the annual Feast of the
Cross.
Sutton Deanery Synod was
held in Christchurch, Sutton on 6th November 2008. Most of the Deanery churches
were represented by their lay and clergy representatives, it was good to see many
of the clergy who had spent the day training at the Cathedral.
Synod opened with prayer and
then we were welcomed to Christchurch by Rev Sarah Mullally.
Sarah is the Team Rector of the recently formed Sutton Team of St Nicholas,
Christchurch and St Barnabas. The three Sutton churches are working towards
developing the diversity of the three churches: in order to be clear what that
actually is and what is needed they are all
undertaking a worship audit and a congregational survey.
Meanwhile St Nicholas, the
Town Church, is being made more accessible and relevant to the community; one
very welcome undertaking is opening the church on Thursdays until 2.30pm for
tea, a chat, a look around and sometimes a talk. St Barnabas is growing and the
people are building bridges to the community around them. Christchurch is
focussing on Christian Discipleship.
Rev Mark Pullinger,
the Team Vicar, took up the story of discovery. They are seeking to find what
sowing in the Fruit of Christ means for them all. He is discovering where the
churches can work together to add value to what they are doing and to find ways
of getting to know the parish communities, which for Christchurch includes both
sides of the A217.
Most of the reports for
Synod are now sent to members with the evenings agenda. One of the items was
part of the July Diocesan report on the Regeneration in the Diocese of
Southwark. Terry Drummond, Bishops Personal Assistant and Lay Chaplain and
chair of the Social Responsibility and Regeneration Working Group, asked all
churches to look at their parishes and note the changes in housing and
commercial development, what changes are happening within the congregation and
think about how we should respond and what resources do we need for our
responses to be effective. (Maybe this should influence our new Pastoral
Schemes, but more of that another time.)
The written report from the
Board of Finance highlighted the increase in the pension costs for diocesan lay
staff, the likely downturn in investment income, the increase in training cost
because more people have offered themselves for training, that savings have
been made in the property maintenance budget (poor incumbents) and the drawing
down from the pension reserve. Nevertheless
the increase in the Fairer Shares has been held to 4.1% by cutting other
expenditure from the centre. (We will
need to increase our income at St Marys to cover this and all the other
increases particularly the gas and electricity bills).
There was written details of
a proposal from Peter Rumble from St Dunstan, Cheam,
for a Deanery seminar for Bible Study Group Leaders. To make it viable with
invited speakers he estimated that between 30 and 60 people would need to be
interested. He proposed three Saturday sessions, looking at the Old Testament,
how to make it relevant to today and input from local people who have led Bible
Study groups.
The main item for the
evening was a presentation by Mark Tomlinson, and others, on Sutton Street
Pastors. They are a presence in Sutton on Friday and Saturday nights until 4
am, being present, being with, being alongside, giving attention to the people
in the town centre, helping to reduce the anxiety and therefore the violence.
Mark heard a talk in 2005 at
which was said that many of Suttons residents feared the rise in crime in the
area making it as bad as some of the notorious inner London estates, but that
the statistics showed that Sutton was an average outer London area and in many
respects better than most. He also heard about the National Street Pastors
movement and thought and prayed that this could be good for Sutton.
When he introduced the
subject at a town meeting the police were worried that the introduction of
Street Pastors would increase their workload. The opposite has happened, the
police work alongside and with the Pastors and are very pleased to have them
around.
The Pastors act as befrienders and can be catalysts for help from many
agencies and charities. They are the church to the people on the street, they
are a Christian presence. What does this
mean? They do not preach or throw religion at people. They are around when
people need a friend to talk, to lend a hand, or maybe to hand out flip-flops
to girls who can no-longer walk in their very high heels or spikeys to both sexes to prevent their drinks being
spiked. They act as sign posts as they can call the social services, the London
Street Rescue, the Christian Rehab Unit and such agencies. Mark told the tale
of one night he was called over by a mother who had been summoned to her
daughter who had passed out on the street outside a nightclub. He called the
ambulance service who said they were very busy and help was at least an hour
away so he waited with the girl (therefore keeping her safe) while her mother
went to fetch her car and with help they got the girl into the car and mum took
her home to safety.
Before the Pastors set out
they gather in St Nicholas Church for prayer. Helen Ewing told us how she was
interested in the movement and wondered how she could help; she did not feel
able to go out on to the streets but she realised that prayer was so very
important. The Pastors gather for prayer before they go out into Sutton Town
Centre and a prayer vigil continues while the Pastors are out on the streets.
Helen invited anyone who is interested in joining the group to contact her.
