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May I firstly wish you
a very Happy New Year.
This year promises
some exciting new events the first of which is the new service of Evening
Praise on Sunday 25th
January. This is a new venture on the fourth Sunday of each month designed
for the whole family with a particular focus on children. It will take
place in the church hall commencing at 5.0 and finish at 5.45 with pizzas,
tea, coffee and soft drinks. During the service children may stay with the
adults or play with other children in a playgroup where there will be a
story time, and toddlers and babies may go to a crèche. There will be
stories from the Bible, hymns led by the Church Music Group, informal
prayers, a short talk and activities for all.
As part of our new
approach to evening worship each month the pattern of services at 6.30 will
provide a traditional Evensong with sermon on the first Sunday, Taize and
Iona worship with periods of meditation on the second Sunday, Choral
Evensong and sermon on the third, and Sung Evensong without a sermon on the
fourth and fifth Sundays.
Later in the year in
September there will be a teaching week where we plan to have some well
known guest speakers and preachers including Canon Jeffrey John. Details
will follow in later editions of the magazine.
But to return to
January and Epiphany we shall celebrate this important festival on Sunday 4th
January. The actual date of Epiphany is January 6th and is the
climax of the Christmas season following the twelfth day of Christmas on 5th
January. Epiphany looks ahead to the mission of the Church in the world in
the experience and light of the Nativity and concludes with the commencement
of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The term Epiphany means to show, to make known or
to reveal, and you will notice that the Nativity scene beneath the high
altar will be joined by the three wise men (placed on the left hand side of
the sanctuary), who were said to have arrived at this time. In the bringing
of gifts to the Christ Child the three wise men or kings reveal Jesus to the
world as Lord and King.
The wise men, or kings
were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as King showing the all
encompassing nature of his mission for all people of every nation and that
the work of God in the world is unlimited. And so Epiphany is a time to
remember that the mission of the Church is to reach out to show Jesus as the
Saviour of all people. It is also a time to pray especially for the healing
of divisions in the church, and for Church unity. And so this leads me to
conclude by reminding you of two other important events this month. The
first is the Ecumenical Service for the congregations of the Churches
together in Merton Park at 3.0pm on 18th
January at Merton park Baptist Church – an important occasion to affirm our
Christian Unity; and Vision Sunday on 25th January at St Mary’s
when at the 9.30 service there will be a presentation of our Vision for what
promises to be a challenging and stimulating Year.
I pray that God will
bless us as together we translate that Vision into a real expression of His
Love.
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