Peace amidst the Pressure

Transcription

1 Knowing and worshipping God and sharing His love Allestree - Dec 2017 & Jan 2018 Peace amidst the Pressure Having spent over forty years in and around primary schools, something that has always struck me as slightly sad is that term ends a few days before Christmas Eve. When I pass a school in those few days between the end of the school term and Christmas Day, I sense a kind of melancholy emptiness. The buildings seem dark, cold and lonely. From late November until the last day of term, schools are places of intense and often frenetic activity. Decorations, carol services, concerts, parties and nativity plays run their rapid course then, almost inevitably a happy band of celebrating children emerge into the twilight to begin their Christmas holidays. As for the members of the school staff, they then begin the rapid dismantling of all the signs and symbols of festivity and, as quickly as possible, prepare the school for the new beginning in January before they too depart for their own well-earned holiday. A couple of weeks later staff and pupils return, often with mixed feelings, and a new term begins. Although I know that it is inevitable, I always feel that schools somehow miss out on the main event. Vicar: Rev vicarallestreequarndon@hotmail.com Vicarage Tel: Church Office Tel: stnicksallestree@outlook.com Administrator: Mrs Yanyan Case Website: www. stnicholasallestree.org.uk General office hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 9:20am -3:20pm 1

2 As Christians, is there not also a possibility that we too might be in danger of missing out? Churches are busy places in December! Christingles, carol services, holiday clubs, community events, and lots of chocolate can sap our energy. Then, for many of us, there are all the seasonal pressures of home and family. If we are not careful, the preparation and anticipation can sometimes eclipse the eternal significance of the very event that we are celebrating. That is not to say that we should not make the most of the window of opportunity for the Gospel that the season gives us as the people of God. I am all in favour of all that we do as a church at this time of year. Nor am I advocating a Bah, humbug! approach to celebration with families and friends. The challenge for us, both individually and as a church, is rather to put aside time and space amidst the business of Christmastime to reflect upon God s goodness and grace in the gift of His Son, our Saviour- not just as a historical event, but as a life giving and life-affirming truth. For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. Isaiah 9:6-7a - Phil Moncur ~ Christmas Services ~ Sunday 3 rd Dec 10am Christingle Service with Portway School Choir Sunday 10 th Dec 10am Carol Service with Woodland School Choir Sunday 17 th Dec 10am Carols by Candlelight Sunday 24 th Dec 10am Christmas Eve & 4pm Christmas Story Monday 25 th Dec 10:30am Christmas Day Informal Carols around the crib Hey folks! Let s put our seasonal ties and Christmas jumpers on for Christmas Eve service. What do you say? 2

3 St Nick s Christmas Fun Club With Christmas fast approaching, it brings the frantic buying of presents, preordering of the turkey and the arrival of The St Nick s Christmas Fun Club. What an exciting time of the year and a fantastic opportunity to host a fun filled extravaganza for up to 90 children. Fun Club will be taking place on Thursday 21 st December and will focus on the real story behind Christmas which often eludes many children. We look forward to welcoming these families into our church building and church family in God s name, whilst having a lot of..yes you have guessed it FUN!!!The reflection of the day will revolve around What happened to that baby? Many of us know about the birth of Jesus, the cute little baby in the straw filled (albeit slightly itchy) manger, but who did this baby grow into? We will be answering these questions and trying to connect Jesus the baby with Jesus our Saviour. - Charlotte Ward The Bishop of Derby, The Rt Revd Dr Alastair Redfern, has announced that he will retire at the end of August 2018 as he reaches his 70th birthday. It is an enormous privilege to be working with you in the Diocese and I hope that this early notice will give time for prayerful discernment of God s call into the future, he says. Happy retirement from us all at St Nick s! 3

4 #GodWithUs Christmas Campaign 2017 Join us in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, who is God with us, during this wonderful season. People can receive the messages as texts, s, on social media and Church House Publishing have produced a booklet Your Christmas Journey to walk you through the Advent season. Sign up and get your friends and family to join Your Christmas Journey by texting GodWithUs to 88802*. You'll receive one SMS for each of the thirteen reflections. *Standard network rates apply. You will not be charged to receive any messages from us. St Paul s Christmas Tree Festival Fri 8th Sun 10th December, in aid of the church restoration appeal. Sponsor forms for our Christmas tree festival are now available in church. If you, or someone you know, would like to sponsor a tree (minimum donation 25) please pick up a form or speak to one of the churchwardens. Sponsors can decorate their tree on a theme of their choice or, if they prefer, we can find someone else to decorate it. There will be a prize for the best dressed tree (judged by our visitors). We are also having an informal service of 'Carols round the trees' to finish our Christmas tree festival on Sun 10th Dec at 4.30, with the St Helen's Singers. - Mary Connell 4

