Top: Portobello Nativity (see diary for this year’s event.
Middle:  St. Paul’s enjoying Christingle
Right: Catherine Lee who is visiting the Parish on the 3rd of December

 

When the Parish Office moved into the Edward Room, the plan was to build a new office in the summer.   The delays to this plan were fortunate, in that the Edward Room proved to be the ideal location for the Parish Office, situated near the kitchen and toilets, and at the heart of our church and community rooms.   The room itself is more spacious and attractive to work in and easier to access.   In addition there will be savings made as we do not have to rebuild a special structure in the south west corner of the church.

When the old office is taken down the area will be carpeted and open for a variety of uses;  as a place for overflow seating during large services or Baptisms, as a prayer station, or a place for displays of information.   The beautiful stained glass window of Adam and Eve will be revealed and the church will feel lighter and more spacious.

So all in all, God has guided us to make the best decision for the church, both for our worship area and parish office.   The P.C.C. has approved this change of location, and plans can be viewed in the Emmaus Rooms.   We hope that work will begin in January, so do keep on praying for the successful completion of this First Impressions Project.

You will be pleased to hear that all our heaters are being serviced and repaired, so we should be warm this winter.

You will also be pleased to hear that the P.C.C. has agreed to pay our staff a much more realistic and appropriate level of pay, beginning on 1st January.

This was only possible because of the generosity of church members who have responded to my invitation and increased their giving in the coming year by between 10-20%.   Obviously not everyone is able to do so and that’s fine.   But if you are and haven’t responded to the Warm & Living Stones campaign, by completing the green Promise Card, please can I urge you to do so, as every contribution counts, and enables the church to continue its many effective ministries in our community.

During November churches have been remembering the persecuted church throughout the world, reminding ourselves that being a Christian is not easy in many Communist or Muslim countries, such as China, North Korea, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.   Jesus said to His disciples: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”  A recent example is the three women Sunday School teachers imprisoned for leading a Sunday School class in Indonesia.   As well as praying for Christians suffering injustice and discrimination, we are challenged to be less complacent in the way we live as Christians in the West, where so many people have given up worshipping and practising their faith.  For many years it was easy to think that persecution only happens elsewhere in the world.   But this year there have been some surprising indications that Christians in this country are experiencing intolerance and injustice.  In schools, many young people are afraid to be known as Christians, because of the bullying they would receive.   And in some universities, Christian Unions are being denied the right to meet on Student Union premises, and receive grants allocated to other societies.   The reasons given are that their constitutions do not allow for non-Christians to stand for executive office, and that their doctrinal statements are perceived to be anti-gay.  On the first count, it would be surprising if a non-Christian wanted to become a leader of the Christian Union!   And secondly, the doctrines espoused are orthodox Christian teaching that any sexual relations outside marriage are sinful, and that in our lives generally, as St. Paul wrote:  “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Obviously, no-one is yet going to prison for their faith, but there are signs of increasing intolerance of Christians who stand up for their beliefs.   Maybe this is a good sign.   Maybe Christian disciples should provoke some reaction.   Maybe persecution, on however small a scale, is a sign that Christianity is reviving, with a new energy and confidence in this country as well as in the developing world.
A revived and growing church can only be a good thing in a country which is experiencing so many social problems.   Faith can have a transforming effect on individuals and     communities, whether they be university campuses, cities, towns, villages or estates.   Christians in churches throughout this country are committed to serving others, to alleviating poverty and bringing hope.
So why not make a commitment to renew your faith, not just at Christmas, but by belonging to the community of faith which is the church, throughout the year?   But just be aware that any commitment to following Jesus Christ can be costly.

                        

Emmanuel Were, our Careforce worker from Uganda has very kindly offered to write a regular article for the Grapevine, following last month on the subject of worship.  This month Emmanuel writes about Christmas..

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see:
Hail the incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with men to dwell;
Jesus, our Immanuel!
(Charles Wesley, 1739)

Christmas Carols seem to retain their appeal year after year, even in our increasingly secular culture.   Why?   I believe it all has to do with the subject - the greatest event that ever took place on planet earth - the Arrival of Immanuel, the promised seed, our Lord Jesus Christ.   Infinity penetrating time and space, taking the form of the finite;  the perfect one living inside the imperfect.

The tiny human egg in the womb of a teenager named Mary, waits until the Holy Spirit, in some mysterious and miraculous fashion, conveys the pure life of God into that single cell, and Jesus is conceived.   At that moment, the Son of God in human form is physiologically the size of a pinhead.   He “emptied Himself of all but love.”   This is the incredible truth that countless believers and unbelievers cannot stop
singing about.

