New Year’s Day–
everything is in blossom!
I feel about average.
Kobayashi Issa
Well, we’re still here. The world didn’t end on that Friday before Christmas that the Mayan civilisation apparently thought it might. Can’t help wondering why everyone took up the idea with such enthusiasm – perhaps a general feeling that anything’s better than Christmas – even the end of the world. But wouldn’t it have been a terrible waste of our preparations!
And now it’s a new year. So much happened in 2012 it’s hard to imagine what we’re going to do in 2013. The Jubilee, the Olympics, the Flower Festival – we could be forgiven for wanting a quiet time this year. I’m not sure that’s going to happen!
Social Action / Fundraising
The Social Action group are inviting suggestions for new charities for the parish to support – you can read about that further on this issue – and for our Spring fund-raiser there’s the Festival of Arts and Crafts to be held over the weekend of 27/28 April. Start getting your craft ready now – and please give us some idea of what you might be offering as soon as possible so that we can start thinking about how we’re going to display everything – for instance, you might need a flat surface, someone else might have a picture to hang, someone else might want a tailor’s dummy and so on. Elizabeth Beesley is the one to contact until we get a group together [email protected] and if you’d like to be in on organising some of the year’s events do come to the Events Group meeting on Sunday 13th in the Gregory Room after the 10.30 service.
Stations of the Cross
We’re intending to do our Stations of the Cross again during Lent and although we have a number of pictures from previous years we have gaps. To make up a complete set this year we need:
The Agony in the Garden
Jesus before the Sanhedrin
Peter denies Jesus
The scourging
The penitent thief
Jesus’ mother and friend at the foot of the cross
Jesus laid in the tomb
Any medium is acceptable – last year we had paintings, drawing, photographs, collage, sculpture. If anyone would like to offer any of these please get in touch with me [email protected] The standard size is A2 (59 x 42 cm) and we do have a few boards for painting if you’d like one.
New Year’s Resolutions
Father Stephen has written in his Vicar’s letter about why we feel the need to make resolutions. We all talk about them and in a flush of enthusiasm promise ourselves we’ll do all sorts of things in the new year that probably never get off the ground, but if you are thinking of making any resolutions would you consider giving more time to the church? Some volunteering groups are in such need of more hands – please read the article further on in this issue and look at the list at the back of each magazine outlining the areas where your input could make all the difference.
Happy New Year
January
Judy East