Christmas is coming and we have lots of events going on in the church to mark this special time of year. If you enjoy singing then the Scratch Messiah at All Saints Church on Saturday 5th December is a treat.
The rehearsal begins at 10 o’clock in the church and the performance is at 7.30 pm. Tickets cost £5 to hear the concert, and they are available on 01865 874404. On Sunday 6th December there is a Christingle service at 9.30 am at church where we will be handing out Christingles and collecting for the Children’s Society. If you don’t know what a Christingle represents, then come along and find out. Our Christmas celebrations begin on Christmas Eve when we will be having a crib service in the church specially for children and the young at heart. Then later that day the traditional service of midnight mass will take place at 11.30 pm on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning there is a communion service for all the family at 9.30 am. We do hope you will be able to join us at one of these events and share with us the wonder and joy of this special time.
A warm thank you to everyone who helped out at the Songs of Praise service last month and made it such a wonderful village event. It reminded me of just how much All Saints church means to everyone in this village and beyond. Mary Saunders, the former secretary to the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches, tells the salutary tale of going into a church which had been taken over by the National Trust. While a fierce supporter of that organisation she could not help feeling that with the loss of a congregation and priest the very heart of the church had been ripped out and all that was left was a historic shell that people wandered about in idle curiosity. I thank God every day that this is not the case and there is a vibrant, if small worshipping community here at this medieval church of Cuddesdon. But we are only just financially breaking even and our situation is tenuous. In order to ensure that All Saints continues to be a place of living holiness, we are planning to hold a campaign to run between Christmas and Easter to discuss our financial situation, reflect on it in spiritual terms and encourage everyone to contribute in any way they can to the life of a place which holds so much significance to all of us. In order to help us in the venture the bishop of Dorchester, Colin Fletcher, is coming to preach at St Mary’s in Garsington for a special service on Sunday 7th February at 9.30 am, to which you are all invited.
Finally, you will have heard many things in your papers recently about the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. Here in the Cluster, Father David Hartley from Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church and myself are hoping to build upon the friendship between our two churches by doing a pulpit swap at St Mary’s in Garsington during the week of prayer for Christian unity. So on 17th January I shall be at Sacred Heart and Father David will be with me at St Mary’s on 24th January. We do hope it will be a good event and pray that we may live up to Jesus’ wishes that we ‘may all be one’.
I hope you have found this article helpful. If you would like me to pay you a pastoral visit or would like to receive communion at home, please do not hesitate to contact me on 361381.
Wishing you every joy and blessing this Christmas time.
Emma
Services in January:
3rd January – Epiphany
8.00 am Holy Communion
9.30 am Family Service for Epiphany
10th January – The Baptism of Christ
9.30 am Parish Communion with renewal of baptismal vows
3-4.30 pm Messy Church at Horspath Methodist Chapel
17th January – The Second Sunday of Epiphany
8.00 am Holy Communion
9.30 am Parish Communion
24th January – The Third Sunday of Epiphany
9.30 am Parish Communion
31st January – Candlemas
9.30 am Family Communion for Candlemas
7th February - The Second Sunday before Lent
9.30 am Cluster Service with Bishop Colin at St Mary’s Garsington
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