#349: Come let us join our cheerful songs
Hello again. I am doing quite well with my World Cup Cheese Tasting Course- a cheese for each country playing a game today- bit disappointed Italy didn’t even qualify and that Spain are going home but I have discovered a very find Canadian cheddar and am looking forward to a Moroccan mozzarella and something Portugese in the next few days. V exciting indeed. It beats an Advent calendar with a tiny piece of chocolate in every day. And actually- it brings me to my most exciting claim to fame of the week- Richard was telling me that he and Anthony Taylor, the famous football referee, went to the same School and the same Church youthgroup.
Which is nearly as good as my claim to fame- that I was part of the same dining club as Mickey. Until he got kicked out for breaking the chandelier in an act of drunken destruction which I still shudder to think about. The sound of smashing glass and his ridiculous laugh going on and on has never left me. It took me years of counselling to ever be able to talk about it. And now it’s back in my head again. I might need to ring my counsellor for another session. Back in a moment. Richard, can you take over? My heart’s just not in it now.
Here is the leaflet of Christmas Services so you don’t miss anything
The News
It’s starting to look a lot like Advent…
do pause to support the Choir in the Marketplace and then outside the Christmas Charity Shop in Elms Field from 10.30 on Saturday morning. Do wrap up warm as well.
Sunday is Advent 3– services at 8, 9.30, 10 and 11- 9.30 and 10 are available live online from St Paul’s and Woosehill respectively. It is also the second and final chance to buy books over coffee at St Paul’s on Sunday, with all proceeds going to Church. Thank you to Katie and John and Callum for organising it-there were still some excellent books available at the end of last week’s sale.
The Church might be closed for some of Mon to Wed next week because of School rehearsals and storing equipment etc- just so people are aware.
Please can anyone coming to the Crib Service on the 21st of December remember to come dressed as your favourite character in the story- whether you are an adult or a child.
Christingle Making is back! Parish Rooms, from 10am, Christmas Eve- be there or be somewhere else that smells a bit less of orange. It is always a really fun and friendly morning and a great chance to do something fun on a day which always feels incredibly long for children. Children and adults welcome- experts and beginners welcome.
Wanted, or opportunity knocks
Do please continue to send in photos of your Crib Set or Nativity to Louise, for inclusion in the daily email throughout Advent.
Yeldall Manor, which is a charity a lot of people support locally, and which Woosehill have a particular link with, are appealing for presents for some of their residents: Teri is happy to collect gifts and take them over
Coming Soon/ Handy Information
Mary Cassidy has sent in this excellent and timely article about how we can see going home as an act of pilgrimage:
Going Home: A Pilgrimage – Ignatian Spirituality
Bishop Steven has preached this sermon around the context of the latest Census figures which (entirely unsurpisingly) reveal a fall in the number of people claiming a Christian allegiance:
Rising to the challenge – Bishop Steven’s Blog (anglican.org)
Nick Hudson of the Baptist Church has written to commend this recovery programme run by Anna Adams there: Led by the excellent Anna Adams who also works as a support worker at Yeldall Manor, it’s a wonderful, discreet programme that has benefited people in profound ways. If you have people in or around your congregation (they are there) who struggle with any form of ‘hurt, habit or hang-up’, then I would encourage you to consider this for them. You could always contact Anna and ask her about any individual you wondered about referring, to check if she felt it would be helpful for them. This is a strongly faith-based programme based on the 12 Steps of Recovery but with clearly stated biblical content. I commend it to you.
Here is the latest update from Madagascar
