Here we are on the threshold of another New
Year! We stepped into the Church’s New
Year with Advent and now for the Calendar Year 2020!
Christ has been born, but in a stable in a
remote corner of Palestine. On 6th January, the Feast of the Epiphany,
we celebrate the revelation of this wondrous event to the world outside;
represented by Three Wise Men from “country far”, who have been called, each
one separately, to make the perilous journey together, following a star, to
welcome and bring gifts to the Saviour of Mankind.
Like so much in the Bible the story is full of
symbolism. The Gold recognizes the
kingship of Jesus, the Frankincense that he is the Son of God and the Myrrh as
a message that he is going to have to suffer and die to redeem mankind.
There is a part of this story that has
particular relevance to what is happening in so many countries today. Joseph had been warned that as Herod was
intending to kill all children under the age of two, he should take Mary and
Jesus and run away to Egypt; the Holy
Family was to become a refugee family.
How often is this happening today? Whole
families are having to flee for their lives to escape death. Let us ask
ourselves just how much we are doing to help these poor souls and let us pray
that governments come to their senses and stop this senseless bloodshed!
“Who is he in yonder stall, at whose feet the
shepherds fall?”
We are now approaching one of the two most important festivals in the church’s year. (the other one is Easter). Christmas is a time of celebration, of families getting together, of giving and receiving presents. I trust that all of you are looking forward to the festivities, but hope that in the midst of all the fun you save some time to think about the reason for all this jollity.
We are celebrating the momentous occasion when God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, was born in a stable. He came on earth with a message of peace and love.When you read this, we will be into Advent – the time of preparation leading up to Christmas. It is a time to reflect, to decide whether we are in a fit state to welcome the arrival of that very special baby, and if not, to do something about it!
On Sunday at 6pm we are holding a service of Compline, followed by Benediction. This is a quiet, end of the day short service, followed by a blessing that will be taking place on the first Sunday of each month. Please come along.
We must remember however that for so many people Christmas is most definitely not a happy event – those who have lost family members and are living on their own, those living in abusive situations, those who are forced to live on the streets. Let us remember all of these in our prayers and if we can, try to bring a measure of Christmas cheer into their lives.
November
As we move into November our lives are dominated by the days getting shorter and the nights longer. Winter coats, scarves and gloves are brought out of the wardrobe, but it isn’t a month of all doom and gloom, just rather chilly.
We start with All Saints Day on 1st November.
Who are the Saints? They are everyone who has found their resting place in heaven.
Certain ones
from among their number are given the title Saint because it is felt that there
is something about them, some aspect of their life on earth that set us an
example to follow. However these are the
exceptional ones; on 1st November we celebrate all those others, the
ordinary folk, including deceased members of our own families, who have joined
the heavenly family.
On the 2nd
the Feast of All Souls we pray for all
those whom we have loved and who have passed away; that their souls may find
rest in heaven.
Sunday 10th
is Remembrance Sunday, when we bring to mind all those who have given their
lives in war to preserve our freedom.
A Saint that
we remember particularly, on the 17th November is our patron St Hilda. Her contribution to
the Church in this country was huge; she presided over the Meeting (the Synod)
in Whitby in 664 that united the Roman and Celtic churches into one body. Please come and join us in our celebrations
on that day.
November brings the church’s year to a close with the Feast of Christ the King on 24th as we then embark on the following Sunday into a new year with the beginning of Advent.
