Good News
The news that everyone�s been waiting to hear finally revealed by the churchwardens and Jeremy and Julia will be in our prayers over the next few months as they prepare to leave their parish and we prepare to welcome them. So many phrases spring to mind relating to the Advent Season – Good News / Anticipation / Preparation – which also seem to apply to where the parish is now so this year more than ever we can immerse ourselves in thinking about the start of the new Christian year and what it might hold for our church, as well as looking inward to what it might hold for us individually.
November was unusually busy even for us – this issue contains reviews of two musical events, the others will be reviewed next month – and there’s a whole month of preparatory “busyness” ahead of us again. The Advent wreath is ready, the service cards are ready for distribution around the parish (please help – see �Seasonal notices� below), school choirs are in the last stages of preparation for their services – six this year – and it’s almost time to shake out the garlands and dust off the crib.
I can’t help feeling there ought to be more to December than that! When the church says Advent is a time of preparation I’m fairly sure it’s not talking about all the trimmings we associate with Christmas.
“During the four weeks of Advent, we prepare for the celebration of Christ�s birth through prayer and reflection. We contemplate the First Coming of Jesus as Saviour, and anticipate his promised Second Coming. And amid the flurry of Christmas preparations, we look for practical ways to observe the holiness of the season in our everyday lives.”
That sounds better – it’s taken from ignatianspirituality.com and includes a link to “Arts and Faith” – reflective material based on paintings from Michelangelo’s Isaiah to Gauguin’s B�b�.
Or there�s the Bible Society�s Advent Challenge biblesociety.org.uk/get-involved/adventchallenge which offers a selection of �small, practical acts of kindness� for each day. You sign up and they email you.
Of course if you prefer books there are plenty to choose from. One that caught my eye was “Do nothing … Christmas is coming” by Stephen Cottrell (Bishop of Chelmsford). It’s �6.99 from Church House Bookshop (�4.99 ePUB) and isn�t a big book so not too daunting. I haven’t started it yet – but it’s something I certainly intend to make time for.
What if you’re not busy during Advent? What if you don’t need to make a pudding or a cake or shop or prepare for arriving guests? Then we have plenty to entertain you. Advent begins of course with Advent Carol Service which is tongiht if you�ve picked this up on 27th! but there’s alos the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols on 18th and whilst the school services are primarily intended for parents and friends there’s no reason you can’t drop in and listen to some really excellent singing of sometimes very unusual carols amongst the old favourites – the dates are all in the diary. On Friday 2nd December The Community Choir, the Cr�che Ensemble, the Hampstead Players and the Junior Choir will be getting together for an evening of Christmas Lights. No charge but a collection for C4WS (local night shelters). The Lunchtime concert (usually held on the first Wednesday of the month) has been moved to Thursday 8th and features Harry Nowakowski Fox on the piano; the Literary Hour on Wednesday 21st promises something interesting under the title Christmas Revels. If it’s something practical you’re looking for why not come and help clear the churchyard on Saturday 3rd (10am – 12 noon) or clean and decorate the church on the morning of Saturday 17th?
And do check out our Christmas services and arrangements for the days after Christmas. If you could offer some church sitting over the holiday period please see the article below (�Welcome to our church�) and contact me. And don�t worry, saying you can do an hour on 30th December doesn�t commit you to joining the team and doing it forever (although of course we�d like you to!)
The Daily Office (�office� from official – a set form of prayer distinguished from private and extemporary prayer and �daily� to distinguish them from the other offices of the church – Communion, Baptism and so on). We say the Daily Office every day – Morning Prayer at 9am Monday-Saturday, Evening Prayer at 5pm Monday – Friday. At least, I say �we� but quite often lately it has been a lonely occupation and we would welcome some support. Why not make it an Advent discipline (a quiet preparation for Christmas perhaps) to attend? Not every day but once or twice? We�ll be there, we�d love to see you.
Some Seasonal notices
Playing postman
Every year we deliver cards to every home in the parish – around 4,000 of them. The cards contain Christmas greetings and details of our services over the Christmas period. People enjoy their �card from the church� and look forward to receiving it. But of course we can�t do it without your help. The cards are available, bundled into named streets. Please take some for delivery before 18th December (the Carol Service is the first service listed).
Christmas Card Board
As usual we will be putting up a board (on 17th) for you to pin greetings to the parish. If you�re going to be away leave the cards in the office and we�ll put them up for you. Please DON�T leave cards for individual people – they don�t get picked up and it�s so sad to see them still uncollected after the holiday.
Flowers in Memory at Christmas
If you would like to have a loved one commemorated in the Christmas flowers please contact Sheena Ginnings [email protected] or leave the name and donation with Rebecca in the office. Names will be displayed on the boards by the piano.
Children�s Crib Service
Christmas Eve 5.30pm
This is a short service (about half an hour) in which the children act out the nativity story, interspersed with well-known carols. Children of all ages are welcome to take part. Mary, Joseph, Gabriel and Herod are chosen in advance from the Sunday School but we can have any number of angels, shepherds, sheep, kings. If you have a costume that�s a great help but we do have a dressing-up box. Please come at 5pm if your child would like to take part.
December
Judy East