Prestbury Parish Magazine

I shall say this only once

Listen very carefully, says Michelle of the Resistance, I shall say this only once. Her catch phrase became well known while ’Allo! ’Allo! was a popular TV comedy series but I think the same phrase applies to Christmas. The birth of Jesus happened only once and the event has never been repeated. It is as though God is saying – listen very carefully, I shall say this only once. Is it worth asking ourselves whether we have yet concentrated sufficiently hard to hear what God is saying to us through the coming of Jesus? Probably not. Some have even become bored with Christmas because they have lost the capacity to hear the Word of God which it proclaims.

Obviously we are very familiar with some of the Christmas message – superficial and surface meanings and, to be fair, some of the religious meaning. But so much about Christmas has been twisted by familiarity, commercialism and the rest that if we are to hear what God is saying we still need to listen very carefully. The Christmas message is not easily or quickly grasped. Yes, it is party time and fun; yes, it is a time of gifts and gratitude; yes, it is a time for the family; yes, it is a time for wide-eyed wonder along with desires and hopes and expectations; yes, it is a time for happiness together with some other rather mixed emotions. But what is its secret? What is it that God is saying to us to which we must listen very hard?

Sometimes we describe the coming of Jesus as the mystery of the incarnation, by which we mean (at least) two things – presence and silence. The inner truth of Christmas which God wants us to understand is that always he is with us though often he acts silently and in such ways that his creative and redemptive work go unnoticed and unacknowledged: YET STILL IT HAPPENS.

This puzzles us because what we do when we try to act powerfully is noisy, sensation-seeking, dramatic, calculated to make the headlines. Usually we expect God to do the same. But the coming of Jesus reveals how God acts in and through silence and hiddenness. This is how God’s power is released into the world. It takes a lifetime to ponder such truth. Though little by little we learn not to be disturbed when we find God working, powerfully and with real purpose but quietly, unseen and unrecognised. God’s ways are not our ways.

The other word – presence – is the name many of the carols and prayers give to Jesus – Emmanuel – God with us. He is the source of both Christian humility and confidence: two primary qualities which nourish each other and which, in us, release the power of God within the world. Thus at Christmas listening carefully to what God says and does in Christ produces a deep response of wonder, adoration and thankfulness.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded, for with blessings in his hand,
Christ our God, to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand.
                   Alleluia!

Fr Paul

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Prayers in every church every day during Advent

Bishop Michael has asked that, as during Lent, prayers be said in every church of the diocese on every day of Advent. The Worship Committee are aware that within the Parish, it is only on a Tuesday that prayers are not always said in St Mary’s. It is proposed that prayers will be said in St Mary’s at 12 noon on each Tuesday in Advent and that these prayers will be led by a member of the laity. With this in mind a list will be displayed in the porch at St Mary’s requesting people of the parish to sign up to lead prayers on one of these Tuesdays. An outline of a suitable format will be made available to each person or, as happened in Lent, each pair who volunteers.

Please sign up to lead a session, to ensure that, in the Parish of Prestbury, we fulfil Bishop Michael’s request.

John Moles, Worship Committee

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Celebrate! Christmas and New Year

On the Sundays during Advent (27 November & 4, 11 & 18 December) we shall ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Bethlehem’. Do come and join us at St Mary’s church at 9.30am on these Sundays.

Christingle and Crib services are mentioned elsewhere in this magazine.

On Christmas Day come and Celebrate! with us at the usual time of 9.30am, and on New Year’s Day we meet in St Mary’s at 9.30am for a Bring & Share Breakfast.

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Welcome to Nick Kaleniuk

Nick is joining us on placement prior to beginning his training for ordination. He will be in the Team most Sundays and for some weekday events and services. We also welcome Alex and their baby son Nicholas.

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Congratulations!

… to Fr Stephen and Vicky on the birth of their first grandchild a few weeks ago. Please pray for Chris, Nuria and Aleksander as they begin their new life together.

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Journey with Jesus

Once again during Advent we are proposing to send our crib figures of the Holy Family on pilgrimage throughout the Parish to the homes of our congregations – Journey with Jesus. This year two sets of crib figures will be journeying, leaving St Mary’s and St Nicolas’ on Advent Sunday to spend two or three nights with a family before being delivered to the next ‘hosts’. The figures will be returned to the Churches on Christmas Eve.

We are not expecting them to just stay with families with children; this is open to all members of the congregations, and we hope the figures will present an opportunity for the ‘hosts’ to offer hospitality to others at this time. This was an extremely popular activity last year and anyone is welcome to take part. If you are interested in participating in this act of pilgrimage then please speak to Fr Grant or Linda Biggs.

Linda Biggs

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Crib Services

The Crib Service will be at 4pm on Christmas Eve, Saturday 24 December, in St Mary’s church, telling the traditional nativity story with carols. Children are invited to bring gifts for those less fortunate than themselves.

Also on Christmas Eve, at 6pm in St Nicolas’ there will be a Candlelit Nativity Service, the traditional nativity story with carols by candlelight. Again, children are invited to bring gifts for those less fortunate than themselves.

