THE NEWSLETTER 21 st December 2014

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1 THE NEWSLETTER 21 st December Please take this newsletter home

2 Welcome to St Andrew s! If you are new, please do stay for refreshments after the service and introduce yourself to a member of the congregation or one of the clergy Have you noticed? Please do keep an eye open for anyone missing from church be aware so that we can be sure that all is well. Please let Fr Guy or Lesley know if anyone would like a visit or Home Communion TODAY S THEME Hope, Peace, Love and now Joy. These have been the themes of the candles we have lit during Advent. Today, the Candle of Joy for Mary, the mother of our Lord whom we celebrate today. Today we turn with her from waiting and preparation of Advent to the joy of Christmas. Christmas is joyful because it is the reminder of what God is always doing in our lives offering us himself in the person of Jesus to be born in us each day and to change our lives. Today 4 th Sunday of Advent We continue the traditions of Advent: the lighting of the fourth Advent Candle; the absence of flowers and decorations; not singing the Gloria or using incense and omitting the alleluias. These are little things in themselves, but help to remind us that in Advent we should go back to basics, to the core of our faith, to the essentials: love God with all our heart and our neighbour as ourselves Decorating our church After the Service today, we move rapidly from Advent to Christmas. We shall be decorating the church ready for the Christmas Carol Service 2

3 this evening at 6.30pm. Decorating the church is an enjoyable activity for the whole congregation and I expect everyone to stay behind for a while to give a hand. Decorating the church is part of our welcome to the Christ child and it is what we will have been waiting for through Advent. Christmas Carol Service Looking ahead to Christmas Our wonderful Carol Service will be this evening at Make sure you come if you can and invite a friend or neighbor. Take a card from the Café with all the Christmas services and give one to a friend or neighbor Mourning in the midst of joy In the midst of the joy of approaching Christmas, there are families who will be in mourning and facing the loss of loved ones Elizabeth Jallum Elizabeth Jallum was killed in a dreadful road accident on the North End Road. We keep her family in our prayers and there is a book of condolences for the family on the table in the café. Please sign it as a mark of respect and sadness. Fr Mark Osborne and I have written to our Ward Councillors about the impossible conditions of the North End Road. You can see our letter on the website Facebook and their responses in the Book of Condolences Peshawar school massacre We should keep in our prayers all those who have been affected by the unimaginable horror of the massacre of the innocents in Pakistan. I attended a service of prayers and remembrance for them yesterday at St John s Church, Waterloo where many Pakistani Christians were present many had relatives in Peshawar This Week Monday 22 nd 6.30 pm Carol Singing Carol singing in aid of the Children s Society will be on Monday 22 nd. We will gather at St Andrew s, then walk to Barons Court Tube station where we shall sing to commuters and then return to the Colton Arms. Come and join us as a singer or to hold a collecting tin! 3

4 Wednesday 24 th Christmas Eve 4.00pm The Christmas Crib service The Crib service will take place on Christmas Eve at 4.00pm. A rehearsal for the leaders and children will happen after the Service today. We need some more adults to help and children to have a part so please join in. It s an enjoyable way of presenting the Christmas story for families and children pass the word around 1130 pm Midnight Mass The great first Communion of Christmas is a wonderfully moving time to ponder and celebrate the mystery of God with us in the person of Jesus Christ Thursday 25 th Christmas Day Family Communion of Christmas Day The Christmas Day celebration for everyone and perhaps especially for families Saturday 27 th December 8.00 am Holy Communion for St John the Evangelist We always have a service of Holy Communion on Red Letter days the days when we commemorate the great saints of the church and especially the apostles of Jesus. They are called red letter days because in the old Prayer Book the dates were printed in red. Think about starting the day by celebrating with the saints! The Star Centre The Centre will be closed from Christmas Day through to 5 th January, apart from the Homeless Project which will take place again on Saturday 3 rd January News and Views Christmas Assembly at Normand Croft School Contrary to what we often read in some newspapers that children do not today know the Christmas story, that is not the case at Normand Croft, Our school is religiously very mixed with a significant proportion of Muslim pupils, 4

