Benefice
Newsletter
28 January 2021
I am so grateful to be back at my desk this week, feeling much, much better. The snow has been a reminder that we are still very much in the winter season, but even this early in the year there are signs of new life, of creation waking up in preparation for Spring. The snowdrops are appearing in our garden, the hedgerows and trees and coming into bud and slowly, so slowly, the days are beginning to draw out.
This week I became a grandmother for the first time when my eldest daughter gave birth to Lottie, a healthy baby girl. Another reminder of God’s miracle of new life, his light that shines in the darkness.
As the pandemic continues the world can feel very dark, especially when we hear daily the number of infections and deaths – behind each one there is a story of fear, struggle or grief. Our challenge as Christians is to look for and recognise the light of Christ, the light which cannot be overcome by the darkness. This Sunday we celebrate Candlemas which marks the end of Epiphany and Christmas, the time when we turn our eyes from the incarnation towards the cross and beyond to the joy of Easter. We focus on the light of the candles – symbolising the light of Christ and we rejoice that this light will not be dimmed – God is at work among us and through us whatever situation we find ourselves in, be that illness, fear, grief or joy and celebration. The darkness will not prevail, but the light of Christ will continue to shine.
Join us on Zoom on Sunday 31 January at 10am.
Follow this link, or use meeting ID 817 3084 9555. The passcode is 617326.
If you have had draw tickets delivered, please try to get them back to us before 12 February. If you haven’t received tickets, please get in touch with Bob or Bill, and we will deliver some to you. Donations for prizes are also gratefully accepted.
As our two churches are closed at present, copies of February's Together Magazine can be collected from Revd Christine's porch. It is not locked during the day so just help yourself.
Those who suffer in body, mind or spirit, among them Sue P, Roger P, Richard H, Tim C, Kay G, Pam B, Philip B, Oliver D.
The housebound: Ruth S, Margaret O, Diana B.
The Church Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil; The Porvoo Churches: Bangor, Dublin and Glendalough.
If you would like to add a name to our prayer list, please first obtain the consent of the person you wish us to pray for. Then tell Rev Christine whom to pray for and the reason why.
Those whose anniversaries fall on this week: Freda Maud Rudd, Carolyne Randall, Hannah Payne, William Henry Owen, Kenneth Moore, Joan Emms, Charles Stevens, Adrian (Addy) John Harrison, Sidney Benford, Rosie(Ross) Pateman, Brian Walker, Arthur Fitzhugh, Pat Adams, Martin Connolly, George Falkner, Jane Collins.