Author: Andrea Jones

I have seen on social media that this year, which most people would say has hardly been the best year ever, that people are putting their Christmas trees and decorations up early – even earlier than normal.  The argument is that we need to have something to celebrate. Now I know that over the years Christmas has started to arrive earlier and earlier.  Few of us decorate our trees on Christmas Eve – I certainly don’t I am too busy that day! In more ordinary times we sing carols throughout December and most of us have had more than one social gathering to celebrate Christmas by the time the 25^th December arrives. I also appreciate the need to say we are not defeated by this virus and we will celebrate this year whatever the restrictions but I do think that if we miss the season of Advent out altogether we lose something very precious.

For some people, my grandson included, the most notable thing about Advent is opening that little door on the calendar every day and getting a chocolate but Advent is of course much more than that.

Advent is an opportunity to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus Christ.  It is a time of waiting but also of being ready. Our Gospel reading for Advent Sunday this year urges us to be vigilant – “Be on watch, be alert for you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 31:33).  

The weeks before Christmas are all about preparing.  It is a time of lists!  But let’s be honest a lot of those lists are about buying presents and wrapping them, ordering food and writing cards.  However, it is just as important that we prepare ourselves spiritually for the coming of Jesus.  It is important that we stay vigilant, and be alert to the numerous ways that God can speak to us in our everyday lives.

We can do that by allowing ourselves a little bit more time to pray each day (you might join us for Night Prayer on Facebook each evening, or try the Pray as You Go app).   We also hold a Zoom Compline service every Tuesday evening at 7.00 pm which during Advent will also include a time of reflection. Some people like to spend a little time each day in silence, perhaps spending a little time reflecting on the daily Bible passages given on our newssheet.  Prayer walking is another way.  I find walking the paths around our village helps me be  more aware of  God’s creation. There are numerous ways of being attentive to God, of letting God into our lives and Advent is an opportunity to find a little bit more time to do that.  It is also very refreshing amongst all the other busy preparations for the “big day”.

Marking the season of Advent in these ways is just as uplifting as putting up your Christmas tree early.  I hope you will join us and travel through this season together.

Inaugural message from The Rector, Rev’d. Andrea Jones

October

As the seasons of the Church’s year unfold they cover all aspects of our human experience.   We have times we celebrate with joy (Easter), times of saying sorry (Ash Wednesday), times of feasting like Christmas and times of abstinence like Lent.  The different services and traditions we hold and keep help us to feel closer to God.  On Ash Wednesday we mark our foreheads with ash, on Good Friday we kneel before a cross, at Christmas we sing traditional songs and welcome the new born Jesus in a service at Midnight and on Easter morning we gather at dawn in the cross in our churchyard to celebrate Jesus’ defeat of death.  These rituals are important to us. They are very important to me and have been all my life.

This year with the arrival of Covid-19 everything changed. During the holiest week of the Church’s year our church doors were locked. We could not celebrate together the Risen Christ at dawn. We could not light candles at All Souls to remember those who have died.  When our churches re-opened services we have not been able to sing and we have to follow new regulations to keep us safe.  I mourn a lot of what we cannot share at this time – not least the friendship and camaraderie of our social events and the fact we shared handshakes and hugs – touching is now denied us.

However, this stripping away of so much of what we are used to has made me realise afresh that God is with us, still with us, always with us whatever we are going through. Most of my life I have felt pretty much in control of things.  Now it can feel like things have spiralled out of control. We are anxious about the future, we face restrictions on our freedom, which even though necessary, are unprecedented in peace time.  Yet God is still with us. I once met with some Pakistani Christians who visited the Diocese of Manchester from the Diocese of Lahore. They faced terrible persecution in Pakistan as well as being at the “bottom of the heap” in the eyes of society. Yet their faith shone through and they never doubted that God was with them.  I feel I have much to learn from Christians who don’t have it as easy as I do.

And in the midst of the pandemic the Holy Spirit is at work! New creative things have happened in lockdown. Different ways of worshipping God and sharing our Good News have appeared.  Not everyone can meet on Zoom but it is a way of many of us being able to share in worship on those Sundays when churches are not allowed to open.   The clergy team who are a rather disparate lot geographically now meet not just twice a week but daily for Morning Prayer.  The Celtic Compline services which we post on Facebook are seen by many – we have even had feedback from Australia.  We’ve seen lots of new ideas about sharing and fundraising and being together.

Hello from the Rector, Reverend Andrea Jones. Hope you enjoy reading about our beautiful church. Do come and join us: we have a service every Sunday at 8.00am & 10.00am. Before attending, please ring the Church Office on 01244 534912 for an update on the ‘social distancing’ measures currently in place. We will talk again soon…