5 On Friday I led the assembly which began with a straightforward telling of the Christmas story with the aid of our crib figures; then the presentation of Christingles made by the children with a full explanation of the Christian symbolism; and finally the singing of Silent Night by teachers and children. In telling the Christmas story it was clear that the children, older and younger, knew the details of the story. It was encouraging and uplifting Christmas begins with Christ Christmas starts with a giggle! Have a look at the video on the front page of our website it s very special Street Pastors Street Pastors was pioneered in London in 2003 and there are now over 12,000 trained street pastors, who play an active part in more than 270 towns and cities around the UK. Street Pastors engage with people on the streets, particularly at weekends and in places where young people gather for partying and general reveling. They work together with other partners in the night-time economy to make communities safer. They patrol in teams of men and women, usually from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. on a Friday and Saturday night, to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets. The Ascension Trust is the governing body behind Street Pastors, and each team is run by a local coordinator with support from local churches and community groups, in partnership with the police, local council and other statutory agencies. A street pastor is someone who is a Christian and is part of a local church; concerned for society and their local community; willing to engage with people, whatever their perspective on life and wherever they hang out; happy to work in a team and in collaboration with other agencies and projects, both statutory and voluntary. The churches around us Methodist, Baptist, Anglican and Roman Catholic, have come together to form a Street Pastor team for the Fulham Broadway 5

6 area as Hammersmith & Fulham is the only London Borough without a tea. St Andrew s is part of the initiative and recruiting for volunteers is now underway with training beginning in March. If you would be interested in this, please let Fr Guy or Lesley know. Used Stamps for the Leprosy Mission It is hard to believe that a bunch of used stamps can help transform the life of someone affected by leprosy. But the fact is that it can! Over the past 30 years, TLM Stamps & Collectables has raised more than 1 million to benefit people affected by leprosy. It takes seconds to rescue a used stamp from an envelope destined for the recycling bin but, by doing so, healthcare and opportunities can be provided to people in desperate need. The Leprosy Mission would be grateful if you could collect stamps of all descriptions, GB and foreign (even the very common ones). There is a large envelope on the big noticeboard in the centre to put them in. If anyone would be willing to be the person to send them to the Leprosy Mission from time to time, that would be helpful. Saints Days, Festivals and Commemorations in the coming week 26 th December Stephen, Deacon, First Martyr In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, Stephen is described as one of the seven deacons whose job it is to care for the widows in the early Church in Jerusalem. His eloquent speech before the Sanhedrin, in which he shows the great sweep of Jewish history as leading to the birth of Jesus, the longexpected Messiah, and his impassioned plea that all might hear the good news of Jesus, leads to his inevitable martyrdom by being stoned to death. As the author of Acts, Luke's description of Stephen bears direct parallels to that of Christ: for example, the passion; being filled with the Holy Spirit; seeing the Son of God as the right hand of God, as Jesus promised he would be; 6

7 commending his spirit to Jesus, as Jesus commended his to the Father; kneeling as Jesus did in Gethsemane and asking forgiveness for his persecutors. Witnessing to Jesus by acting like Jesus in every way is thus seen by Luke as of the essence of the Christian life. 27 th December John, Apostle & Evangelist Whether or not John the Apostle and John the Evangelist are one and the same, the Church honours on this day the one who proclaims Jesus as the Word made flesh and who is 'the disciple whom Jesus loved'. John was one of the sons of Zebedee, along with James and Peter, who followed Jesus. John was there at the Transfiguration of Jesus on the holy mountain; he was there with Jesus at the last supper; he was there with Jesus in his agony in the garden; he was there with Jesus and his mother, standing at the foot of the cross; he was there with Jesus as a witness of his resurrection and 'he saw and believed'. John was a witness to the Word, he proclaimed the Word and he lived and died witnessing to the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, who loved him and whom he loved. Welcome to St Andrew s If you are new, we would like to welcome you to St Andrew's, and update you by with our news and events. Please fill in the form and hand it to a member of the clergy or welcome team First name.. Surname.. Address.. Postcode.. Telephone number WHAT S ON EACH WEEK Sunday 10.00am Family Communion and Children's Church followed by delicious refreshments and great conversation! 6.30pm Evensong. First Sunday of every month 6.30pm Choral Evensong and a glass of wine. Third Sunday of the month 6.30pm Taize Prayer 7

8 Monday 10.15am Informal Communion Service for parents, carers and children followed by fun and refreshments. Tuesday 10.30am till noon Open Door: 'Coffee, chat and fun activities especially for the over 60s Wednesday 7.30am Holy Communion 10.00am till 1pm Songs and Stories for children, followed by refreshments and lunch for everyone. Thursday 11.00am Holy Communion Saturday 10.00am till 1230 Project for the Homeless. And there s much, much more, going on through the week: Pilates and Yoga, Perform dance and drama for children, Chocolate making, IntoUniversity,Kensington Dance Studio, Petit Performers, Voice Movement Therapy, Hearing Voices Who s Who Vicar: Canon Guy Wilkinson guy@gwilkinson.org.uk Curate: the Revd Lesley Bilinda lesleybilinda@gmail.com Associate Priest: Fr Lincoln Harvey lincoln.harvey@gmail.com Licensed Lay Minister (Reader): Letty Buxton lettice.buxton@googl .com Parish Administrator: Penny McCarthy parishtreasurer@live.co.uk