Who are the Pastors? There
are 34 in Sutton at present and 1,800 in this country. All have undergone day
nationally organised courses, 12 Saturdays of instruction and discussion and 12
other days going out with existing pastors all over a six-month period. The
courses help you to know how to introduce yourself and what to do in different
situations! Mark offered to come to
churches, PCCs, interested groups to talk about
Street Pastors and there is a DVD that can be borrowed. He also invites interested people to contact
him if they would like to come and observe a night on the town, to come and
pray in St Nicholas Church and to give. Money is need for training and
resources. There are two web sites for information www.streetpastors.co.uk and on a link from
www.churchinsutton.co.uk .
Pastors are all ages from 18 years, both men
and women (there is one 81 year old lady pastor in Sutton). To become a Pastor
you will be interviewed to find if you will be suitable and then put forward
for training. People must be committed to their church and to the Street Pastor
movement and its aims.
The meeting closed with the
Grace. The next meeting is on Tuesday
3rd March with the main topic Safeguarding children and adults who may be
Vulnerable with Jill Sandham, the Diocesan
Safeguarding Officer, as the guest speaker. She is a very good speaker, very
knowledgeable with lots of experience, please put the
date in your diary and come.
Christian Care
for Families
Mother's Union Relief Fund
offers emergency support to families all over the world who have been affected
by natural or man-made disaster.
Mothers Union is well placed within local communities to offer quick
assistance to families in adversity.
Emergency supplies of food, medicine , blankets and other items can be
purchased locally and distributed quickly to those in need.
In 2008 Mothers Union (MU)
has already sent Relief Fund Grants totalling over 87,200 to communities in
need. With these funds MU in Iraq was
able to purchase essential and desperately needed items, including food,
blankets and medicine.
After meeting Canon White
from Iraq in May MU worldwide President Rosemary Kempsell
said:
Things seem pretty bad with
little improvement. The MU is now 1,000
strong and growing by 100 a month. There
are 1,500 in the congregation of whom 1,000 are women, 500 children and 8 men. All the men have been killed. There are constant rocket attacks and the
reaction is for everyone to get on the floor but remarkably they continue
singing andn playing instruments. MU is the Church. It is unique in Iraq amongst Muslims as well
as Christians. Canon White says MU is
the most important organisation in Baghdad.
A further relief fund was founded
in May 2008 to continue the work.
More information can be
found at:
WWW.themothersunion.org
By making a donation to MU
Relief Fund you can make a real difference throughout the World.
Welcare in Sutton is holding a Bridge Drive on
Wednesday 14th January 2009
At St Johns, Belmont Church
Hall
1.30pm 4.30pm
These afternoons are much
enjoyed by our supporters and we provide an excellent tea!
Please contact Roz Gammie on 020-8669-6462 for
table bookings or more details or email: rgammie54@hotmail.co.uk
Welcare in Sutton runs a child contact centre on Saturdays
at the Family Centre in Robin Hood Lane, Sutton providing both supported and
supervised contact sessions. For families experiencing difficulties in
resolving contact issues, this centre enables children to regularly meet and
therefore maintain links with their non-resident parent or other relative
within a safe, friendly and impartial environment
Advent is a term from the
Latin word 'adventus' which means
"arrival".
It is a time of waiting for
the arrival of Christmas, the coming of Jesus to earth when he was born as a
baby at Bethlehem about two thousand years ago.
What is Advent?
Advent is the new year of
the Christian Church and the church season that leads to Christmas Day.
Advent is the time when
Christians remember that Jesus came into the world in Palestine 2000 years ago
and that Jesus also promised one day to return in all His glory.
Clergy typically wear royal
purple or royal blue vestments during Advent. Many churches also include an
advent wreath (sometimes called an Advent ring or crown) in their Advent
services.
Francis was born at the
castle of Xavier in Spanish Navarre in 1506. He was educated in Paris and, with
Ignatius of Loyola, became one of the group of seven
who took vows as the first members of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. Since
preaching the gospel overseas was an integral part of the Jesuit vocation,
Francis sailed for Goa, on the west coast of India,
in 1541. He travelled all over the East Indies, evangelising and establishing
the Church in Ceylon, Malacca, Malaya and notably in
Japan, where he left behind two thousand converts. He was on his way to China
when he died on board ship in December 1552.
Born to an impoverished noble
family near Avila in Spain in 1542, Juan de Yepes was
brought up by his widowed mother and went to a charity school. He worked as a
nurse and received further education from the Jesuits before entering the
Carmelite order when he was twenty-one. Having distinguished himself at
Salamanca university, he was ordained in 1567 and met
Teresa of Avila soon afterwards. Small of stature, he made a great impression
on her and she persuaded him to help with her reform of the Carmelite order.
His labours brought him into conflict with the religious authorities, and he
was even imprisoned for a period, yet these experiences prompted some of his
finest poetry and mystical writing. In particular, he described the 'dark
night' of the soul as it is purified in its approach towards God, he died in
1591.
