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'Maureen's
Musings'
"Christmas comes but once a year, and when it does….?"
Halloween is
over; November 5th is almost forgotten ; Remembrance poppies
are back in the cupboard for another year; so it must be Christmas
now, right?
Well no, not
for those of us who follow the Christian, as opposed to the 'retail
opportunity' year. Because we have a week or two of the 'Kingdom'
season, and then the whole of Advent to come Before we get to
Christmas!
Advent is one
of my favourite seasons in the calendar… A time to draw
breath, to prepare, to simplify life a little before we all get
caught up in the joy and celebration to come.
So if you visit the church in the first three weeks of December,
you won't find any flowers - although there may be some attractive
greenery. Not because we want to be miserable (Advent is not
quite as sombre as Lent), but because we want to appreciate the
beauty that green foliage can bring to our place of worship,
and we want to be bowled over when all the Christmas decorations
and the Tree do arrive. A little waiting will make it all the
more special!
Advent Sunday
itself will be celebrated in style on 29th November, but every
Sunday in Advent will be pretty special in different ways. On
6th December (St Nicholas' Day) we will have a rather wonderful
Family Service in the morning and then in the afternoon I will
be very proud to present 4 people to the Bishop for confirmation
at St Nicholas' Church, Codsall. We can't take everyone from
Pattingham with us for this celebration, but your prayers would
be much appreciated. ( and please contact me if you are curious
or interested in confirmation - you can be any age from around
12/13 to 99! )
We will also
be helping you to get ready through Advent, and I hope that
pretty much every house in the villages will receive one of our
special Christmas cards, detailing all the services in church
this month. In particular I hope to see lots of children with
your parents or carers at the Christingle on Sunday 13th December
and/or the Crib service on Christmas Eve. Both of these will
be at 4pm. And if anyone fancies coming to help make the Christingles
on Saturday 12th in the morning, come along to church and join
in the fun! We hope this will raise a good sum for the work of
the Children's Society. And whatever we collect at the Dartmouth
Arms with our Carol sing along on the evening of Tuesday 15th
December will be added to this total.
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As I was writing
this news came through of the terrible events in Paris on the
night of Friday 13th November... our thoughts and prayers are
with all those caught up in seemingly mindless violence - wherever
they may be and of whatever faith or none. Perhaps this Advent
we might all make a special effort to pray for and focus on the
peace of the World, and the Prince of Peace whose birth we so
eagerly await. Maranatha - Come, Lord Jesus.
Wishing you
a joyful and peaceful Christmas,
Maureen
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