Lucy, Miralee Askew, Iris Pope, Leonard Lloyd, Johanna Sarathay, May Corbett, Daniel, Christopher Brown, Richard Black, Audrey Samuel, Pam Daly, Paul Daly, and Jackie Percy
Gillian Pettifer
Sophie Shakeshaft and Steve Maddox (3rd), Camilla Macliver (5th), John Dowell, Kevin Parry and Arden Rowley (6th), John Pritchard (7th), and Harry Rawlings (9th).
If you are here for the first time, please do introduce yourself to a sidesperson or minister and take a welcome card.
Baptised members of any Church are welcome to receive Communion. If you do not wish to take communion but would like a blessing please come forward, holding your service leaflet.
A collection for the work of the church is usually taken during each service. Please use the Gift Aid envelope if you are a UK taxpayer.
We have loop systems for the hard of hearing. At St Mary’s it is available in the main nave. At St Anne’s it can be used in any part of the church.
Children aged 3 to 11 meet on the 2nd 3rd and 4th Sundays during the 10:00 a.m. service. They continue worship in their groups and meet their leaders at the back of the church after the collect for the day. All children are welcome. There is a crèche facility at all 10:00 a.m. services.
Children meet on the 1st, 3rd and 4th Sundays during the 10:15 a.m. service. They leave with their leaders after the first hymn. All children are welcome.
The Youth Group meets on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. at St Mary’s.
M*A*S*S meets on Thursday at 3:45 p.m.
Free, half hour music session on Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. for children aged 0+ years old. We aim to sing nursery rhymes, Christian songs, play simple musical instruments, hear stories from the Bible, learn basic musical concepts and move to music. Parents or care-givers help their child through each activity or song. No previous musical experience is required. Squash and bikkies after each session!
For more information please Contact Mick Perrier on: 07967 595 881, or via mick@mperrier.freeserve.co.uk.
We would like to remember in our prayers the names of people known to the congregation who have died at any time in the past. They do not need to have been members of our churches.
If you would like any name(s) included, please notify the Parish office in writing (not e-mail or phone). The following detail is required: the name(s) of the deceased and the date of death; the name of the person making the request and a contact phone number. This is just for use in case of unclear information, and will not be announced or published.
Prayer will be offered during the appropriate week. If there is space in the pew sheet, names will be included unless you notify us that you do not want this. Names will automatically be deleted after five years, but can be added again if you wish.
If any of this is unclear, please contact Jennifer Holloway in church, or by leaving a message with the Parish Office and your contact phone number. This notice will appear from time to time as a reminder.
Thanks to everyone who helped to make this event an enjoyable day for all who attended. As usual a good crowd enjoyed a fantastic lunch and had some fun! But wow were we tired!!
The kaleidoscope project follows and portrays the Church’s liturgical journey in colour from All Saints to Candlemas. To mark the stages on the journey, each bay in the Church is hung with symbols and colours made by our Children’s Groups. To mark the coming of Christmas the fifth bay is in orange for Christingle and is hung with flames celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit to bring Jesus Christ through the Virgin birth. And finally the Gold Stars in bay six celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Both St Anne’s and St Mary’s have been beautifully decorated for the Christmas period. Thanks are due to all who worked in any way to make this possible with flowers, Christmas trees, mobiles etc., to artists, and to Rosemary and Jeremy for their inspirational ideas. Thanks are also due to the hospitality teams who worked hard during this period.
The Diocese has received a letter from Canon Leslie Mtekateka, Bishop Elect, Diocese of Northern Malawi. This is an extract from that letter:
Last night was another frightening night as six tremors hit Karonga once more with the strongest arriving at 4:24 a.m. this morning. This has sent fresh shock waves as people were thinking that probably the earthquakes were over. This is has raised the threats of uncertainty in sleeping in houses, more houses collapse and more houses became increasingly dangerous as the cracks become wider and more fragile. The fact that now it seems, we have no idea as to when the tremors will stop, we are constantly living in fear and having sleepless nights. Some family members have left their spouses and went home down the Centre and South of Malawi. Many things in the houses have been moved to safer places, no hangings on the walls, as we have already lost many of them, no luxury of watching TV. A geologist has confirmed that Karonga has been hit by more 25 tremors and 50 have happened in the Lake Malawi during the past two weeks. We are in the Great Rift Valley so this is the basic reason, only that we never experienced so many tremors within such short space of time.
He has formed a task force aimed at the experts and demanding answers and guidance for the future. Please remember Malawi and particularly Karonga in your prayers.
| Service | First Reading | Second Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Isaiah 60:1-6 | Matthew 2:1-12 |
| 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 Jeremy Dussek Preacher: Jonathan Hodgson |
|
| 11:00 a.m. | Sung Eucharist Celebrant: Revd Frank Berry Preacher: Jonathan Hodgson Hymns: Carol Sheet 25,2,5,17,26 |
|
| 6:30 p.m. | Festival of Readings and Music for Epiphany Printed Order of Service |
| Day | Time | St Mary’s | St Anne’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-4-Jan | 9:00 a.m. | Morning Prayer | |
| Tue-5-Jan | 9:00 a.m. | Holy Communion | |
| Wed-6-Jan | 9:00 a.m. | Morning Prayer | |
| Thu-7-Jan | 9:00 a.m. | Morning Prayer | |
| Fri-8-Jan | 9:00 a.m. | Morning Prayer |
| Time | St Mary’s | St Anne’s |
|---|---|---|
| Next Sunday 10 January, First Sunday after Epiphany | ||
| 8.00am | Holy Communion | |
| 10:00 a.m. | Sung Eucharist | |
| 10:00 a.m. | Matins | |
| 11:00 a.m. | Sung Eucharist | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Evensong | |
| Date | Time | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Mon/Thurs/Sat | 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Nativity Trail Birmingham Museum and Art gallery. Admission free. Open to 6 January. |
| Fri | 10:30 – 5:00 p.m. | |
| Sun | 12:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | |
| Sat-16-Jan | During the evening | Bowling for children age 9 or 10 and above. Please sign up on the sheet at the back of both churches. Any queries, please see Chris Abbott, Chris Hirsch, Gillian Light, Fran Rowley or Becky Greenhill |
| Sun-17-Jan | 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Benefice Children’s Party St Anne’s church hall. There will be a sign-up sheet available at the back of both churches from Sunday 6 December. Volunteers to help with the party (before, during or after) would be most welcome. |
| There is much to celebrate and give thanks for in the Benefice. Come and share God’s Glory with others. | ||
We’re just coming through ‘that time of year’ and for many of us it will have descended into an overwhelmingly awesome burden of shopping. It is to be hoped we all got at least one present we liked, possibly can even come to treasure. On holiday in Northern Ireland, zapping through the options on my aunt’s television, I came across Oprah’s Big Give (like The Apprentice but with more point). After much dramatics two people, both dying, got their heart’s desire: one an old lady to play the piano at Carnegie Hall, the other a young man to have his mortgage paid and his children’s education funded. Would that we could all give big like that.
The wise men’s gifts symbolise Jesus’ stature, calling and sacrifice; in His case all wrapped up in his unique role and personality. Could we ever be equal to these? We can aspire to be. Our own children at St Mary’s and St Anne’s reminded us this Christmas (as every year) how much joy can be given without seeming to know it, with a simple heart, when they gave us their Nativity Play. We can all consider for ourselves what we can give this year. We may in turn find ourselves rewarded.
Almighty God, in the birth of your Son you have poured on us the new light of your incarnate Word, and shown us the fullness of your love: help us to walk in his light and dwell in his love that we may know the fullness of his joy; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.