And is it true
? For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
The sweet and silly Christmas things,
Bath salts and inexpensive scent
And hideous tie so kindly meant,
No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare -
That God was man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.
Frances
Read who will be known to
many of you responded to my request for contributions with this interesting
piece of St Marys History:
Dear Paul.
You didnt know me but my
husband John Read was Rector from 1961 78 some ages ago but we have kept in
touch and had the mag; when John died in 2004 Selwyn invited me and my family to a
wonderful Memorial Thanksgiving Service.
The reason for writing is
that the Parish have used the South Window for their Christmas card and some
members may not know the story of the window, so here goes!!
This window was given after
the war by Mr and Mrs Bryant as a thank offering that their children had
survived. Mr Bryant was Churchwarden and
lived in the bungalow next to the then Rectory.
He gave us a personal
explanation of the window, which ( if I remember
rightly) shows their son in Uniform and their daughter as a Nurse. What he
stressed was that the family had insisted that the artist include the familys
Corgi dog.
This was because the dog had
saved the life of the deaf grandmother who was living with them. It was the time of the doodlebugs, the engine
would cut out and there would be silence before the crash.
The old lady was sitting in the Window, it was the dog who realised the danger, gripped her skirt in his teeth and
dragged her away. The bomb fell near the
church and it may be then that the original window which the Bryant Window
replaces was blown in. Needless to say
the family loved this story as do the many people who hear it.
Frances, many thanks and it was very good to hear
from you, please keep in touchPaul.
Alan
Palmer writes abut his
favourite hymns:
I have a soft spot for
hymns like Were marching to Zion which may not be high on artistic merit but
are a jolly good sing.
I would contrast Shine
Jesus Shine with the 140 year old Jesus bids us shine with its haunting line
from childhood You in your small corner and I in
mine. The words are by Susan B Warner and the music by Edwin
O Excell, probably Presbyterian and was
published in America in 1868.
Many years ago at the
Mermaid Theatre, Bernard Miles did a one-man show and during the course of it
taught us Jesus bids us shine with a
blackboard. At the end we were roaring
for an encore, he came back and conducted us in a reprise of Jesus bids us
shine. It was a great night in the
theatre. Any chance we might give it a
go at St Marys sometime?
Have any of you a favourite hymn and why? - Paul
(From Charles Dickens A Christmas carol)
"A
merry Christmas, uncle! God save
you!" cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge's nephew, who
came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his
approach.
"Bah!" said
Scrooge, "Humbug!"
He had so heated himself
with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge's,
that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes
sparkled, and his breath smoked again.
"Christmas a humbug,
uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure."
"I do," said
Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you to
be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough."
"Come, then,"
returned the nephew gaily. "What right have you to be dismal? What reason
have you to be morose? You're rich enough."
Scrooge
having no better answer ready on the spur of the moment, said "Bah!"
again; and followed it up with "Humbug."
"Don't be cross,
uncle!" said the nephew.
"What else can I
be," returned the uncle, "when I live in such a world of fools as
this? Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What's Christmas time to you
but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year
older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every
item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented
dead against you? If I could work my will," said Scrooge indignantly,
"every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on his lips, should be
boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart
he should!"
"Uncle!" pleaded
the nephew.
"Nephew!" returned
the uncle, sternly, "keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in
mine."
December 4
According to legend, Barbara
was the daughter of a rich pagan called Dioscorus and
lived in Asia Minor in the 3rd century. She was carefully guarded by her father
and often shut in a tower to preserve her from the outside world. She secretly
became a Christian and rejected an offer of marriage her father arranged. He
had a private bath house built for her and while her father was away, Barbara
had three windows put in to represent the Trinity, instead of the planned two.
When her father returned,
Barbara admitted to being a Christian. On hearing that, her father dragged her
before the prefect of the province, who had her tortured and condemned to death
by beheading. The story goes that her father carried out the death-sentence but
on his way home he was struck and killed by lightning.
Because of the lightning
strike, Barbara became the patron of anyone who worked with explosives, such as
artillerymen, miners and engineers. She is venerated by anyone who faces the
danger of sudden and violent death in their work. The Spanish and Italian word santabarbara means the powder magazine of a ship or
fortress. It was customary to have a statue of St Barbara at the magazine to
protect the ship or fortress from exploding.
The Order of St Barbara is a
military honour in the US for both the US Army and Marine Corps Artillery,
including field artillery and Air Defence Artillery. The city of Santa Barbara
in California was so called because of the Franciscan Mission there that was
dedicated to her.
