Do you see what I see?

Every year, I become accidentally obsessed with a Christmas song. It is never intentional. It just gets under my skin.

One year, it was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing The First Noel. It gave me shivers.

Last year, it was Michael Card's Immanuel. I'll be honest- this one was part excellent words, part arrangement that sounds a lot like Muppet Christmas Carol. 

This year, we have a surprise winner. Do you hear what I hear? 

The night wind whispers to a little lamb to look up and see a star with a tail as big as a kite. 

The lamb talks (problematic, but true) to a shepherd boy, asking if he, too, hears a song with a voice as big as the sea. 

The shepherd boy asks a mighty king (he clearly has connections...) if he knows that there is a child worthy of silver and gold. 

And the king tells the people everywhere to pray for peace, because there is a child who will bring goodness and light.

Yes, I know it's weird.

There's something, however, which is lovely about this song. It conjures up images of the whole of creation waiting on tiptoe to see the birth of Immanuel, the one whose voice alone is as big as the seas. It reclaims the beauty of creation as a whisper of the good news of Jesus.

It makes me want to approach everyone I know, and ask: do you know what I know? 

We've had some cracking sermons over this Christmas period so far, and I really encourage you to go and listen to them again, and dig in to the Christmas story.

One of the things that I've heard that has really stuck with me, was that Christmas is not just about the once-for-all birth of Jesus. There's a great line in a Graham Kendrick song that says: "If we keep Him in the manger, then there is no danger, from the Christmas Child." It's tempting to keep Jesus in the manger. To just have this as a lovely story, and carefully pack Him away again in the New Year.

But, no. Christmas is about the on-going Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Jesus, God-with-us, is with us today, making a difference in our lives today. And tomorrow. And throughout Christmas. And through the New Year. And on and on and on ...

So look for the signs of God-with-us, listen for the voice that has been from the beginning, and is as big as the sea and then tell others what you know.

Happy Christmas.

Messy Church and more...

We had Messy Church last week. It was a wonderful time, and we had more than double the number of children there than the time before! A huge thank you to everyone who was involved, and to everyone who prayed for the event.
If you hadn't noticed, Christmas is coming! Head over to our Special Services page, and Special Events to see more info on things coming up!

Messy Christmas is coming to town

See here for more information,
and hope to see you there!

Events coming up

We've got lots of exciting things coming up soon, so please do put them all in your diary, 

and whether you can come to them, or pray for them, please do so!

We are incredibly privileged to get to work, using The Hub, using its brilliant resources, and with the amazing team who manage it for five years now. There will therefore be a service this week at St. Mary's Lawford at 7.30pm, celebrating the first five years, looking forward to the future, and launching the exciting fundraising campaign to buy the building. Please do come along to find out more, to praise God for everything that has happened, and to pray together for the future. Everyone welcome!

It's Harvest time in the Benefice! Please see the above poster for service and event information. Everyone is, of course, welcome to everything! One of those is:

Please do come along and support the Barn Dance. This will be a lovely community event, both for the Church and the wider community. Please book your tickets as soon as possible!

In other news:

• we have another Messy Church event! It'll be on Thursday 2 Ocotober, 4.30pm-6.30pm at Mistley Norman School. More information to come very soon!
• Frank James is coming back for another concert supporting the wonderful work of Engalynx! It'll be on Saturday 4 October, 12.00pm at Mistley Church. Tickets cost £7 including coffee before and a finger buffet!
• finally, speaking of The Hub, we are starting a Credit Union from The Hub, every Friday (starting this Friday!), 10.30am-12.00pm. Come along and find out more!

Happy New Year...wait

No, you didn't fall asleep for four months. Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, is just around the corner.

Rosh Hashanah is the Feast of Trumpets- the first of the High Holy Days, and is believed to be the anniversary of the creation of the world. It's a time for people to think about their priorities in life and to reflect on what has been achieved in the past year. It's a time of asking for forgiveness for wrongdoings. It's a chance for Jews to ask questions about their actions throughout the year. Questions considered during Rosh Hashanah include:

• What's the most meaningful thing in my life?

