December
2003
Dear Friends,
“May you live in interesting times” is, I understand, an ancient
Arabic curse, which at the same time carries with it a challenge.
The world is certainly going through an interesting and worrying
phase for many people; the fear that terrorism may strike at any
part of the globe; the horror at the spread of that other, silent,
yet even more extensive killer, HIV AIDS; the concerns over climate
change, global warming and the seeming lack of care for our environment
in many places.
They make our other, more local concerns, shrink into insignificance,
and at the same time can cause us to feel helpless in the face of
it all.
So it is timely, in the midst of all this and the pressures this
‘festive’ season can apply to each of us, to dwell for a moment
upon the challenge, the truth and comfort Christmas has to offer
us.
The ‘challenge’ is presented to us first in the lead up to the festival,
with the opening words of the ancient Advent collect “Stir up, we
beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people.” As Christians
we have a duty to spread the good news - as unlikely as it may seem
to non-believers - of the coming to earth of our Creator, in the
form of a helpless baby – the infant king.
And the ‘truth’ is that He was and is our one true hope and that
ultimately through Him, “All shall be well, and all shall be well
and all manner of things shall be well” to quote Julian of Norwich.
Unless of course we are so proud of our own wisdom and self worth
that we cannot once more kneel with the shepherds at the stable
and receive the blessing of a merely ordinary, defenceless babe;
in whom the fullness of God dwells and in whom lies our only true
hope for peace, in our hearts, in our homes and, ultimately, in
our world.
And the ‘comfort’ is that the Holy Spirit remains with us, once
the excitement of Christmas is gone, to support and guide us through
whatever the world may throw at us in the coming year.
May God grant us a happy and peaceful Christmas.
Yours in Christ
Les Lawrinson
CHRISTMAS FAYRE - WE NEED YOUR HELP
Stalls this year will include cakes, gifts, toys, raffles, bottle,
chocolate, paper & Christmas items, but we are not having second
hand bric-a-brac. So please keep the day free – see what you can
donate to stock the stalls, and all offers of help to set up will
be much appreciated. Bottles etc. for the stalls can be left at
the back of Church.
DECORATING CHURCH FOR CHRISTMAS
The ladies decorate the Church for Christmas on Saturday 20th December.
Any donations of flowers to assist would be much appreciated - buckets
will be placed in the porch on Friday morning 19th December for
any flowers. Thank you.
PARISH HALL – Another big thank you!!
A big thank you to Mildred Cooper for letting us have the use of
her lovely home, Woodlands, all decorated for Christmas to celebrate
a Manx Christmas. The latest fund raiser and what a night it was
– with 100 for dinner, John Kennaugh as Master of Ceremonies and
the superb artists who entertained it seemed Christmas was with
us already. Carols were still being sung at midnight! A big thank
you to everyone – Mildred, those who helped get Woodlands ready,
the caterers, John Kennaugh, the artistes and of course to all of
you who dug so deep to support the appeal.
But Christmas entertainment and the need to keep on raising money
for the Appeal doesn't stop there – Gordon Astill who organised
a superb Gala Musical Evening in September is organising a Christmas
Coffee Evening with Carols and Entertainment in the Parish Hall
on Friday 19th December at 7.30 pm. Tickets at £1 on sale from the
Christmas Fayre. Mince Pies mmm!
EACH DAY TO DO
To help another on life's way,
To smile and chase a frown away,
To hide a fault, reveal the good,
To love my neighbour as I should;
To bring good cheer to one who's sad,
To make some lonely person glad,
To share my joys and blessings too,
This I will try each day to do.
HOPE
Hope looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst;
Hope opens doors where despair closes them;
Hope discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what
cannot;
Hope draws its power from a deep trust in God and the basic goodness
of mankind;
Hope lights a candle, instead of cursing the darkness;
Hope regards problems small or large as opportunities;
Hope pushes ahead when it would be easy to quit;
Hope puts up with modest gains, realising that the longest journey
starts with one step;
Hope accepts misunderstandings as the price for serving the greater
good of others;
Hope is a good loser because it has the divine assurance of final
victory.
A SHORT STORY – FOR CHRISTMAS
One Christmas morning, an elderly lady was sitting all by herself
in her home when the doorbell rang.
Outside was a young man who played the trumpet in the local brass
band. He wanted to know if she had any favourite carols he could
play for her.
The old lady wasn't really a brass band fan, but she let him play
for her all the same and he produced music of such beauty and feeling
that she offered him a coin – and was surprised when he said he
didn't want anything.
"I just thought it a nice idea to play for someone on this
special day," he explained.