I have been able to identify
only two churches in England dedicated to St Barbara. One is at
Ashton-under-Hill in the diocese of Worcester (it has 6 bells!) and the other,
interestingly, is the garrison church at Deepcut in
Surrey. (Anyone know any others?)
by John Betjeman
The bells of waiting Advent
ring,
The Tortoise stove is lit again
And lamp-oil light across the night
Has caught the streaks of winter rain
In many a stained-glass window sheen
From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.
The holly in the windy hedge
And round the Manor House the yew
Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,
The altar, font and arch and pew,
So that the villagers can say
'The church looks nice' on Christmas Day.
Provincial Public Houses blaze,
Corporation tramcars clang,
On lighted tenements I gaze,
Where paper decorations hang,
And bunting in the red Town Hall
Says 'Merry Christmas to you all'.
And London shops on Christmas Eve
Are strung with silver bells and flowers
As hurrying clerks the City leave
To pigeon-haunted classic towers,
And marbled clouds go scudding by
The many-steepled London sky.
And girls in slacks remember Dad,
And oafish louts remember Mum,
And sleepless children's hearts are glad.
And Christmas-morning bells say 'Come!'
Even to shining ones who dwell
Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.
And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,
A Baby in an ox's stall ?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me?
The Bible is full of
interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis,
Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their children, Cain,
asked 'Am I my brother's son?'
When Mary heard she was the
mother of Jesus, she sang the 'Magna Carta'.
One of the oppossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan
Solomom had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines
Christians have only one
spouse. This is called monotony
Moses led the Hebrew slaves
to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread which is bread made without
any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten
commandments. He died before he ever reached Canada
Thursday night at 7pm is
potluck supper. Prayer and medication
will follow.
A bean supper will be held
on Tuesday evening in the Church hall. Music will follow.
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and the community.
A Christmas Treat
Ingredients:
1lb (550g) of mixed berry
fruits 9fresh or defrosted)
11/2 Packets of gelatine (or
vegetarian equivalent)
2 fl oz of hot water
15 fl oz of sparkling wine (
if using frozen fruit make the juice up to 15 fl oz with the wine)
2 fl oz of Cassis or
blackcurrant syrup
1 oz of sugar
Method:
Dissolve gelatine in the hot
water and leave for 3 mins. when fully dissolved add the remaining ingredients. Pour
into a mould, leave to set. Turn out and
enjoy!
December
1988
In the December magazine for
1988, Stewart Kimber was scratching around to fill his Twenty Years Ago column.
I fear I am in a similar position in 2008:
It was revealed that the
last resting place of Sir Walter Raleigh remained a mystery. There are claims
that his headless body was buried in the Carew family vault. Owing to the
discovery of dry rot, the boards in the chapel were lifted. When the
accompanying rubble was removed, a number of large York stone slabs were found.
One was raised and did indeed reveal a vault but it was so full of more rubble
that nothing could be identified. So Sir Walter keeps his secret.
An Ecumenical Task Force was
being set up to develop and encourage co-operation between the churches of
Wallington - the "Churches Together" of today? There was an apt quote
from the Brotherhood Journal: "Christians may not see eye to eye but they
can walk arm in arm."
There was an invitation from
myself for everyone to come to one of the two performances of the Grand Parish
Concert All parish groups were taking part and these concerts heralded the
birth of St Mary's Handbell Group. We would like to
treat you to a concert to celebrate our 20 years when the calendar permits.
There was a very good photo
of Frances Drake with an accompanying article from The Sutton Guardian. Frances
had just been appointed County Commissioner for the Greater London West Guiding
region.
I will finish by quoting
lines from some "Stewardship Carols":-
"Christmas is coming! So is Jack
Frost!
Please give some pennies to the Heating
cost."
"Jingle bells,
jingle bells, is what you like to hear.
Jingle bells, jingle bells, brings you
Christmas cheer.
We're very short of ringers; if numbers
do not swell,
It won't be jingle bells you hear - it'll
just be ding dong bell!"
"Here we come
a-grasscutting around the gravestones old,
Here we come a-leafraking with hands both wet and cold.
There's lots
to do - how about you
Joining us, the faithful
few?"
Jean Kimber
Our local
community:
May all our neighbours know
the love of Immanuel
God given to us in truth and
love
Peace restored and the world
saved
Amen
The World
Let the just rejoice,
for their justifier is born.
Let the sick and infirm rejoice,
For their saviour is born.
Let the captives rejoice,
For their Redeemer is born.
Let slaves rejoice,
for their Master is born.
Let free men rejoice,
For their Liberator is born.
Let All Christians rejoice,
For Jesus Christ is born.
The Church
O God,
whose mighty Son was born in Bethlehem
those days long ago,
lead us to that same poor place,
where Mary laid her tiny Child.
And as we look on in wonder and praise,
make us welcome him in all new life,
see him in the poor,
and care for his handiwork
the earth, the sky and the sea.
O God, bless us again in your great love.
We pray for this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.