Ann Cockel and Doreen Deebank
William Preston and Sheila Sperring
Elizabeth Way, Dawn Martin (14th) Martin Miller (15th) Mark Simmons, Adrian Ball (17th) Alexander Causton (18th)
Gift Aid: If you are a taxpayer, please maximise your giving in the Offertory Plate by using the Gift Aid envelopes provided.
St Mary’s notices can be sent to the Parish Office at info@stmarysmoseley.co.uk, or by phone: 0121 449 2243 (mornings) by 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Voicemail messages can be left at any time. Also see http://www.stmarysmoseley.co.uk.
St Anne’s notices can be sent to Revd Rosemary Donovan at info@st-annes-moseley.org.uk, or by phone: 0121 449 1071 by Thursday. Also see http://www.st-annes-moseley.org.uk.
St Mary’s has a loop system for the hard of hearing, in the centre block of seats. Turn your hearing aid to the ‘T’ setting.
Children are now preparing for their Christmas plays which will take place on Sunday 21 December. They will be rehearsing for this Sunday. Normal groups recommence in January.
Sunday 18 January at 3:00 p.m. at St Anne’s.
The Youth Group meets on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. at St Mary’s. Meetings recommence in January.
To the tune of ‘The Holly and the Ivy’
Chorus:
The Holly and the Ivy
Are dancing in a ring
Round the berry bright red candles
And the white and shining King.
Verse 1
Oh, one is for God’s people
In every age and day
We are watching for His coming
We believe and we obey
Verse 2
And two is for the prophets,
And for the light they bring,
They are candles in the darkness
All alight for Christ the King.
Verse 3
And three is for John the Baptist;
He calls on us to sing,
‘O prepare the way for Jesus Christ,
He is coming Christ the King.’
Volunteers now needed for transport and other help on the day so please sign up on the lists at the back of both churches.
You are invited to donate gifts of money to purchase sweets and flowers as our gift from the Church, to the residents in the Care Homes that we serve. Please offer contributions to Cathie Carey or the churchwardens.
At their recent meetings, both PCCs agreed a different pattern of worship for Sunday evenings during January and February. In an attempt to conserve energy and resources during these cold dark months there will be joint evening worship at 6:30pm at St Mary's. Evening services will resume at St Anne’s in March.
During Christmas there will be a prayer tree in the Lady Chapel. All are invited to use the cards to write a prayer and put it on the tree.
To inspire you and your Church to serve & bless the Asian Communities. Five training sessions are for all wanting to better understand and share Christ’s love with South Asians in their locality; Please come to all sessions or any as appropriate and encourage others from your church to participate. All welcome; no charge (but donations welcome after each session!) Springfield Centre St Christopher’s Church. Weds starting January 14th 7.30pm .See notice board for further details of the five sessions.
| Service | First Reading | Second Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 | Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28 |
| Evening (St Mary's) | Malachi 3:1-4, 4 | Philippians 4:4-7 |
| Evening (St Anne's) | Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 | John 1:6-8, 19-28 |
| Time | St Mary’s | St Anne’s |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. | Holy Communion Celebrant & Preacher: Revd Jeremy Dussek |
|
| 10:00 a.m. | Sung Eucharist Celebrant: Revd Frank Berry Preacher: Eric Dwyer Hymns: 401,470,209,53,193 Anthem: People look East (arr: Archer) |
|
| 10:15 a.m. | Community Worship Officiants: Revd Jeremy Dussek & Caroline Philips |
|
| 6:30 p.m. | Evensong Officiants: Revd Jeremy Dussek Preacher: Revd Peter Hansell Hymns: 196,519,491 Psalm: 68vss 1-19 Anthem: In The Bleak Mid Winter (Darke) |
Holy Communion Celebrant & Preacher: Revd Rosemary Donovan Hymns: 128,307,401 Psalm: 126 |
| Day | Time | St Mary’s | St Anne’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-15-Dec | No Morning Prayer | ||
| Tue-16-Dec | 9:00 a.m. | Holy Communion | |
| Wed-17-Dec | 9:00 a.m. | Morning Prayer | |
| Thu-18-Dec | 9:00 a.m. | Morning Prayer | |
| 7:30 p.m. | Cracking Carols and Christmas Cheer at St Mary’s. Christmas Tree Celebration starts | ||
| Fri-19-Dec | 10:00 a.m. | School Carol Service. All are welcome |
| Time | St Mary’s | St Anne’s |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. | Holy Communion | |
| 10:00 a.m. | Sung Eucharist with Children’s Nativity Play | |
| 10:15 a.m. | Crib service | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Festival of Lessons and Carols for Christmas | Festival of Lessons and Carols for Christmas |
See also: Calendar of Future Events and Advent Calendar
| Date | Time | Details |
|---|---|---|
| St Anne’s Christmas Services in Homes. Why not come along and share some festive cheer? | Wed-17-Dec | 11:30 a.m. — Amberely Court |
| 2:00 p.m. — Barnfield | ||
| Thu-18-Dec | 11:30 a.m. — Karitos | |
| 2:30 p.m. — Wilson lodge | ||
| Thu-18-Dec | 7:30 p.m. | Cracking Carols and Christmas Cheer Celebration At St Mary’s. Pick up a flyer and invite a friend to come along. Urgently Required: a team of helpers to serve refreshments at the end of the celebration. If you can help please contact Sally Cope on 449 1779. |
| Sun-21-Dec | 10:00 a.m., 10:15 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. | Christmas Nativity, Crib and Carol Services The Sunday before Christmas gives us a chance to enjoy worship in our decorated churches for the season. At St Mary’s at 10:00 a.m. and St Anne’s at 10:15 a.m. there are the Children’s Play (as part of the main service) and Crib Service respectively. Later in the evening at 6:30 p.m. there are more traditional Carol Services with readings. Mulled wine and mince pies are served at St Anne’s afterwards. |