Christmas is around the corner;  many of us, families planning ahead, loads of shopping going on, bookings of flights for holidays - it’s time to remember and do a lot of things.   This special event comes with a lot of joy when we give loved ones plenty of gifts and many items.

However, let me get you up to speed by telling you this Advent time, in an attempt to answer an important question namely:  What does Christmas teach us about God?   And we all need a correct answer to this question because a proper knowledge of God is very important.   What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.   At this point we want to try to look at the answer to this great question - analysing two important aspects/attributes of God during this Christmas season.   We should learn that this Christmas event teaches us the comforting facts that God is FAITHFUL and God is LOVING.  

Before we go any further let’s make sure we understand these particular attributes of God.

When we say that God is FAITHFUL, we are saying that everything He says and does is certain.   We’re saying He is 100% reliable, 100% of the time.   He does not fail, forget, flatter or disappoint.   When we say God is faithful we are saying He says what He means and He means what He says.   I mean God never ceases to be faithful.  
I don’t know about you, but to me this is indeed a comforting fact because in this world of ours everything else does change.  
I guess you could say God’s faithfulness is seen in the fact that in everything He says and does, God is TRUE TO HIMSELF.

Christmas is itself a celebration of the faithfulness of God.   You see, the coming of Jesus was not some last minute plan of God to save the human race!   No - this was the plan all along.   In the Garden of Eden, immediately after sin entered the world, God promised that Satan’s power would be broken by someone who would be virgin born - the ‘seed’ of a woman.   Then over and over the Bible records the fact that over the millennia God repeated His promise to send a Redeemer Messiah.   Through His prophets He told where the child would be born... what He would do... how He would die for our sins and even that He would rise, conquering death on our behalf.   So Christmas reminds us that God has been faithful to keep all these promises, that from the beginning of time God has been seeking us and that He’s always been working to secure our salvation to RESCUE us from sin.   This is why we celebrate Christmas every year at this time. We are buried in our trespasses and sins.   Finally, when the time was right, He came in the form of His Son to seek us and save us.

Well, Christmas is a celebration of the fact that billions have been saved because God kept His promise and sent His Son to rescue us from
our sins.

As I mentioned earlier there is another important attribute of God - LOVE.   We will pick up our corporate study of God’s attribute in the Spring as we celebrate the Holy Week, but we will end our Advent by focussing on the fact that God is infinitely LOVING - specifically we want to look at how most of all Christmas shows us that God’s love is SACRIFICIAL!

Now I am sure, that as Christmas draws near, many parents are planning to show their love for their children as well as loved ones by giving them things/gifts that at times you cannot afford.   There will be a lot of sacrificial gifts under Christmas trees in comparison to the sacrificial gift of God.

You see, the holiness of God demands a sinless sacrifice and the only possible sinless sacrifice was God the Son.   And since God’s love never fails to pay the price, He did.   It was because of the sacrificial love of God that He sent His Son into the world to die in our place.   He valued sinners like me and you that much.   So you see, there is no more sacrificial love that the love God has for you and me - Christmas reminds us of God’s sacrificial love for the sinful world.

Remember Christmas is a time to also share that special gift of love with someone, just as God gave His special gift - His Son to us.   Since we have been called as members of God’s family, express your love with someone this Christmas.

I did it! Sadly, John’s leg injury prevented his participation in an amazing experience.

The walk was very special and began with a moonlit walk up Mt Sinai to join many others for sunrise at the summit. We read Exodus 32 in a coffee shop just below the summit that took us back 4000 years. Did Moses get up there on a camel at his advanced age? St Katharine’s Monastery at the foot of the mountain was fascinating but crowded. We felt to be a part of a worldwide family.

The walk proper started after being abandoned in the middle of nowhere with 3 camels, Bedouin, and one Israeli guide. Our belongings were transported in ancient jeeps. We followed our guides up sand dunes, along wadis, through canyons and up and down steep rocky paths, through an extraordinary rocky landscape dotted with occasional palm trees and scratchy plants that our camels considered a delicacy.

We camped at night in two open fronted Bedouin tents, sitting around a camp fire to eat and chat before lights out at 8.30pm. We rose with the sun at 6.00am and walked from 7.30 till 4 or 5pm, with lunch breaks.  Arrival at the Red Sea was in many ways an anti-climax as the desert was so magnificent and the Bedouin fantastic people, but the hot baths and hair washing was wonderful compensation!