• Who in my life means the most to me? How often do I let them know this?

• What are the most significant things I've achieved in the past year?

• What do I hope to achieve next year and in my life generally?

OK, I get it, this is an Anglican Church community, and no, we didn't suddenly, secretly, become Jewish. These are, however, great questions, and at this time, with the farming year cycling round again to Harvest, and the schools returning for another year, it's a great opportunity for us to re-evaluate and think about what's important.

However our various different summers have looked, now is the perfect time to start again, whether we are continuing in the things we were doing before, or looking towards doing new things. Some of things might be exciting, and some might be scary. Some of them we might be dreading, and some we might be thinking that it's all very well, but how is it significant? What is it actually achieving?

Here's the thing: it's incredibly easy to only feel of any spiritual value when you're doing something big and bold. Talking to someone about Jesus who has no idea of who He is. Heading out on Mission trips. Starting a new initiative. These things are really important and we should be doing more and more of the exhilarating, exciting things that God calls us into. However, it doesn't make doing the little things, the normal things, the things that no one else notices, any less important. 

One of my favourite songs, which I find so encouraging that I sing, at full volume, whenever it's on, is this:

While I may not know you, I bet I know 

you wonder sometimes, "does it matter at all?" 

Let me remind you: it all matters 

just as long as you do everything you do 

to the glory of the One who made you,

'cause He made you to do every little thing that you do 

to bring a smile to His face

and tell the story of grace with every move that you make

and every little thing you do!

Feeding orphans in Myanmar? Sweeping up Cheerios? Matching socks or dining in a five star restaurant: it all matters as long as we're doing it to the glory of God. Isn't that encouraging? I hope you find it so at the beginning of this season. 

Happy New Year!

Some Rosh Hashanah information from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/judaism/rosh_hashanah.shtml

Why, yes! It is happening again...no, you didn't dream it.

We are having another pet service! I'll tell you, there were several of us who were not sure about this last year, and yet it turned out to be one of the loveliest services of the summer. Please come along to this family-friendly service which will hopefully be outdoors- bring your family, bring your friends, and bring your pets! The service will be at 10.30am at Mistley Church.

There will also be a service as part of the St Lawrence weekend up at Bradfield at the same time, if a pet service doesn't quite appeal! It's at 10.30am at Bradfield Church. There will also be lunch together afterwards, to which everyone, no matter which service you've been to, is welcome!

Just a few of last year's pets!

Life recently...

Between everything that has been going on, and updating the website ( do let us know what you think!) we now have even more to share of what we've been doing.

Bradfield Open Gardens
The Open Gardens event, put on by the Friends of St. Lawrence Church, Bradfield, was a great event! Thank you to everyone who joined in, either paying to see the gardens, working hard to get the gardens ready, or working on the event itself. The overall profit was £1766 which is one of the highest ever. This was the 21st time the event had taken place, and in total it has raised £28,448 between 1991 and 2014. The money will now be used to clean and repair the stained glass windows of St Lawrence Church.

As Sue, our Churchwarden at Bradfield said:

On behalf of the Congregation of St Lawrence Church, may I thank Norma Barrow and all her team. Also the garden owners for a wonderful day on Sunday 22nd June. The gardens looked beautiful and the funds raised were the second best ever.
I know the hard work which is put in by Norma to make sure it all runs smoothly and to provide lunches as well as making sure the Barrow garden looks great.
Thank you for all your efforts

Sue Reeve

Churchwarden

We agree! Thank you to everyone! If you missed it, or you want to re-live it, click here to see a small tonnage of photos of the event.

Bradfield Friends are also running another event soon! Con Spirito will be having a concert at Bradfield Church, followed by a finger buffet. Please click here for more information, and do get your tickets early!

Claire's Ordination
Claire Scargill was ordained as a Deacon last Saturday (28 June) at Chelmsford Cathedral. See here for some pictures from the day. Claire also sent me this photo this week, which, if you're eagle-eyed you'll note includes herself, Chris, and the Bishop!

Thank you, Claire, and congratulations!