| Tue-23-Dec | 8:00 p.m. | Carol Singing at the Fighting Cocks Christmas is a time for everyone and Emily at the Fighting Cocks has invited us to sing carols this year — do come along and continue the celebrations amongst the community which begin at 8:00 p.m. |
| Wed-24-Dec | 9:00 a.m. | Preparations for Christmas Day Together at the Parish Hall Park Hill |
| 10:00 a.m. | Making Christingles in the Piggott Room at St Mary’s | |
| Wed-24-Dec | 5:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. | Christingle and Midnight Mass Once more the ever popular service of Christingle takes place at 5:00 p.m. at St Mary’s. It’s always very popular so please arrive early and by 4:50 p.m. at the latest. As with last year there will be a collection taken before the service to help people use the gift aid envelopes. Midnight Mass begins at both churches at 11:30 p.m. It will be a little darker than normal at St Mary’s, so if you find it hard to see with dimmed lights, please bring a torch. |
| Thu-25-Dec | 11:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. | Christmas Day Together at St Anne’s. Thanks in advance to the many people who have agreed to volunteer and all those who have generously donated money or gifts to make Christmas possible for those who would otherwise be alone. If you know of anyone who may be alone and would like to come please contact Janet Thome on 449 2243. |
| Sun-28-Dec | 10:00 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. | Sunday after Christmas Services Please note that there is no 8:00 a.m. service and that the services in the Benefice are the Sung Eucharist at St Mary’s at 10:00 a.m. and Prayers for New Year at St Anne’s at 6:30 p.m. |
| 1st Sunday of January and February | There will be the traditional Festival of Lessons and Carols for Epiphany and Candlemas respectively (as last year). | |
| 2nd and 3rd Sundays | There will be normal Evensong. | |
| 4th Sunday | There will be a Taizé Service in January and a Celtic Service in February. | |
| Sat-10-Jan & Sun-11-Jan | The choirs at St Mary’s and St Anne’s will be taking part in BBC Songs of Praise recordings from the beautifully restored Town Hall. This includes Handel’s Messiah for the Easter programme and favourite hymns for Pentecost. The service on Sunday 11th, therefore, will be a simple Evensong without the choir but with a homily and hymns. | |
| Tue-13-Jan | 8:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m. | Start ! - Enquirers Course at St Mary’s At St Mary’s we’re beginning Start! which is a six session course designed to help people discover the basics of the Christian faith. Each session involves watching a couple of short DVD programmes, followed by time to talk, listen and ask questions. These begins with What does life mean for you?, What are you looking for?, What does it mean to follow Jesus Christ and what difference can that make for you? If you’d like to come or know someone who’s interested or wanting to explore the Christian Faith, then please let us know by Tuesday 6 January. After the course in February we will begin preparing groups for those considering confirmation later in the year — again, please let us know whether you’d be interested in that. |
| Sun-18-Jan | 10:15 a.m. | Churches Together Service at St Anne’s Once a year, Churches Together in Moseley has a joint service which helps us to remember that despite our different traditions and denominations we are one body in Christ. This year the service is at St Anne’s Church at 10:15 a.m. THERE WILL BE NO SERVICE AT ST MARY’S AT 10:00 a.m. |
| Sun-18-Jan | 2:00 p.m. | Children’s Christmas Party Thanks to all our Children’s Groups’ helpers who have been working so hard for our Christmas Plays and their work over the last term. The Children’s Christmas Party this year is on Sunday 18 January in the Parish Hall at St Anne’s. Please do sign up on the noticeboards if you would like your children to come. It’s only fair that this is done in advance to help the organisers know how to prepare. |
| 14-22 Feb | Love Fest: I am looking for wedding dresses of the last century, one for each decade, especially old ones. Has any one got their’s in a cupboard and wouldn’t mind it being displayed? I will also need dress makers’ dummies to display them. Please see Rosemary: 449 1071. |
Advent, like winter, is a time of waiting. In winter, nature seems dead — rotting leaves on the earth, trees gaunt and bare — in fact, nature is working towards spring, new life contained within tightly folded buds. Advent is a time for the spirit to turn inwards, to be quiet, preparing for the brilliance of the revelation of hope that Christmas symbolizes. It is a transitional time, not without its own inner stresses and difficulties-doubts, anxieties, possibly. This is a feature of transitional times, as Donald Eadie writes in Grain in Winter: “Times of transition. In nations, communities and personal stories are accompanied by apprehension and excitement-both.” Globally, we are in such a time as a result of the collapse of customary financial processes. This offers possibilities and danger.
Simeon’s and Anna’s long years of waiting ended in the joy of seeing the infant Jesus, knowing that he was the fulfilment of the prophecy, and that the dayspring from on high has visited them.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you: grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight; for you are alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.