Monsters and Angels. Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 3

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2 Monsters and Angels Christmas adverts have become an art form in their own right. They are now a seasonal marker, with their own hype and teasers and countdown to release. They have their own ranges of merchandise and command column inches in the newspapers. The John Lewis ad for 2017 was heralded by the usual build up on social media, and I for one was looking forward to seeing it. The John Lewis ads are usually beautifully crafted narratives, accompanied by emotive music, and I am not ashamed to say that they often bring a lump to my throat. Then Moz the monster was beamed to my waiting screen. And I m afraid I don t get it. It left me cold. I had to ask for an explanation. My guess is that if a Christmas Advert has to come with a commentary, it s probably not doing its job! But it is another TV ad that has caused me most pause for thought this year, and that is the Tesco Everyone s Welcome campaign featuring a variety of families attempting to cook the Christmas turkey. There has been a fearsome backlash against this advertisement because it briefly features a Muslim family and their celebrations at Christmas. The vitriol against this has been extraordinary, and has spilled over into other criticisms such as Tesco not printing the word Christmas on their boxes of crackers. This has left some people expressing the view that Christmas is somehow under attack. There are two problems for me here. Firstly, the very thinly veiled racism that 'you' have to do Christmas 'our' way, or not at all. Those sorts of damaging divisions are exactly what the Christ Child came to heal. And since Muslims regard Jesus as a prophet of Allah, and the story of his birth is told in the Koran, why shouldn't Muslims celebrate Christmas? My second problem is that a huge category error is being made here. 'Christmas' in the context of the Tesco TV advertisement is not a religious festival at all. I have lots of uncertainties, but this I know for sure: Jesus would not care one jot whether or not crackers have the word 'Christmas' printed on the box. Or who chooses to get together with their families on 25 th December, or indeed what they eat. We have two parallel Christmases in our society - one secular and one religious. Both are joyous things, but please do not confuse one for the other and then use this conflation as a stick to beat people of other faiths over the head with. Christmas as we know it is not under attack the multitude of TV advertisements show us that in themselves. A secular British celebration Christmas is in no danger whatsoever of being undermined. The Tesco ad proves that. What about the other element of Christmas? The place where our celebrations got their name. Christ Mass. The gathering of God s people to mark with joy the coming of Emmanuel, God with us. Foretold by the prophets. Heralded by angels. Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 3

3 Proclaimed by shepherds. Oh yes, that still happens, that is not under threat either. If you want to preserve Christmas beyond secular celebrations, remember to keep Christ Mass. Make a place for Jesus in your hearts, make a space for Jesus at your table, make time for worshipping Jesus in the midst of the celebrations. Because Jesus came to make space for us, whatever our creed, colour or choice of meal on Christmas Day. Page 4 Travelling Crib ~ the Posada There is still time to sign up to host our travelling crib for a night or more by signing the list at the back of Church. This is a wonderful way of keeping Advent by focussing on the central events and characters, as well as an opportunity for getting to know each other a little better. Christingle Our Christingle Service will be held at the parish church on Sunday 3rd December at 10.30am. This will be a Sunday All Age Communion service. Christingle supports the work of the Children s Society and we hope that you will be able to contribute generously as you have done in the past. If you have collecting boxes at home or have been given a Christingle Candle moneybox, we would appreciate these being brought to the church by Sunday 3rd December. Learning Together As a Church, regular Bible study and fellowship is important to our Christian journeys. We currently have three groups meeting on a regular basis. DISCOVERY GROUP: Tuesdays at 7:30pm fortnightly at St Andrew's, Windmill Road. A group for those beginning to explore faith or wanting to go back to basics and for those thinking about Baptism or Confirmation. HOME GROUP: Wednesdays at 7:30pm fortnightly in members' homes. This group meets for fellowship and Bible Study with people at various stages of their faith journey. SEEKERS BIBLE STUDY GROUP: Wednesdays at 8.00pm fortnightly at St Andrew's, Windmill Road. The focus of this group is getting to grips with Bible texts, either following a theme or a particular book of the Bible. Please do speak to Lucy if you would like to find out more about joining a group. Flitwick Parish Magazine

4 Christmas Day Lunch at Ampthill Baptist Church Christmas can be lonely for some. If you or someone you know has no one to share Christmas Day with this year, we d love for you or them to come and join us at Ampthill Baptist Church for a traditional dinner and an afternoon of company on 25 th December from 12:30pm to about 5pm. Although there will be entertainment and the Queen s Speech for those that want it, it s primarily a time to share one another s company. The event is open to all ages, single parent families, couples, and anyone who d like to share Christmas with others who d otherwise be on their own. And it s free. There ll be an optional church service from 10am 11am otherwise doors open at 12:30pm. Lunch will be served around 1pm. Transport can be provided if required. To register or to know more please contact: admin@ampthillbaptist.org.uk or Please register before 11th December A New Curate for Flitwick! We are delighted to announce that we will be welcoming a new curate to our Church family in the Summer. Andrea Maffei will be ordained at St Albans Cathedral on 1 st July, and will be moving to Flitwick with her family to work with us for three years or so. Andrea is a curate in training, which is a bit like an apprentice vicar. You will see her in Church and around Flitwick doing all the things that Lucy does - services, Christenings, Weddings, Funerals, assemblies, chatting in Tesco. Andrea comes to us with a wealth of experience and has a huge amount to offer our growing Church. We are very excited about working alongside her and seeing all God does through her in Andrea s time here. Donations at Christmas Services ~ Prebend Street Centre Once again, donations from our hugely popular Carol Services will go to support a charity, which does amazing work with those in need all year round, but especially at Christmas. This year, we are supporting the Prebend Street Centre in Bedford, which works with those who sleep rough on the streets. When Jesus was born, it was not into a comfortable home, but into a temporary shelter, and he went on to spend his life among the marginalised and desperate. So we hope that our money this Christmas will continue Christ s work of restoring fullness of life to those who are excluded and most in need of God s love. Thank you in advance for your generosity to this important local charity. Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 5