5 Giving the Treasurer a Headache!? As I sit here watching the News on the eve of the first November Budget, I can appreciate all the planning and preparation that goes into balancing the Nation s Books. Fortunately, here at St Nicks we are blessed with a happy band of generous givers, not to mention a requirement of tens of thousands rather than thousands of millions! Just as the Country needs a certain level of support from Tax Payers to keep it functioning, so does the Church but in the form of donations. Following a recent PCC meeting we have decided to open up three new fronts in further developing the Church s finances: We plan to increase donations to the General Fund in 2018 by 5000 this will enable the continuance of the routine work of the Church and covers the Parish Share and other standard costs. We plan to raise 5000 in 2018 and each year thereafter to put aside for the eventual replacement of the Hall floor this will enable us to maintain and maximise further the revenue from this source. We plan to find 5000 in 2018 towards providing a further year of Children, Families, and Youth work, on top of what has been coming in each year to date this will ensure that the valuable work carried out in Church and in local schools continues. Please watch this space for more information on how you can help us fulfil these plans. Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has given financial support to St Nicks over the last year and have it on their hearts to continue Giving the Treasurer a headache! Stop Press Stop Press Stop Press! Do take a look at easyfunding.org.uk to raise money for the Church while you shop on line this Christmas and beyond Ask Becky or Clive for details! Blessings, Deadline for articles for Feb 2018 edition : 20 Jan 5 -Clive Jarrett St Nicks Church Treasurer

6 Where is the best place to write about Playtime? Yes, in our hall surrounded by happy little ones, 20 or so mums and carers, eating home baked cakes with a mug of fresh coffee or tea. Not an onerous task at all. Some thoughts from the mums: "We love coming, the toy area is so well set out and the children play so well". " My child has started to make friends and is learning to share". "It's not long enough, we love this chance to meet up and we really enjoy the coffee and home baked cakes". Playtime is a café style group of about 25 carers and their pre-schoolers. We play, chat, sing together and have time for a last burst of energy on the big wheeled toys at the end of the morning. Families come along to the group mainly through word of mouth. Playtime came into being from prayer and prayer underpins each session. The Playtime team is like a well-oiled machine. We have great fun and we all feel very blessed although perhaps a little weary at the end of a busy morning. Lots of thanks to everyone involved, Michelle and the toy ladies, Julie and her coffee crew, the cake bakers, card makers, knitters, pianists and those of you holding us in prayer. THANK YOU. And yes if you feel you would like to help in any way, chat to Michelle. Playtime is truly fun for all. - Playtime Team Safeguarding training will be on Tuesday 16th Jan 2018 at St Nick s from 18:30-21:00. It is essential for those who work with children, youth and vulnerable people to attend. But all welcome. Please contact Miriam Chappell for more details. More tea and cake?! Yes! You are invited to pop in the Vicarage for a cuppa and cake again on Sunday afternoon 3rd Dec 4-6pm. All welcome! 6

7 Women's Fellowship The Women's Fellowship (or 'Ladies Group') has a long history and tradition at St Nick's. We meet on the first Wednesday of the month at At present we have 30 members. We sometimes refer to ourselves as 'mature ladies' but we would love to welcome some younger members. Most months, we start with a hymn and a prayer and any business matters before welcoming our guest speaker for the day. During this past year we have enjoyed talks about flower arranging, the Cromford canal, Happy Hens, Sight Support, piloting a helicopter and dressmaking for the Queen. We also enjoy our Strawberry Tea, Christmas Party and Annual Outing. We finish with a cup of tea and a chat of course. We would love to see you!" - Celia Grattidge Carol Singing at Park Farm will be led by Rev. Everyone welcome to come sing AND look for angels! Refreshments at St John s afterwards NAGPUR LUNCH The first lunch of next year is at St Nicholas on Sat Feb 17 th. A list will be posted in church during January, asking you to please sign up for one of the various jobs that need doing on the day. 7 - Helen Illingworth

8 Praying Together Once a month we pray together in the chapel for an hour to bring the needs of the church and the world to God. We begin and end with a worship song and divide the hour into two halves. In November we focussed on a range of topics including Christmas services, the message of hope Christmas brings and wider issues in the world - the earthquake in Iran, wisdom for world leaders and fairness and justice. Pick up a bookmark from the back of church or see the church website for the 2018 dates. -Graham and Julie Tanner Pub lunches We have had lots of lovely lunches together this year, usually on the 3 rd Sunday of the month. Sometimes we have numbered ten or more but average about six. We enjoy our Sunday lunch at the Markeaton with lots of talking and laughter. Mostly we are older people who live alone and welcome the chance to have good company and conversation whilst we enjoy our meal, but we are very happy to welcome couples and offer our grateful thanks to our regular couples who are so willing to offer lifts. We would love to see some new faces so please join us for Sunday lunch at the Markeaton third Sunday of the month at 12 noon (ish). (The notice is always on the door at back of church.) - Christine Penny 8