After being transported back to Cairo through a very heavily militarised area, we had a wonderful Sunday experiencing worship in the Coptic Church followed by a visit to very poor villages. Christian Aid partners in the Coptic Church are helping the villagers to develop clean water supplies, drainage and a tarmac road as well as making individual rooms for them to develop businesses and a nursery school. The welcome we had was amazing and our tour round the village houses truly eye-opening.

Audrey Pitchforth would like to thank all those who sent cards and good wishes to her when she recently retired and moved house.  
Her new address is -

21 Valley Crescent,  Wrenthorpe,  Wakefield.  WF2 0JB.   Tel. 01924 374738.

to Mavis.   In last month’s edition of Grapevine in ‘Who Are You’, we inadvertently put Mavis’ favourite food and drink as roast beef and red wine, when it should have been chocolate cake with cream and medium sweet white wine.   Not much difference!!!!

Since 1954, the last Sunday in January has been set aside to spread the message that leprosy still exists. Despite an effective cure and international efforts to eliminate leprosy by 2005, the number of new cases being diagnosed remains stable in most countries. In India leprosy still disables 100 times more people each year than polio.

The prophet Isaiah spoke of the worship that God requires from his people. God wants us to uphold justice and set people free from oppression. One of the worst disabilities associated with leprosy, and the main cause of its spread, is poverty. It is the end result of social injustice. Kerala in India is a well-educated state with 96% literacy. Poverty has almost been eliminated there - so has leprosy.

The Leprosy Mission continues to follow the example of Jesus by identifying with the poor, the outcasts and people with leprosy.

On January 28th 2007 please add your voice to thousands of others in praying for the work of the Leprosy Mission and people around the world who have been burdened with a diagnosis of leprosy.

 

This one day event took place in the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield on Saturday 11th November and using their facilities.   It was extremely well run and had a very comfortable and welcoming feel to it.   We had lunch in the refectory with the monks, though most were away that day and joined in the midday prayers in their awesome church.   The atmosphere is very special.   The course content was very thought-provoking and lively.

Yvonne Richmond is Chaplain for Evangelism at Coventry Cathedral, and Steve Hollinghurst is Researcher in Evangelism to Post Christian Culture at the Church Army Sheffield Centre.  Changing Culture and Signs of Spiritual Seeking in today’s culture were the main topics under discussion.  We looked at the massive growth in spirituality in the last 30 years or so, such as the emergence of Mind, Body and Spirit shops, increase in the use of reflexology,  aromatherapy, yoga, eastern meditation and mysticism, astrology, crystals etc., etc.   There is a setting up of roadside shrines becoming more common and the outpouring of public emotion and symbolism evidenced on Diana’s death.

We are all encouraged to tithe part of our income and our Parish is no exception. Every year 10% of the Parish Giving is tithed and last year some £12,000 was distributed as follows;

SAMS, South American Mission Society, (who support Mags Southern) 25%; CMS, Church Mission Society, (who support Catherine Lee) 25%;  Church Army 15%;  Bible Society 15%;  Cross Project 10%;  Bunda (our link Parish in Mara) 5% and, after suggestions from the congregation, the PCC decided to give the remaining 5% to support the Mothers’ Union Literacy and Development Programme.

This year the PCC again are seeking suggestions from the congregation as to how 5% of the tithe should be spent, the amount will be around £500.  It is envisaged that the money will be a one off donation towards a specified project being run by a registered Christian Charity with a missionary focus.  The above Charities will be supported again next year so are not eligible for a further 5%.  The project can be either in the UK or overseas.  Suggestion that have been made so far are:

Tearfund HIV and AIDS project.

Tearfund is one of the UK’s leading relief and development agencies – a movement of Christians standing with people in poverty.  They are committed to offering hope, providing a meaningful future and speaking out against injustice.  They work with local partners in 70 countries.  One of Tearfund’s objectives is to stop the spread of HIV in the poorest places they work in by 2015 by

Preventing mother-to-child transmission – without intervention 1 in 3 mothers with HIV will pass it on, today 1600 babies (one every minute) have been born with HIV.

Supporting women and children affected by HIV and ending stigma and discrimination – there are 17.3 million women living with HIV and AIDS and only 1 in 10 women with HIV knows her condition.

Promoting access to treatment – in poor countries only 5% of pregnant mothers have access to the drugs needed to prevent them passing HIV to their new or unborn baby.

Changing behaviour among children and young people.