Linda Biggs

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Youth Group Dates

Elevate Christmas Party Sunday 11 December; restarts 8 January
Synergy Christmas Party Sunday 11 December; restarts 8 January

The Lounge Christmas Party Tuesday 13 December; restarts 10 January
The Space Christmas Party Thursday 14 December; restarts 12 January

Youth Team Social – Saturday 17 December from 7pm
Youth Team Meeting Thursday 5 January 7.30pm St Nicolas’ Lounge

For more info: Andy Macauly, youthprestbury.net

Sunday Club/School term dates

Sunday Club will end on 11 December and begin again on Sunday 8 January.

Linda Biggs

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Mothers’ Union

The Mothers’ Union prayer has, for a long time, been under review as the wording of it has affected some families (especially in Africa) for whom the concept of marriage may not quite be the same as it used to be for many of us. The revised prayer has now been issued and I print it for your information. You will see that the strengthening and support of marriage and family life is now very much the key issue. If any readers have felt unable to join us because of the old wording, please ring me and I will be more than happy to talk to you about it.

Marion Beagley

Mothers’ Union Prayer

We thank you for your love so freely given to us all.
We pray for families around the world.
Bless the work of the Mothers’ Union as we seek to share your love, through the encouragement, strengthening and support of marriage and family life.
Empowered by your Spirit, may we be united in prayer and worship, and in love and service reach out as your hands across the world.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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And up she goes…!

We send our love and prayers with Sarah Lyle over the next six months as she sets out on 12 December to cycle from the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea, to the highest, Everest! Sarah, with a team of five others, will cycle through Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal and China, arriving at Everest in early April. At base camp they will swap bikes for boots and spend 6-8 weeks on the mountain culminating, they hope, in a cyclist reaching the summit. The team is due back home in early June.

The expedition is raising funds for three charities, SOS Children’s Villages, Merlin and Practical Action. You can find out more about the expedition and the charities through the website, www.everestmax.com.

We shall also be thinking of those left in the UK waiting for their safe return. (Sarah has asked us please to give her mum and dad lots of hugs!)

Editor

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Parish Office on the Move!

At its recent meeting, the PCC agreed to relocate the Team Office from Fr Stephen’s study in the Rectory to what is presently the choir vestry in St Nicolas’ Church. The reason for this move is in anticipation of the time when the Rectory will be vacant. The Diocese will want it to be clear during an interregnum and also we cannot assume that any future occupant will wish to have the office in his home. The use of the choir vestry at St Nicolas’ will involve the choir moving into the ambulatory. The fabric committee consider this option is the lowest cost solution, one that can be carried out in a short amount of time and also one that can be reversed if necessary. Work will begin in the New Year.

Fr Michael

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Africa Calling, Africa Calling

Gloucestershire Mothers’ Union is linked with several dioceses overseas, one of them being Bukavu Diocese in the Congo. Over recent years the Congo has suffered tremendous hardship through war and coping with refugees from other troubled surrounding countries. The MU are planning to send a container of useful goods to Bukavu Diocese to help the people of the area rebuild their shattered lives.

Listed below are the articles we are collecting and during January there will be boxes in our churches in which to leave things. Should anyone have large articles to donate please give me a call since fitting garden tools into the box might be difficult! Please do try to help, these people really appreciate your generosity.

We are appealing for the following:

• Underwear, especially girls’ knickers, for school age children (up to age 10-12). They are not allowed to attend school without!
• White shirts/blouses or white T-shirts, black shoes (not trainers), socks, blue or black trousers (not grey), again for school age children. The culture of the country, like many African places, means that a child cannot go to school unless in uniform, which is the same for all schools.
• Carpentry hand tools in usable condition – NOT electrical as these go out into the bush. There is a school for former boy-soldiers where they learn woodworking skills, and will take these skills back to their own villages.
• Garden tools – again in usable condition, we are not able to refurbish very worn or broken tools.
•  Hand sewing machines
•  Sewing cottons and embroidery threads – reels should be at least half full to make them worth sending out.

Thank you for your help.

Ruth Shaw

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Inspired?

To trick or to treat…? Bishop Michael pointed out on All Hallows’ Eve that there was another option – to celebrate the victory of God’s light over darkness. The whole Inspire youth event in Gloucester Cathedral was a celebration of that ongoing victory, and in particular of those who inspire us in our faith.

Synergy planned and set up a zone exploring songs that inspire. This included a range from a hymn to a full on rock track, from hip hop to a kid’s song. People had the opportunity to just chill, listen to the music on personal stereos and then add their comments to the lyric sheets laid out (oh and there were chocky bickies and cushions too).

One young person said the zone had helped them to think about the possible meaning of apparently ‘secular’ songs in a new way. Another adult commented that they had been able to reconnect with God in a special way which they had lost since when they were first a Christian.

The event as a whole had such a sense of energy. There were so many fantastic zones set up around the cathedral. It felt so significant to have a packed cathedral of young people finishing the evening worshipping together at such an important time of year.

Thanks to all those who helped make it possible.