9 KNIT N NATTER 2017 The Knit N Natter group have been very productive this year. We have an average of 14 members attend each fortnight and we enjoy the friendships we have made with lots of nattering. During this year we have made lots of items such as small cardigans, hats and blankets for premature babies, and larger garments, pram blankets etc to help raise funds to buy specialist equipment for the Baby Unit, Royal Derby Hospital. In addition we have made fidget muffs for dementia patients, more than 30 chunky scarves for Padley, small knitted animals for our Chicks at St. Nicks, and at present we are making Angels for ACT. We also continue to knit small jumpers that are packed into Aquaboxes and then sent to all parts of the world. Two of our members manned a stall with our hand-made items at the Children s Society Coffee morning last month and raised over 100 for the Society. We all enjoy new opportunities to support charities and welcome new members to join us. Donations of spare wool, both 4 ply and double knitting are always appreciated as it provides us with the resources to continue our work. For further information, ring Sandra on Sandra Gilbert COFFEE and CHAT Organised by the Monday evening (now meeting in the afternoon) small group, Coffee and Chat meets on the second Friday of each month between 10.30am and 12noon in the Church Room. Open to all comers, we serve coffee, tea, biscuits, mince pies at Christmas, and, most importantly, conversation. Books and jigsaws are also available to borrow. - Petra Willoughby 9

10 Children s Society Boxes In December it s box emptying time again! Can you please bring them to church, or phone me on to arrange to deliver them to my home or for me to collect from you. - Helen Derby Hospitals Choir Christmas Concert Supported by the Robin Road Players St Nick s church on Wednesday Dec 13th at 7:30pm Tickets 7.50 each (including mulled wine and mince pies) available from St Nick s church office, or by contacting The choir has sung for a charity every year since the first concert in 1983, and so far has raised well over 150,000 for health care related charities. Come along and support! St Nicholas Players 2018 Pantomime Something to combat those post-christmas blues folks!! Our next production will be Alice in Wonderland at our usual venue, St Nicholas Church Hall, Allestree Lane, Derby. We will be performing on January 19th, 20th, 26th and 27th, February 2nd and 3rd in You can book on-line at or via our bookings Manager on All our profits go to supporting local Derby Children's Charities. The Christmas Angel with Duggie Dug Dug Saturday Dec 9th at Derby City Church at Curzon Street, 4-6pm. Tickets 8 each (under 5s free) To book tickets (essential), please contact Eve Allen on or evelynjallen@hotmail.com 10

11 Upcoming Services The Chapel is open for prayers from 9:30am on a Sunday before the service. DATE Service READINGS LEAD PREACH Dec 3 Advent Sunday 8am Holy Communion 10am AA Christingle with Portway Isaiah 64:1-9 Mark 13:24-37 Phil and Becky Dec 10 2nd Sun of Advent Dec 17 3rd Sun of Advent 10am Carol Service with Woodland Choir 8am Holy Communion 10am Carol service with HC1 TBC Isaiah 6:1-4,8-11 John1:6-8,19-28 Phil Moncur Dec 24 Christmas Eve Dec 25 Christmas Day Dec 31 Christmas 1 10am Holy Communion1 4pm Christmas story AA 9am Holy Communion 10:30am All Age Celebration 10am Holy Communion C. Joint service at St Nick s Isaiah 9:2-7 Luke 2:1-14 Isaiah 52:7-10 John 1:1-14 Isaiah 61:10-,62:3, Luke 2: Jan 7 Baptism of Christ Jan 14 2 nd Sunday of Epiphany Jan 21 3rd Sunday of Epiphany Jan 28 4th Sunday of Epiphany 8am Holy Communion 10am All Age 10am Holy Communion E. 8am Holy Communion 10am Morning Praise 10am Holy Communion E Acts 19:1-7 Mark 1: Samuel 3:1-10 John 1: 43-end Revelation 19:6-10 John 2:1-11 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Mark 1:21-28 Phil Moncur Phil Moncur Feb 4 2nd before Lent 8am Holy Communion 10am All Age Proverbs 8:1,22-31 John 1:1-14 Phil Moncur 11

12 Save the Dates Activities Dates/Venues Women s Fellowship 2:15pm - 4pm Wed. 6 Dec/3 Jan Church Room Coffee & Chat 10:30am -12am Fri. 8 Dec/12 Jan Church Room Messy Church 4pm- 6pm Sat. 9 Dec/13 Jan Church Hall Knit & Natter 2pm - 3:30pm 10,24 Jan Church Room Youth Group 6:30pm - 9pm Sun. 3,17 Dec/7,21 Jan Church Hall Prayer Together 7:30pm - 8:30pm Wed. 17 Jan Chapel Pub Lunch at noon time Sun. 10 Dec/21 Jan TBC Playtime Toddlers 9:15am-11am Every Tue term time Church Hall Morning prayer 8:15-8:45am Every Mon &Tue term time Chapel Mid-week Communion 12:30pm Every Wed. term time Chapel 12