This edition of St Mary’s News starts with the Advent Experience of Posada, and continues with other news including:
- Remembrance Services,
- Christmas Shoebox Appeal,
- Happy New Year (yes that’s right),
- The START Course, and
- the usual listings of services and contacts.
The Advent Experience of Posada
Posada originates from Mexico where people dress as Mary and Joseph and re-enact the journey to Bethlehem, travelling from house to house asking for a place to stay (the word Posada means an inn). In recent years, this idea has been modified by churches in this country by sending the figures of Mary and Joseph and the donkey from house to house during Advent.
This year, we are offering the Posada experience in our village. From Sunday 27th November until Christmas Day, figures representing Mary and Joseph will travel round our community from home to home, stopping by arrangement, where there is a place for them and a warm welcome waiting.
Going from Home to Home
Night after night, the figures are taken from one host home to another. Hospitality, the lighting of a candle and a simple act of worship are shared, and there is time to reflect on what Advent means. At each handover, two groups of people are linked—one in hosting, the other in visiting. The two groups might not know each other very well, or even at all, but it’s a wonderful way to get to know people in your community.
Would you like to take part?
The Posada experience is for everyone—for people of all ages and for those who live alone as well as those with families. If you would like to offer hospitality to Mary and Joseph for one night during Advent you can sign up on the list available in church. For more information, please contact Heather on [email protected] or 07503 151715.
Remembrance Service
We look forward to welcoming the West Bergholt Concert Band and the village’s Scouts and Guides groups to our Remembrance Sunday service on 13th November at St Mary’s (new church) at 10.45am.
Christmas Shoebox Appeal
A reminder that individual items or filled shoe boxes for the Samaritan’s Purse Project Operation Christmas Child need to be left in the church by Monday 14th November.
Pre-printed shoeboxes are available in church.
You can read more about this year’s beneficiaries (Ukraine) here in last months edition.
Happy New Year!
Here we are in the season of remembrance, thinking about Advent (27th November) and the start of another year in the Church’s calendar. And we’re on the threshold of 2023, wondering where all the time goes. There’s a social science theory about how time seems to go more quickly as we become older, and it runs something like this.
When you’re five years old, another year represents an additional one-fifth (20%) of your life – but when you’re fifty, another year represents only an additional one-fiftieth (2%) of your life. So time appears to go more quickly as the years progress because each additional year represents a smaller fraction of our lives.
New Vistas
The new James Webb space telescope has opened up amazing new vistas on the universe for us, but we have to remember that we’re viewing space in delayed time. Because of the time it takes for light to travel, when we see the sun (carefully!) we’re seeing it as it was around eight minutes ago.
Apart from the sun, the nearest star to earth is Alpha Centauri and the light takes more than four years to reach us from there. Everything we see in the night sky belongs to the past. I was encouraged that the recent Lambeth Conference of world-wide bishops affirmed that there is no conflict between science and the Christian faith.
Trapped In Time
Human experience appears to be trapped in time, in much the same way as the experience of fish is trapped in water. However, it is my contention that God is outside and beyond both time and space – and I believe that is where our ultimate destinies lie. The Christian perspective and terminology for this is eternal life in heaven.
We are assured in Revelation 21.5 that God makes all things new – so happy new year! The photograph above shows a Mahonia bush in flower to celebrate the coming of another year, both ecclesiastical and calendar.
With best wishes,
Michael Foster
The START Course
Got questions about life and the Christian faith and looking for answers? Then why not make a START! It’s a 6-week course designed to help people discover the basics of the Christian faith. Each session lasts about 90 minutes and involves watching a short film clip with time for questions afterwards.
The sessions will take place at The Rectory, 1 Church Close, West Bergholt at 11am on the following dates: 3, 10, 17 & 24 November and 1 & 8 December. All are welcome. For more details please contact Rev Heather or Liz Dixon (contact details below).
Services & Other Dates
| 3rd November | START course begins | |
| 6th November | 9:30 am | Holy Communion |
| 13th November | 10:45 am | Remembrance Service in Church |
| 14th November | Operation Shoebox Deadline | |
| 20th November | 9:30 am | Holy Communion |
| 27th November | 9:30 am | Café Church |
| Posada starts |
Our Team at St Mary’s
- Priest in Charge: Revd. Heather Wilcox
email: [email protected]
tel: 01206 240906 or 07503 151715 - Assistant Curate: Revd Anne Mason
email: [email protected].
tel: 07895 970834 (Sunday & Tuesday – Thursday). - Church Wardens:
Peter & Caroline Finlay, — [email protected] or 07926 387551 and
Kate & Stephen Penrose, — 07973 421306 - Licensed Lay Ministers (LLMs):
Richard Chadborn—01206 240541;
Michael Foster—01206 241022;
Joy Budden—01206 241871;
Liz Dixon—07914 001212. - Parish Evangelist
Ron Seymour—01206 272579. - Church Administrator:
Donna Luxton — 01206 243683,
email: [email protected].
Church Office Hours — Monday – Friday 10 am – midday. - Hall Bookings:
Nicole Long—01206 240443. - Newsletter Editor:
Liz Dixon
tel: 07914 001212
email: [email protected]. - Website: Stmaryswestbergholt.co.uk
- Follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/stmaryswestbergholt.