The Word
The Word
The Upper Waveney Benefice
Bressingham
Fersfield
North Lopham
Roydon
South Lopham
SUNDAY 28th DECEMBER AD2008
TODAY'S WORSHIP
First Sunday of Christmas-White
A warm welcome to everybody in our churches todayAll our worship is offered to the glory of God
The liturgical colour this week is white, the colour of celebration.
Morning Readings
“But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
New Testament: Galatians 4: 4-7Paul explains how the birth of Christ as God’s Son has enabled all people to be adopted as children of God rather than remain slaves to the gods of the world. They receive as their right what they could never hope to achieve without Christ.
Gospel: Luke 2: 15-21
Having heard the good news from the lips of an angel choir, the shepherds set off into Bethlehem to see if it is all true. What they find amazes them.
Gospel: Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All: Glory to you, O Lord.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
Dismissal
Go in peace, go in thanfulness and go in joy to love and serve the Lord.
All: In the name of Christ.Amen.
Rob, Jan, Reg, Pamela, Ben & Rene wish you all a healthy & peaceful New year in 2009
Please Pass on to families
A new prayer published on the Church of England website aims to help people caught up in the current difficult financial situation.
The prayer, at: www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers is one of a range of resources available. More prayers for those worried about debt are already available on the Church's website at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers/#debt.
The prayers are available in conjunction with the Matter of Life and Debt website pages at www.cofe.anglican.org/debt which have been updated to include a resource called the Debt Spiral, allowing website visitors to work out if they are one of the families at risk of getting into serious debt due to the credit crunch.
They also include common sense advice; a downloadable interactive file for working out a household budget; money-saving tips; helpful case studies; and useful links to organisations that can help those in serious debt.
Prayer for the current financial situation
Lord God, we live in disturbing days: across the world, prices rise, debts increase, banks collapse, jobs are taken away, and fragile security is under threat. Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer: be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands, and a light in the darkness; help us receive your gift of peace, and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Children's Christmas Party
Parish Room Roydon Church
Tuesday 30th December
4-6pm
Food-Games etc.
ALL
WELCOME
Sunday 4th January AD2009
6.30pm
Roydon Church
Music, Praise & Worship
All Welcome
Fear not …..
As the Northern Hemisphere days draw in, blinds come down earlier and earlier in the darkening afternoons. Lamps are switched on and fires burn in the grate. Collars are turned up, hats, coats and scarves are donned at the bite of the late-December weather outside. Our thoughts turn towards carols and tree decorations, mince-pies and present wrapping, children’s Nativity plays and family togetherness.
That is - if we have grates to burn fires in, houses to keep out the cold, warm clothes to put on, food to prepare, money for presents, families to love and be loved by. Thoughts turn towards celebrating the ‘Season’ in every corner of the globe. Happy Christmas, we love to say!
But the significance of the season is lost in the clang of cash-registers, the tinsel jangle of ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘I’m dreaming of a White Christmas’ over endless Tannoy systems in countless stores worldwide. It is lost in crassness as people spill drunkenly out of bars in Father Christmas hats and into the streets and transport systems of our cities. Why, as that unique stillness falls upon the earth on Christmas Eve, ‘Do they not know it’s Christmas?’ (as Bob Geldof puts it). It’s not as if the date of Christmas Day has anything to do with the real date of Christ’s birth. More like a pagan festival with Yule logs, consummate consumption and all that.
Yet in spite of ‘all of that’, Christmas is Christmas whatever you believe and wherever you are. To the believer in Christ that unique stillness falls. It is as if the world holds its breath at what is about to happen. ‘Emmanuel, God with us’ is coming into our world, Credit Crunch and all. He’s coming into the muck and mire of the stable, into the panic of the falling stock market, into sub-prime mortgage chaos, into home repossession, unemployment, bankrupt banks and horrible fear.
“Fear not,” said the Angel of the Lord as the glory of the Lord flashed and shone all about the shepherds watching over their flocks by night. ‘For behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all people. For to you is born this day in the town of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Messiah, the Lord.” Glory to God in the Highest!
Olave Snelling
www.upperwaveneybenefice.com
News
Rob & Jan begin their Sabbatical on Thursday; today will be Rob’s last Sunday services until Sunday 5th April (Palm Sunday) although his last service will be in Roydon at 9.30am on Wednesday 31st December.
Reg (641167) and Ben (642174) will be holding the fort while we’re away and Sarah Briscoe (643599) will be the Benefice Co-ordinator who will have my diary; so you will be in very capable hands.
If you are arranging any future events will you please check with Sarah first so that it doesn’t clash with anything else and so that future dates may be put into my diary ready for my return.
Rob & Jan will be in various places during their Sabbatical including Wales, Iona, Mull and Lindisfarne (and possibly some other places). Rob’s son Drew will be in the Rectory but please don’t not bother him with telephone calls.
We will be praying for you during our absence; please pray for us.
Rob
The Upper Waveney Benefice
http://www.upperwaveneybenefice.com/
Ministry Team
Rector: The Rev'd. Rob Mellowship
The Rectory, High Road, Bressingham, Diss IP22 2AT
Tel: 01379 688267 Email: robmellowship@msn.com
Hon. Rector: The Rev'd. Reg Dakin 01379 641167
Hon. Rector: The Rev'd. Ben Sasada 01379 642174
Benefice Co-ordinator: Sarah Briscoe 01379 643599
Readers-Al Torrance, Richard Hewitt & Gladys Knott
.gif){kind=small}