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Scripture readings for Sunday
We don't know the actual date of Jesus' birthday, and the festival of Christmas (Christ Mass - the Holy Communion to celebrate his birth) was carefully timed to usurp the timeslot of a pagan midwinter festival, so that the newly converted would not be at a loose end at the solstice and so open to the temptation to backslide.
Happily, the choice of date in the northern hemisphere also provides us with a useful allegory for the dramatic effect on humanity of the birth of the Word of God among us. Mankind in his sinfulness is portrayed as winter, and readers of C S Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be familiar with this imagery. The birth of Christ brings the start of the thaw, and when we come to spring we shall celebrate the new life he brought as we remember his resurrection. Easter, too, is timed to coincide with a pagan festival, and eggs and rabbits are clear fertility symbols!
I would extend the allegory a little. Jesus came to announce God's Kingdom, to usher in the End Time. His birth signals, then, the beginning of the end. Winter's thaw has begun, but as we look at Chechnya and other troubled places of the world, and even within our own hearts, we know that summer is not yet here. When we pray for the coming of the Kingdom in the Lord's Prayer and when we look forward during Advent to the coming of Christ, it is to this summer, when our sinfulness is finally melted away, that we look in eagerness. So does God!
5th December, 2nd Sunday of Advent:
10am: Isaiah 40: 1-11; Mark 1: 1-8
12th December, 3rd Sunday of Advent:
10am: Isaiah 61: 1-4, 8-11; John 1: 6-8, 19-28
6pm: 1 Peter 1: 3-9; John 6: 35-40
19th December, 4th Sunday of Advent:
10am: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11, 16 Luke 1: 26-38
24th December, First Eucharist of the Nativity:
11:30pm: Isaiah 52: 7-10; John 1: 1-14
25th December, Christmas Day:
10am: Titus 2: 11-14; Luke 2: 1-14
26th December, St Stephen, First Martyr:
10am: The Nine Lessons
2nd January, 2nd Sunday of Christmas:
10am: Ephesians 1: 3-14 John 1: 10-18
To mark the beginning of The Year of Our Lord 2000, the churches of the Deepings have got together to organise two projects. The first is the delivery of a special Millennium Candle to each household, which should be well under way by the time you are reading this. The second is a special act of worship on 1st January, which will fit in with the noon bell-ringing which is to take place at each church tower across the land.
Everyone is invited to gather at St Guthlac's, Market Deeping, at 11.40am on New Year's Day: not too difficult even for those who have been up at midnight, we hope! There will be a short service of preparation there and then we shall wait for the bells to ring at noon, which will signal the start of the walk to Deeping St James for the main act of worship at the Priory Church. Those who are not able to take part in the walk are invited to go direct to the Priory Church for a start at about 12.45pm. The service will be led by members of all the churches which normally take part in ecumenical worship: the two Anglican parish churches, and the Roman Catholic, Methodist and Open Door Baptist Churches, and everyone from the two civil parishes is invited to attend. The two parish councils have been specially invited. The service will end at about 1.30pm.
It will be a unique type of worship for an occasion which none of us will see again, and it would be good to see the two churches and the streets in between full of people for this very special celebration.
Application forms are now available in church for this payment (available to widows over 60 years of age who have been resident in Deeping St. James for the last three years). The closing date for applications is 12th December 1999.
There is never a dull moment for the Climbers, Scramblers and Explorers. The last couple of months have been very busy. The children have been learning the Lord's Prayer. Climbers and Scramblers made a lovely sunflower with the Lord's Prayer in the middle and they talked about its meaning.
The Explorers entered into a discussion about why we pray, what sort of things to pray for and who are we praying to. They made a picture showing a pair of hands clasped together for prayer and on the hand were the guidelines for praying. I know that they all found this very useful.
We are now fast approaching Christmas and you can sense the excitement building with the children (and adults to!). There is much to do over the next few weeks but I am afraid most of it will have to remain a secret as the children will have a few surprises to bring home before Christmas.
The children's corner in Church seems to be working well and I hope that everyone has had the opportunity of browsing the children's work on the display boards. The children feel very proud of their achievements when they are able to show the grownups what they have been up to.
As always in our News Update we like to take the opportunity of thanking everyone involved with Sunday School for their help. We would also like to thank the congregation for their interest and support. It means a lot to the children to feel that they are a valued part of the congregation and are able to contribute in its future. Finally, thank you to all those who have donated empty white shoeboxes. We still need quite a few more, so if you get a new pair of slippers or shoes in your Christmas stocking, please let the Sunday School take it off your hands.
The Climbers and Scramblers meet in The Vicarage and the Explorers in the Church Hall every Sunday (except when there is a Family Service) at 09.50am and finish in the Church with the rest of the congregation at around 11.00am. If there is anyone who would like to come along and join in, then please contact either Alison Warrick on 345890, Jane Thompson on 341089 or myself on 343370.
Petra McCabe
Please note that the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols will this year be held on Sunday 26th December at 10 am.
Family Eucharist will be at 10 am on Christmas Day. The 8 am said celebrations of Holy Communion will take place both on Christmas Day and Sunday, 26th December as usual.
If you would like to make a confession prior to Christmas please contact the Vicar who would be glad to make arrangements.
If you would like to receive the sacrament at Christmas but are unable through infirmity please let either the Vicar or Sonia Marshall know as soon as possible.
Don't forget to let either the Vicar or Reader know the dates of your stay if you would like us to visit.
Priory News currently has two vacancies for magazine deliverers in the Horsegate and Park Road areas.
You would be joining a lively and supportive team dedicated to 'Spreading the Word'. Sense of humour highly desirable. Salary unheard of, but the benefits are out of this world. Applications to the Editor.
The Fellowship would like to thank everyone who made their Rummage Sale such a success. A grand total of £103.88 was raised.
Members enjoyed the Bonfire and Firework Party held on November 4th.
Next year our Fund Raising Lunch will be held on Wednesday, March 22nd in the Church Hall. Funds raised between September 1999 and February 2001 will be shared between the Fellowship and the Deeping St. James Guides.
New members and visitors are always welcome particularly to our meeting on Thursday December 2nd when Neil Mitchell will give an illustrated talk on 'Villages Swallowed Up by the development of Peterborough'.
Joy Cunningham
It was with great regret that we heard on 20th October of the death of our sister in Christ Phyllis Hinson. Phyllis had been taken ill very suddenly a few days before her death with a very severe stroke and it was clear straight away that she was going to leave this life very soon. In the end she left peacefully and we can rejoice that she is at peace with the God whom she loved and served for so long in this world. Young at heart to the very end, she was a gentle and generous person whem everyone who met her had been pleased to know, and although she will therefore be greatly missed, there is plenty for which to be thankful in having known even for as short a time as I have done.
Widowed in 1941 and bringing up her daughter Joy single-handed, Phyllis lived to such an age that she was the last surviving founder member of the Co-op's Retired Employees' Association, and she died still taking a real interest in life and especially in the family she loved.
Sift flour and salt into bowl. Cut margarine into small pieces and rub into flour. Add egg yolk and sugar, and work together to a smooth paste. Roll out pastry thinly and cut into desired shapes.
Lightly whisk egg white, stir in sugar and ground almonds. Blend cornflour with water, add vanilla essence and stir into almond mixture. Place a teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry case and top with almond mixture. Bake at Gas 4, 1800C, 3500F for approximately 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Also Stanley Wright (68) whose funeral took place at Peterborough Crematorium on 31st October.
This is only an extract from some of our magazine. Residents of Deeping St James can subscribe to the printed version.