Dear Friends,Christmas and EpiphanyIt was good to see so many of you at the Christmas services. The years come and go but the message of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ is eternal. It is in that spirit that I wish you all a very happy and peaceful New Year. We don’t know what this year will bring for either ourselves, or our families, or our nation and the world. But we can take comfort from the day we observe every year at the beginning of the year-Christ’s manifestation to the world, or The Epiphany. The Christmas season is not yet over, because we keep the feast of The Epiphany of The Lord on Sunday, 7th January. On Christmas Day we celebrated the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem a “City of Judah.” Now we are about the celebrate what has been called the Christmas of the Gentiles; the moment when Jesus Christ was revealed to the world, as represented by the three wise men. This is a major feast in its own right and we should not fail to attend the Eucharist on that day. It contains a hope that the light of Christ the Prince of Peace has shone on this world, a light which, for those who follow it, will bring salvation and hope. In other words, for those who wish to seek and find Christ, there are enough signs and pointers of which the Wise Men availed themselves and responded. Let’s pray that we will likewise respond and that the whole world will come to seek the incarnate and glorified Lord, who holds the truth to meet the world’s needs.January can be a difficult month for many-some feel a sense of anti-climax after Christmas and the weather can restrict outside activities. Others, however, are glad to get “back to normal” after the festivities and detect the gradually lengthening days. So, what are some good things from which we will benefit this month?Reasons to be happy in JanuaryFirst our new service booklet is now in use, having been introduced just before Christmas. I am very pleased with it and I hope it will be a real support to us in our worshipping life. The services, especially the two Eucharists, make provision for a certain amount of variation, so that the priest can make use of some of the texts which the Church of England has provided for priests to use at their discretion. So at a few points worshippers are reminded to expect some words to be used which are not printed, or advised that other words will sometimes be substituted for those which are written. For Evensong, too, we now have a simple, clear procession through the service without the duplications and multiple options found in the Prayer Book.Secondly, with some generous help from the Knepp estate, our compost area in the Churchyard has now been cleared. If you are removing items from the churchyard such as Christmas wreaths or other floral tributes, we ask now that you would either take the items home or place them in the appropriate bins sited at the church gates.Family ServicesThe PCC had a long discussion about the Family Services at its November meeting. We decided to continue with the Family Services until the March Family service on 10th March, and then review. Please let me know what you think about the Family Services now that they have been running again for a year. Lent and EasterEaster is early this year, so Lent begins early. Please make a note in your diaries of the Lent Groups. In the Andrew Hall as in recent years, they will be the three Thursdays, 22 February, 7th March, and 21st March. More details will be forthcoming!Your friend and parish priestChris
Dear FriendsLast Sunday was Advent Sunday which begins a period of reflection and thought beforethe celebration of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each Sunday, we light another AdventCandle as we hear the ancient prophecies speaking of God’s special person who wouldcome with salvation and blessing.It’s important to keep Advent so that we can appreciate the full meaning of Christmas asbeing God’s final utterance to the world in the Word made Flesh. In their own way, thePatriarchs, the Prophets, John The Baptist and the Virgin Mary, all prepared the world forJesus Christ. Hearing about their diverse witness to God’s purposes, we can all the betterappreciate God’s final word to us in his Son, born in Bethlehem. So please don’t skipAdvent, but stay with the unfolding drama week by week.During this time we welcome the Shipley Scouts at their annual Christingle service, joinedthis year by pupils from Shipley Primary School, on Friday 8th December at 6pm. This is agreat parish occasion and once again it will be wonderful to have a full church.Sunday 17th December sees our annual Parish Carol Service at 7pm. The Choir havealready been practising for some weeks for this service which again reviews, in words andmusic, the expectations surrounding the birth of the long- expected and hoped forMessiah. This service is one of the highlights of our year and not one to miss!As the weather gets colder, please make an extra effort to contribute to the foodbank. Thisis something practical we can do to love our neighbour and to mirror God’s own love andgenerosity to us.Christmas will come this year with added urgency to our prayers for peace, in particular, inthe land of Christ’s birth. Christmas services are timed as last year, with the Crib Service at5pm on Christmas Eve, and Midnight Mass at 11pm. Christmas Morning sees a SungEucharist at the usual time of 10am. These services are our celebration of the Birth of ourSaviour and we look forward to seeing many of you on these occasions.Preparations will soon be in full swing. The sheep are already being trained for theirappearance at the stable during the Crib Service, while others will be setting up theChristmas tree and decorating it.The world around us has a tendency to start Christmas too early and finish it too early.This can lead to a sense of an anticlimax and a feeling of being fed up, in January,leading to the so called Blue Monday. The remedy is to stick to the Church calendar whichhas a Christmas season extending into January with the Naming Of Jesus on 1st Januaryand the Epiphany a few days later. In this way we continue to contemplate the fullmeaning of “The Word was made flesh” well into the New Year.Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a New Year full of peace for you and thewhole world.Your friend and parish priest,Chris
Dear Friends,Puzzled by Halloween? Why not make contact with the day that started it all-All Saints’Day, 1st November? All Saints’ , often called All Hallows in days gone by, is the origin ofHalloween as the Eve of All Hallows. There will be a Eucharist in Church on Wednesday1st November at the usual time of 10.30am to observe a major day in the ChristianCalendar. It’s a feast of not of darkness and fear, but a day to celebrate all the good peoplewho have lived who have been burning and shining lights reflecting the light of the RisenChrist in their lives. Why not bring a pumpkin with a cross cut into it, or a smiling, kindlyface, to witness to the real meaning of this time?Most of us are simply saints in the making. There’s a long way to go before we get there.That’s why the following day is so comforting-All Souls’. That day we pray, knowing thatour journey and the journey taken by those we have loved and lost, continues beyond thislife, as Christ’s power to save is not thwarted by death, his own human death, or ours. Hisnew life of Easter can bring us all to the mansions of the Father’s House. Eucharist onThursday 2nd November at 10.30am.Remembrance Sunday is 12th. November. This annual event is well attended and includesa two- minutes silence and a special anthem by the choir. We welcome the First ShipleyScout Group each year as they observe one of their biggest events in the year, and we arevery pleased to have the youngsters, their leaders and parents with us. It remainsimportant to acknowledge the contribution of those who fought and died in two WorldWars, and in wars since then, and to acknowledge the ongoing grief of so many who overthe years continue to feel the loss of someone close. As the names are read out, weremember the losses sustained by so many local families, and also pray for peace, whichseems as elusive as ever.The following Sunday, 19th November, is a Family Service Sunday. The Family Servicewas revived after Covid in January. One of the aims is that it is a service to which familiescan be invited, and in particular, families with no existing Church connection can beinvited, as a way of beginning to grow the Church. So have a think about which familiesyou could invite to come on 19th November, usual time, 10am. Later that day, at 6pm, wewill have Sung Evensong to round off the day of worship, and indeed to round off thewhole series of Ordinary Sundays, before Christ the King on Sunday 26th November,followed by Advent which begins a new Church Year.Your friend and parish priestChris
