“I do find it hard to see the point of ‘celebrating’ New Year. For me, the event has all the stupendous excitement of the milometer in the car clicking over from 39,999 to 40,000. It isn’t the solstice or equinox. Nothing actually happens.” Canon David Winter
I confess to sharing his sentiment, although he goes on later in the article to quote Ecclesiastes 3 ‘God has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into our minds’. But on New Year’s Eve when everyone’s frantically trying to have a good time and raise some artificial excitement it’s tempting to think we’d all be better off in church. Whatever happened to Watchnight services?
Whatever else the new year is it’s definitely a dividing line : ‘I’ll leave that till the new year’, ‘Let’s meet in the new year’ we say to friends because there just seems to be so much to do, to finish, to get out of the way first. Maybe it’s desperation because we make so many plans for the festive season, or perhaps it’s a sense that we’ll need something to look forward to when the festivities are over. Is January 1st greeted with a slight sense of relief? We’ve survived the ‘festive’ season, however festive or dreary it might have been, and can look forward to the new year and what it might hold.
And it does hold all sorts of things, of course – the Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics, our Flower Festival [see page ] , as well as the regular events – a brief run down of the year can be found further on in this issue.
Epiphany
Following last year’s success we’re once again having a children’s tea party and then a Eucharist at 6pm when the Kings will be put in the crib. Suitable for adults.
Stations of the Cross
If you read about this exhibition in the December magazine you’ll know we planned a mixture of paintings and photographs but whilst the painters are in there and eager to go the photographers are hanging back a bit so we’re releasing some of the subjects to painters. Do look at the list on the noticeboard and choose your subject. The pictures will go up on Shrove Tuesday [21st February], ready for Lent, so please do it soon!
Classics for Babies
This is a transplant from South London where it flourishes in a number of churches and involves a small group of musicians putting on morning recitals to which parents/carers and their under-fives are particularly invited. This doesn’t stop other people attending, of course, but only if you accept that there will be noise! This is for children to experience music and their carers to get a chance of hearing a concert without having to worry about babysitters. Their advertising material has omitted the cost of the ticket [I think it’s £10] and, because of Christmas, that great divide, I haven’t been able to get a revised copy. Look out for details on the pewsheets.
Lunchtime events
We have events planned up to April – you can find the list on page….. Each one is followed by coffee and chat, you can bring your lunch, they’re all free, why not try them? And if anyone has ideas for the Literary Hours and would like to plan one please let us know.
Hassock mending continues on the first Wednesdays of the month following the lunchtime concerts – we must be getting closer to finishing them but there’s still plenty to do so if you have an afternoon to spare do come – all materials provided, along with instructions, though it’s pretty basic sewing!
Happy New Year!