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SUMMARY:Reflection from the Rectory – In Anticipation – Advent and Chr
 istmas
DTSTART:20251128T101500Z
DTEND:20260103T120000Z
DTSTAMP:20260404T044245Z
UID:12592702025-11-28 10:15:00+00:00achurchnearyou
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DESCRIPTION:“Comfort ye\, comfort ye my people\, saith your God. Speak y
 e comfortably to Jerusalem\, and cry unto her\, that her warfare is accomp
 lished\, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'
 s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilder
 ness\, Prepare ye the way of the LORD\, make straight in the desert a high
 way for our God.” Isaiah 40:1-3 \nThe verse which accompanies the image 
 of the Christ child for this newsletter is taken from the King James Versi
 on of the Bible. I have used it because it announces the Christ’s coming
 \; It is also the opening stanza of Handel’s wonderful work\, The Messia
 h. I was blessed to be in Lincoln Cathedral in November (alongside Alwyn K
 irk) as the Lincoln Chamber Orchestra and the Lincoln Cathedral Choir perf
 ormed this seminal work. The performance reminded me of the wonder of our 
 God and the love that he has for us. From start to finish I was captivated
  by the music and singing\, just as I am captivated by the love of our God
 . \nAdvent is a season in which the excitement\, the anticipation\, of get
 ting ready for Jesus builds. We prepare week by week. Scripture is full of
  words of preparedness\, I wonder where we all are in our own faith. Think
 ing about Isaiah’s words\, how straight is the path on which we walk\, w
 ho are we walking it with and who might we want to walk with. Perhaps that
  is something we can explore together\, at worship\, maybe you might wish 
 to join our Benefice Advent Exploration beginning on the 2nd of December\,
  more detail below. But\, of course\, we do not have to wait until then! Y
 ou could start now\, some of you might have already done so through the ne
 w Bible Studies which have started across the Benefice. They are being wel
 l attended. Knowing the Story\, our Story is so important in our Christian
  lives and I will\, rightly\, not stop speaking about that in the weeks\, 
 months\, and years to come. \nSo Advent is upon us. What are you anticipat
 ing? As with every church year\, the Advent and Christmas seasons will off
 er so many opportunities to worship and praise and I pray that\, in and th
 rough them\, we can encourage people to join with us as we prepare to welc
 ome Emmanuel “our God with us.” Seasons blessings to you all. Reverend
  Al
URL:https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14676/service-and-events/events/
 1259270/
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