Prayer for Christian Unity 2007: He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. The text for this year comes from South Africa and reflects on the suffering and death there caused by HIV/AIDS.
Intercessions:
We remember those with birthdays this week, especially Sally Wood (14th), Jet Whitaker (15th), Susan Hill (17th), Vicki Wainwright (18th) and Adaobi Okafor (19th).
The church is open every morning between 10:00 a.m. and 12 noon, but to enable us to keep the church open in this way, we need more people to offer an hour one morning a week to be available in church. If you can help, please have a word with Jonathan Hodgson.
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.
Prayer Walking. Part of a local initiative of Churches Together in Moseley.
There will be a united service on Sun 21st Jan at 11am at St Agnes after which we are all invited to a bring and share lunch and quiz. NB No 10am or 10:15am service at St Mary’s or St Anne’s this day.
The details of the proposal for the United Benefice are displayed on the notice boards of both St Mary’s and St Anne’s until 22nd Jan for people to make any comments.
Grand Raffle: Tickets £1. Main prize two tickets to Paris. Draw Friday 16 February. Please see John Carey or adult choir members.
A big thank you to everyone who helped to make Christmas Day Together such a happy and successful event.
There will be no meeting in January. The lunches will resume on Thursday 22 February. Thanks to all who support this group and make Christmas Day Together 2006 possible.
In two years the members of the club contributed nearly £10,000 to the Stonework Appeal. It was a wonderful idea, which was easily implemented and allowed over 70 members of the congregation to make a substantial contribution to the Stonework appeal. When the Daffodil Club concept was described to members of other churches it was taken up by them so we can be proud of starting similar savings schemes in other churches.
John McKinleyThank you to everyone who contributed so generously towards Care Home Christmas gifts. The total came to £108.40 Each home received a variety of sweets and a beautiful houseplant.
to let one mile south of Porto Cristo. Adjacent beach and swimming pool. Sleeps four. Shops within walking distance. July/August available. Contact Peter Magson 0121 449 0285.
There are boxes at the back of both churches for your Christmas stamps. Jenny will send stamps from St Anne’s to the Leprosy Mission whose work is described in the January edition of the Spire; Shirley will send stamps from St Mary’s to Guide Dogs for the Blind.
| Time | Service | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. | Holy Communion Order Two | Preacher: Cathie Carey |
| 10:00 a.m. | Parish Communion: with Children's Groups | Preacher: Cathie Carey |
| 6:30 p.m. | Evensong | Preacher: The Revd Peter Hansell |
| Time | Service | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 10:15 a.m. | Family Service | Led by Revd Rosemary Donovan and Lis Sparrow |
| 6:30 p.m. | Holy Communion | Preacher: Eric Dwyer |
| Day | Morning Prayer | Holy Communion | Evening Prayer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday St Mary’s |
9:15 a.m. | 4:45 p.m. | |
| Wednesday St Anne’s |
9:15 a.m. | 4:45 p.m. | |
| Thursday | 7:30 a.m. St Mary’s |
4:00 p.m. Children's Service at St Anne’s |
|
| Friday | 9:15 p.m. St Anne’s |
4:45 p.m. St Mary’s |
| Day | Time | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 12:45 p.m. | St Anne’s Lunch Club, Contact Hilda Johnston: 604 5643 |
| 8:00 p.m. | St Mary’s Bell ringers | |
| Tuesday | 5:15 p.m. | St Mary’s Junior Choir |
| Wednesday | 10:30 - 12 noon | Coffee & Co at St Mary’s |
| 7:30 p.m. | Youth Group | |
| 8:00 p.m. | Wednesday Group meets at 16 Paton Grove | |
| Thursday | 4:00 p.m. | Children’s service St Anne’s (resumes 18th January) |
| 7:30 p.m. | St Mary’s Singers | |
| Friday | 6:45 p.m. | St Mary’s robed choir |
| 7:30 p.m. | St Anne’s Choir | |
| Saturday | 10:30 - 12 noon | Coffee & Co at St Mary’s |
| Time | Service |
|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. | Holy Communion Order one Traditional Language |
| 11.00 a.m. | Churches Together in Moseley United Service at St Agnes |
| 6:30 p.m. | Evensong |
| Time | Service |
|---|---|
| 11:00 a.m. | Churches Together in Moseley United Service at St Agnes |
| 6:30 p.m. | Evensong |
| Date | Time | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Sun-14-Jan | 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Children’s party at St Anne’s |
| Tue-16-Jan | Prayer Group at 16 Paton Grove | |
| 5:00 p.m. | Interfaith meeting at CDT | |
| Wed-17-Jan | 7:30 p.m. | Youth Group begins again |
| Thu-18-Jan | 3:00 p.m. | Children’s Service begins again |
On the literal level, the story of the wedding at Cana has moments we all recognise from many a wedding party. There is the encounter between Mary and Jesus, where Mary seems to be interfering and is rebuked by her son. There is the master of the banquet, the old hand who is amazed that the bridegroom should serve the most expensive wine when everyone is too far gone to appreciate it or give him credit for being able to afford it. And there are the servants who appear to be uninvolved, just doing their jobs but who, characteristically, know what is really going on. What touches me most about this story, however, is the way in which it uses these apparently everyday occurrences to reveal to us the essence of the teaching Jesus is about to undertake to change us and the world. The jugs Jesus has filled with water are those which the Jews would use for ceremonial washing. We think of cleansing before ritual sacrifice, perhaps, but also, for us, of the cleansing water of baptism, which will mark the beginning or every life’s journey with Christ. When we hear that Jesus turns the water into wine, we cannot but think of the wine of the Last Supper, in which Christ himself becomes the supreme sacrifice and of our Eucharistic thanksgiving as we receive the life-giving wine each Sunday.
As I read and contemplate this story, it transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. The turning of water into wine seems to stand for nothing less than the complete transformation of the spirit in its relation to God, the transformation which the rest of Jesus’ life enacted and which he invites us to enact with Him. The wedding in Cana shows us how we too, in our ordinary lives, with ordinary events, can experience an extraordinary transformation, and the miracle of that transformation within each of us, is indeed, the best wine.
Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.