Andy Macauly

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Quiz Night

A fun evening was held in Prestbury Hall with eight teams pitting their wits against each other. Michael and Noel Brick came up with a good selection of questions, some easy and some hard and at times one could hear the brains working overtime. The outright winners were ‘The Clueless Team’ – well done to them. We raised £119.00 for the NSPCC so it was a very worthwhile exercise.

We think it is well worth repeating and have booked St Nicolas’ Hall for another session; so put Saturday 21 January 2006 at 7pm in your diaries now. Thanks go to the Brick Family and to all who supported us.

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Remember the Summer?

As the nights draw in and the joy of Christmas approaches, the children from Rockers would like to take you back to those long and far off days of summer…

This year Rockers celebrated our 30th anniversary and that gave us the perfect excuse for a Summer Party! We took over the Rectory garden for an afternoon at the end of the school year in July and filled it with toys, games and, above all, fun.

The children, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents of the current generation of Rockers, were joined by some previous – dare we say old? – Rockers and their families and the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves playing with the toys and the ball pool. They especially liked the feet painting and making footprints on the banner which was part of the afternoon’s story about hands and feet.

Fr Grant, Fr Michael and Fr Stephen joined us and soon became honorary play leaders; as you can see from the pictures everyone had a fantastic and fun-filled time.

We are always pleased to welcome new members to join us on Thursday afternoons from 2.00 - 2.45 pm in St Mary’s church for a story, song and a chance to meet new friends. This term ends on 15 December and we restart after Christmas on 5 January 2006. Please come along and see for yourselves.

Hilary Brick

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A Very BIG Thank You!

… to Caroline Sexton, who compiled and edited the October and November magazines for me, and also to the rest of the team (Cyril, Ken, Fr Michael, Brian and Shirley) for their continuing support throughout the year.

The deadline for the February magazine will be Sunday 15 January 2006. Please send copy in an envelope clearly marked ‘Parish Magazine’, or email magazineprestbury.net.

(All Saints’ will have a January magazine, deadline second Sunday in December. Please send items for All Saints’ direct to Tim Winder or email magazineallsaintschelt.net.)

Frances Murton, Editor

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Patronal Pudding Evening – Saturday 3 December

Another mouth-watering event from the Stewardship Team is the Puddings Evening at St Nicolas’ on Saturday 3 December at 7pm. (Please note change of date.) Do join us for this fun evening of fellowship and fantastic food! For tickets (priced £2.50) and further information please contact Marion Beagley.

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Images of Christmas – the Nativity in Art

A one-off Advent evening at All Saints’ presented by Vivian Northcote, retired Deaconess from the Diocese of London, on Thursday 1 December, 7.45pm - 9.15pm, followed by a break for refreshments and an opportunity for group discussion. Amid the hustle and bustle of preparations for a commercial Christmas, set aside one evening to think about the real meaning behind the tinsel and turkey.

Jen Swinbank

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Christingle Service 2005
– Shining light into darkness…

Join us for this special service at St Mary’s Church, Prestbury, on Sunday 11 December at 4.00pm.

Come and be part of this service to raise funds for The Children’s Society. This year the charity aims to collect one million pounds – to help children who are runaways or have been forced from their homes. We are one of 5,000 churches and schools across the country holding a Christingle service to help the charity continue its good work.

Bring along a collection box containing whatever contribution you can raise. Children will receive a Christingle – an orange bearing a candle, red ribbon and decorated with sweets. The highlight of the service is when all the Christingle candles are lit, shining light into darkness.

Please come and join us!  If you would like a collecting box to bring to the service please contact Jane Turner or Rachael Buttress.

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The World Vision Alternative Christmas Card

This will be available in church again in December to provide you with the opportunity to greet all your friends in one fell swoop and at the same time contribute to the relief of suffering in the world. You just sign your greetings and place your donation in one of the gift envelopes. World Vision has an international commitment, founded on belief in Jesus Christ, to provide compassionate help to those in need irrespective of religious beliefs. Want to know more? Ask us.

Margarets Holman & Waker

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Carols at the Supermarkets – Saturday morning 17 December

Our choirs will be singing carols for Christian Aid:
St Nicolas’ at Tesco’s in Collets Drive from 10-11am,
St Mary’s at Sainsbury’s from 11-12.
They would be VERY grateful if other members of the congregations could join them, even if only for a few minutes before or after shopping.

Gill Ashman & Paddy Spurgeon

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Prestbury Mothers’ Union

Our next meeting is a bring and share meal at the home of Ruth Shaw on Tuesday 20 December from 7.30pm. All are welcome.
The first meeting in the New Year will be on Tuesday 24 January at 7.30pm. Please see the pewsheet for details of the venue.

Marion Beagley

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St Mary’s Bakestall

Although we have a month ‘off’ in December (no bakestall), may we encourage you ALL to participate in January on the third Sunday in the month, January 15th? The results of our combined effort will be sent to the continuing earthquake relief appeal.

Margaret Waker & Linda Matthews

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Christian Aid

Many thanks to those who contributed to the Red Bucket Appeal for victims of the earthquake in Pakistan. A total of £580 was collected at St Mary’s and St Nicolas’ and sent to Christian Aid.
Gill Ashman & Paddy Spurgeon

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