That young man knew what the tidings of comfort and joy were all
about. By sharing his music with the lonely, he reflected the true
kindness and goodwill of the Christmas season.
FROM THE PCC
The meeting opened with a welcome from Trevor Singleton, Lay Chairman,
and prayers and bible reading from Les Lawrinson. Nigel thanked
everyone involved with the "Farewell to the Wells" lunch
the previous day, and passed on the family's thanks to the PCC
and parishioners for their support and generous gifts. Parish
Hall events are going well. The Good Old Days concert raised £643,
the Beetle Drive raised £105, the Heritage Service at Abbeylands
£126, and the W.I. Harvest lunch in excess of £500. At that time
the Silent Auction and Manx Christmas at Woodlands were still
to come. Colin advised that the Stewardship Campaign will be launched
in January and completed by Lent. The Steering Group and sub-committees
are already busy and, as most of the church will be involved,
the Key Groups will be suspended for the duration. Sylvia reported
that no nominations had been put forward from St.Peters for the
Deanery Synod as people were already fully committed to the Interregnum
and Stewardship. The Christmas Fayre, on 6th December, will be
opened by Harvey Briggs at 2pm, tickets £1 for adults and 50p
for children. The Mothers' Union will be catering and there will
be all the usual stalls except for Bric-a-Brac, there will also
be one or two surprises! All items for the Fayre can be left at
the back of church. Les reported that Maff Long and Elaine Litherland
are slowly improving and expanding the Web Site. An official invitation
had been received from St.Oswalds in Netherton, to attend Nick's
Induction on 15th November and it was revealed that a party of
23 would be going, all making their own travel arrangements. A
Prayer Vigil was suggested by Les and fixed for the Thursday before,
which turned out to be not only for the Interregnum and Induction,
but also for the Wells family following Bev's accident. The Parish
Profile (for prospective Incumbents) is almost ready for submission
to the PCC, and then to the Diocese. The Wardens and Curate have
had their first meeting to consider all aspects of running the
church and parish during the Interregnum. Les advised that he
had been contacted by a local Radio Group with a view to staging
a 2 day radio ham event in church to mark the wedding of Captain
Bligh, Les and Wilf Corkish will meet with the group to discuss
matters further. Les had also been contacted by Philip Crane of
Christian Aid, re a carol service in the Douglas area. He will
meet with Philip to finalise details. The meeting closed with
prayers and The Grace.
Carole Bairstow.
MOTHERS UNION
Our meeting on the 4th November was well attended to hear all about "A
Day in Court" by Mrs Pat Costain who has served on the bench
for a number of years. A very interesting afternoon. We held a 'tea
and chat' on the 18th November when we discussed the following:
Christmas Fayre – 6th December.
In addition to the Bottle stall tombola it was decided to also have
a Chocolate stall tombola. A Christmas goods stall instead of bric-a-brac
and a paper stall (any paper items kitchen roll, toilet roll, wrapping
paper, notepaper, etc.) and of course the arrangements for refreshments.
'At Home' on the 9th December – our next meeting
It was agreed that all members would bring a £1 gift (wrapped) so
that all our guests would receive a present. Members also agreed
who would bring various items for the 'tea'.
This years Christmas lunch is at the Hilton Hotel on 16th December.
The evening group met in church on 20th November for a talk and
slide show on "Our Link Parish – Building a Church" by
John Coldwell and they are having a night out on the 5th December
also at the Hilton Hotel.
LADIES FELLOWSHIP
Mrs Elaine Christian joined us on the 5th November and told us all
about the life of Nellie Brennan. What a difficult yet interesting
life she had helping people who were worse off than herself. A completely
different evening on the 19th November when Mrs Alison Foster brought
along numerous items which she had made which included Christmas
garlands out of pasta and cardboard, paper machete bowls filled
with marzipan fruits, gift boxes made from old birthday cards and
homemade Christmas cards. We all then had a go at making a Christmas
card which was very rewarding! In December we have only one meeting
which is our party on 3rd December.
FROM THE REGISTERS
BAPTISMS
Rachel Amy Lewis & Madeline Brianna Kipling
WEDDINGS
Helen Maree Swinden & Michael Kaighin
FUNERALS
Elisha Madey, Elsa Doreen Burnett, Jane Corlett, Elaine Gawne,
Kathleen Simpson, Sheila Rose Folwell, Vera Callister,
Leonard Arthur John Bateman, Robert Edward Callow.
OFFERTORY
The offertory for October totalled £5,054.30 and was made up of
£3,742.63 pledged giving and £1,311.67 of loose plate giving
Thank you. |
