Advent , Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas at St Matthew with St ChadWe hope you will be able to visit or join us for the Advent to Candlemas Season. All are welcome, whether Christians, of other faiths or non. On Friday 26th November 2pm to 4.30pm and Saturday 27th November 11am to 2pm, we are holding our Christmas fete in Church with free visits to see Santa Claus (St Nicholas). There will also be sales of clothes, toys and books as well as a tombola stall and raffle. Light refreshments at reasonable prices will also be on sale. Our new Church Year begins on Sunday 28th November when we light the 1st Candle on our Advent Wreath during our 10am Communion service. Each following Sunday we shall light the other Advent candles during our 10am Communion services.Our Christmas Season begins on 24th December with our 6pm short Family Service of readings and carols, in Church, followed by light refreshments. On 25th December we shall be holding a short family friendly Communion service at 10am - all are welcome.On Sunday 4th January 2026 we shall be holding a short family Communion service to celebrate the Epiphany and remember the visit of the Magi (three Kings) at 10am. Come and see our simple pageant. Each Sunday during Epiphany, we shall be holding 10am Communion services. Our Christmastime season will end as we close our 10am Communion service on Sunday 1st February 2026.
All Saints Day Readings: Daniel 7v1-3&15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1v11-end; Luke 6v20-31. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In Daniel, we hear about a vision. A vision that troubled Daniel. A vision that had meaning. A meaning revealed to Daniel about 4 waves of evil along with the promise that the holy people of God would receive God’s everlasting Kingdom. This account is a reminder that, no matter what is going on in the world, we need to stay faithful to God, so we can be counted as righteous and inherit eternal life. In the psalm we are called to be God’s faithful people by dancing, playing music and singing a new song of joyful praise to the Lord who made us. For we have a God who warns the world about the time of judgement. A God who is pleased with his people. A God who adorns the underprivileged with liberation and freedom to worship. For as Jesus tells us in Luke, we have a God who pays attention and cares. A God who pays attention to and cares for the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, those not accepted, the excluded, the despised and the slandered. People who after judgment will be rewarded in heaven. However, God is more than this because, as Jesus tells us, we have a God who pays attention to and cares about the people that God is not best pleased with too. People who are rich but do not share. People with more than enough food to eat, who do not feed those who are hungry. People living positive lives, who do not offer the same to others;. People with influence in the world, who do not use it for the good of others. People that Jesus warns must change their ways because, if they do not, they will lose out after being judged. For all of us, the good and the bad alike, have a calling. The calling to do for others what we would have them do for us. A calling that includes loving, praying for and doing good to everyone who needs our help, including those who are evil to us. For as we hear in Ephesians, God is on a mission, a mission that we are called to play a part in. The mission in which Jesus accomplished everything needed to redeem God’s people. The mission we take part in by sharing what we have inherited from Jesus. The mission of sharing the gospel of salvation, the hope of being saved and the gift of the holy spirit. The mission that calls God’s people home to the place where Jesus is seated in heaven. The mission we are now called to help with as Jesus’ body here on earth. The mission of the Church. The mission carried out by God’s ordinary, everyday saints in the making. The mission of God’s people who once were lost in sin and are now made new as God’s redeemed people. A people who have responded to God’s love and now reach out in love to others. A people doing their best to be God’s people by being Jesus’ body in the world. A wonderful mission and a wonderful calling. Let us Pray: Almighty God, the source of all holiness, grant us the grace we need to learn how to live moral, honest and good lives, full of virtuous living. Guide us to follow your blessed saints, as we lives as pilgrims here on earth. Join us together as one body of people, working together as the Church, the spiritual body of Jesus. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
https://youtu.be/uqrUekxHPC0Readings: Job 19v23-27a; Psalm 17v1-9; 2 Thessalonians 2v1-5 & 13-end; Luke 20v27-38.Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.A Word: On the Feast of All Souls, the Church remembers and calls to mind all the men, women, boys and girls who lived, died and left a hole in our lives. For death is a reality that all mortals have to contend with. However, this is not the whole story for as Jeremiah tells us: our redeemer lives and when he returns, we shall be raised back to life and see God. Then when this occurs, the psalm reminds us that God will shower kindness beyond imagining on all who live in accordance with God’s guidance. For as we hear in Thessalonians, when Christ returns and takes his seat in the temple of God, all who believe the message of the gospel will be saved by Jesus, sanctified by the spirit and chosen to receive eternal life. In a place where, in Luke, we hear that God is the God of the living, all those raised back to life at the resurrection of the dead and given eternal life. This is why we can pray with confidence for all who have died: those we have loved; those who are lost; those who are now last, those who the world considers as the least. For God loves all creation and wants all to be saved.Let us pray: Merciful Lord, let your perpetual light shine on the souls of the faithful departed, we pray for the repose of all who have died and especially for those we miss and mourn at this time; may they rest in peace and rise in glory. AmenThank you for joining us today
All Souls Readings: Job 19v23-27a; Psalm 17v1-9; 2 Thessalonians 2v1-5 & 13-end; Luke 20v27-38. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: On the Feast of All Souls, the Church remembers and calls to mind all the men, women, boys and girls who lived, died and left a hole in our lives. For death is a reality that all mortals have to contend with. However, this is not the whole story for as Jeremiah tells us: our redeemer lives and when he returns, we shall be raised back to life and see God. Then when this occurs, the psalm reminds us that Gd will shower kindness beyond imagining on all who live in accordance with God’s guidance. For as we hear in Thessalonians, when Christ returns and takes his seat in the temple of God, all who believe the message of the gospel will be saved by Jesus, sanctified by the spirit and chosen to receive eternal life. In a place where, in Luke, we hear that God is the God of the living, all those raised back to life at the resurrection of the dead and given eternal life. This is why we can pray with confidence for all who have died: those we have loved; those who are lost; those who are now last, those who the world considers as the least. For God loves all creation and wants all to be saved. Let us pray: Merciful Lord, let your perpetual light shine on the souls of the faithful departed, we pray for the repose of all who have died and especially for those we miss and mourn at this time; may they rest in peace and rise in glory. AmenThank you for joining us today.