5 Need Project Update As we approach Christmas, the Need Project starts preparing for what is expected to be a very busy December. Last year we delivered just over 400 Christmas parcels and we anticipate there will be more this year. You re support does make a difference Dear Need Project, Thank you so much for the food parcels I collected today. Both my families were delighted with them they even gave me a hug! They were so pleased with what they deemed as luxury items such as proper crunchy nut cornflakes and chocolate. I feel happier that both families will be well fed over half term. Hi Gordon, Many thanks for the gift of money you have kindly donated to Central Bedfordshire Women s Refuge. This money was used for transport to take the clients to Gulliver s Land and they all had a lovely time. Much appreciation to you for your support and kindness with this. If you would like to donate towards the Christmas parcels, food or money, please call Gordon Hamilton and he will be able to tell you what we need. You can call him on Reasons Why Christians don t like Sporting Events 1. Every time I went, they asked me for money. 2. The people sitting in my row didn t seem very friendly. 3. The seats were very hard. 4. The coach never came to visit me. 5. The referees made a decision I didn t agree with. 6. I didn t know all the other people there. 7. Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home. 8. The band played some songs I had never heard before. 9. The games are scheduled on my only day to sleep in and run errands. 10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up. 11. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches anyway. 12. I don t want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best. Flitwick Parish Magazine Page 31

6 Children s corner Christmas Jokes Q. What do you call a man who claps at Q. What do you give a train driver at Christmas? Christmas? A. Santapplause. A. Platform shoes. Q. Why does Santa Claus like to work in Q. What did the bald man say when the garden? he got a comb for Christmas? A. Because he likes to hoe, hoe, hoe. A. Thanks, I ll never part with it. Q. What did the little candle say to the Q. How long does it take to burn big candle? a candle? A. I m going out tonight. A. About a wick! Q. What s brown and sneaks around Q. What did Adam say on the day before the kitchen? Christmas? A. Mince Spies. A. It s Christmas, Eve! Q. What do monkeys sing at Christmas? Q. Why is a lion in the desert like Christmas? A. Jungle Bells, Jungle Bells A. Because it s got sandy claws. Christmas Tree Mazes Can you help the angel climb up through the maze of branches on each Christmas Tree to get to the top? Page 28 Flitwick Parish Magazine

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8 Messy Church Messy Church re-launched on Saturday 28 th October when 40 children and their families gathered to enjoy some Halloween fun. We carved pumpkins with crosses, hearts, icthus and other Christian symbols in the church garden they looked amazing!, (a big thank you to Tesco Flitwick for donating 40 pumpkins). Nearby apple bobbing took place with an appropriate amount of splashing, judging by the wet faces around. Other activities that illustrated the theme of salt and light were salt painting, biscuit decorating, candle jar decorating, crisp tasting and glow in the dark bowling. There was also a quiet prayer corner in the vestry and free play with salt dough, whilst older children moulded their own mini candle. In the church, everyone gathered round in the darkness to share in the worship, led by Lucy, and illustrated with a multitude of candles. Afterwards we all enjoyed afternoon tea together in the Chapter House. In celebrating our version of Halloween, the Messy Church team wanted to welcome families and encourage thoughts about how we can shine our light for Jesus in our community. We also thought about how we can give something to that community, just as salt adds something tasty to our food. This session also saw the beginning of our new Young Leader group. Five older children helped with welcoming newcomers and running the Glow bowling, as well as joining in the fun themselves. Eleanor said, I really enjoyed coming and helping other people. It was great! The Young Leaders are a very welcome addition to the Messy Church team. Our next Messy Church will be on Saturday 9 th December at 3.30pm. All families are welcome to join us for Christmas fun as we explore the Shepherds Story, complete with live sheep! Please contact Jane or Lucy if you would like to know more about Messy Church or if you might be able to help out on the day. Please do hold Messy Church in your prayers as we seek to reach out to families in Flitwick. Thank you Jane Thompson messychurch@flitwickchurch.org Christmas wreath making workshop The wreath making workshop on Saturday 16th December is now fully booked. However, if you haven t reserved a place and are interested you can be added to a waiting list. Please contact Carol Thompson or Marion Tucker for details. Page 14 Flitwick Parish Magazine