Mission Aviation Fellowship – Southern Sudan Project

MAF is a Christian organisation whose mission is to fly light aircraft in developing countries so that people in remote areas can receive the help they need.  Since 1946 their planes have been speeding the spread of the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ by word and deed in places of deepest human need – places where flying is not a luxury but a lifeline.  Every three minutes a MAF plane is taking off or landing somewhere in the world enabling crucial work by many development agencies, missions, local churches and other national groups.  Medical care, adequate food, clean water and Christian hope are reaching countless men, women and children.

The Leprosy Mission (TLM) is a leading international Christian development mission working in around 30 countries. They have served people affected by leprosy since 1874. Their work covers education, detection, medical treatment, rehabilitation and the reintegration of people into their communities focusing on three areas: South Asia, East Asia/Pacific and Africa.

The Tribal Communities project is working in the remote jungle region of Karwar in the state of Karnataka among some of India’s most needy people. The tribal communities of Gowris (indigenous pastoralists), Siddis (former East African slaves from the time of the Raj) and Gypsies (formerly from Eurasia) are regarded by Indian society as the lowest of the low, even lower than the lowest caste.  All three groups have been forced by stigma, exclusion and economic marginalization to live further and further from mainstream services. This has resulted in chronic poverty and exploitation. These people are rejected by Indian society and have no political voice; as such they have very limited or no access to government services.  

If you have any other projects to suggestion please put them in writing to the Mission and Mara Group c/o Parish Office by the end of January.  If you would like to support one of the above suggestions please let me or one of the Mission and Mara group know.  The group will consider the suggestions and make a recommendation to the PCC who will make the final decision.  If you would like to discuss your ideas first please call Felicité Dodd on 01924 253755.

Christmas Menu

Carols & Brass - 16th December

Carols by South Kirby Renaissance Brass Band from 12.15pm onwards. Free entry.   Book early to avoid disappointment!

Christmas Day Lunch with Old and New Friends!

Join us for worship at 10am at St. Helen’s, followed by lunch at the Spring, There is no charge, donations are welcome.  The meal has been generously supported by ‘Age Concern’.  Please do invite people who may be spending Christmas Day on their own.  If you need help with transport, please call Terry to make the arrangements.

Please telephone Terry to book your meal for all events: 01924 242593

The Spring, 299 Barnsley Road.

Churches Together in Wakefield are Carol Singing at Sainsbury’s on Thursday 14th December 2006 6pm-8pm in the Wakefield branch foyer, Ings Road, Denby Dale Road.   Please come and support this event.   All proceeds to the Malawi Orphanage Appeal.

Two very special visitors are coming to our Parish ...

December 11th-18th 2006 10am-4pm in Wakefield Cathedral.  
Admission Free.  organised by Churches Together.

Preliminary notice...

On January 14th we will be announcing the Lent Course for 2007:  ‘Better Together‘, where we will be learning about the meaning of community.  Books will be available to order for group and personal study:  “Better Together; 40 days of Community”, by Rick Warren. Supplementary books for study include “Fearfully and wonderfully made” by Dr Paul Brand & Philip Yancey and “Becoming Human”,by  Jean Vanier.

Dec 3	9.15am		Holy Communion		St. Helen’s
	10.45am		Family Praise		St. Helen’s
	11.00am		Holy Communion		St. Paul’s
	6pm		Choral Evensong		St. Helen’s
4	5pm		Walton MU Christmas Lunch		The Spring?
5	9.30am		Toddle-In (toddler group)		St. Helen’s
	3.45pm		Children’s Church		St. Paul’s
6	11.30am		Holy Communion		St. Helen’s
	7.00pm		Bellringing Practice		St. Helen’s
	7.30pm		Alpha Course		St. Paul’s
7	9.15am		Boogie-woogie (toddler group)		St. Paul’s
10	9.15am		Holy Communion		St. Helen’s
Toy Sunday	10.45am		Morning Praise		St. Helen’s
Toy Sunday	11am		Morning Praise Carol Service with uniformed groups		St. Paul’s
	12.00pm		2nd Sunday Soup		St. Helen’s
	6.00pm		Evening Prayer		St. Paul’s
	7pm		Youth Church Christmas Party		St. Helen’s
11	9.00am		Staff Meeting & Prayers		St. Paul’s
	12.30pm		Sandal MU Christmas Lunch		St. Helen’s
	7.30pm		Women’s Fellowship		St. Helen’s
12	9.30am		Toddle-In (toddler group)		St. Helen’s
	1pm-3pm		Sandal Endowed School Carols		St. Helen’s
	3.45pm		Children’s Church		St. Paul’s
13	9am-1pm		Sandal Endowed School Carols		St. Helen’s
	11.30am		Holy Communion		St. Helen’s
	7.00pm		Bellringing Practice