THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY

Christmas is on its way!

We started heading towards Christmas a couple of weeks ago - with two well attended Advent services (Stickland and Clenston) to prepare the way. This week we have had the start of Milton Abbas' Christmas tree festival - the family carol service had a very enjoyable version of the Twelve days of Christmas performed by the Drama group ( Look out for a giraffe if you are visiting!).

Whitechurch had a very festive carol service with the Scouts and Cubs performing 'Away in a Manger' with real confidence. The church looked wonderful by candlelight and scented with the beautiful flowers from Chris and Sarah-Jayne's wedding the day before.

On Monday morning Dunbury Academy, (Whitechurch base) squeezed into St Mary's Stickland, to sing carols to all the Coffee Potters and give a Christmas card to all who were there.

There is still lots more to enjoy in the benefice before we reach the big day - do check out all that is happening. There's nothing better than celebrating with others and raising the church roofs with our voices!

Top Ten Ways Churches Drive Away First-time Guests

Top Ten Ways Churches Drive Away First-time Guests

This is certainly worth a read! (Click on the link to read more.)We want to see our churches grow but are we really doing everything we can to welcome people? It's so easy to stop seeing 'our' church with fresh eyes because it feels so very comfortable. This comfort could be mistaken for complacency and we could be, in fact, shutting our church doors to others.

Bishop's Thought

Bishop of Sherborne

By Dr Graham Kings, Bishop of Sherborne

Deep conversations sometimes happen in unusual circumstances. Over drinks recently, a lawyer asked me quietly about innocent suffering. How can a God of love and power allow it?
I said that there is no satisfying answer this side of heaven, but that there are hints and signposts in the celebrations of Christmas and Easter. By now we were moving through to dinner and there was little time to elaborate.
I mentioned that a lot depends on our view of God.
If we see him as sitting on the edge of the universe, peering down on us and twiddling his thumbs, then there is little hope of hints and signposts. But if we allow the heart of Christmas and Easter to shape our view of God, then things change perspective. He was intrigued.
Over coffee, we continued. At Christmas, Christians believe that God became a vulnerable baby. He was nearly killed by Herod’s troops, but escaped to Egypt.
Our view of God should encompass God himself becoming vulnerable to innocent suffering.
Some say: ‘If God made the world with all this suffering, then he should clear it up and pay for it.’ In reply, we may only point towards the cross: ‘We believe that indeed is the heart of Good Friday.’
It is the linking of the messages of Christmas and Easter which opens up imaginations. Who was it who was born and died? One baby among many? One man among many?
If Jesus was - and indeed is - God as a real human being, then God himself has experienced innocent suffering. We discussed these ideas and agreed to meet again.
May God expand our imaginations this Advent and Christmastide.

Advent -take time, slow down, open up

Pews News 7th December

Dear Reader,

This time of year is known in the Christian church as ‘Advent’. Advent is derived from the Latin word "Adventus" which means "arrival". . I wonder what Advent means to you? Is it the countdown for getting everything ready for Christmas Day? The list seems to on and on: the turkey, the cards, the pudding, the cake, the presents...!  

Or is Advent about something else? I am drawn to thinking about it as a period of time where we can look for the small but perceptible presence of God in our lives - and in the world. If we don't do that, then what is Christmas all about? It will be about that list of things - and when Christmas Day is over, we will be clearing away the debris and being glad that it is all finished for another year - and nothing else will have changed either.

Christmas isn't supposed to be like that. For Christmas to be different, we have to do Advent differently. Advent draws us to the present moment, to a still, yet active commitment to the life we live now. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a vulnerable baby who depended totally on others for his survival. Are you prepared to depend on Him in your life?

  Alan

The General Synod 2014

Our prayers should be for everyone in Iraq and Syria!

Last week, I attended the General Synod of the C of E for the final part of the Women Bishops saga. Thank goodness that is behind us! Although I sometimes ask myself what I am doing in that impressive chamber in Church House, it is times like Tuesday morning that make it all worthwhile.

 
I listened to a panel discussion about Iraq and Syria between an imam (the first time a Muslim had ever addressed Synod), a bishop from the Coptic Church (Egypt based), an Anglican aid worker and the Bishop of Leeds who has recently been pushing our Government to do more for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Although I spent nearly 10 years working in the Middle East, such discussions just reinforce the complexities of the region. To share just a few learnings:

-          The Islamic world is as shocked as we are about what is going on with IS

-          Whereas Christians were the target of IS, now the Sunni Moslem communities are experiencing the same atrocities. If someone refuses to join IS, they are beheaded or even worse, their children are killed.

-          Christian and Islamic leaders are working together for peace.

 
It was so encouraging to see leaders of the Coptic Church and Islam sharing a platform for peace and it was equally encouraging to see our own Archbishop and an Islamic leader clearly working together. The message was clear: mutual respect and love will be the basis peace in those countries and the wider Middle East.

 On Friday, I was equally encouraged to listen to Canon Andrew White (‘the vicar of Baghdad’) speaking in Wareham. He has spent years working for reconciliation in Iraq and is now based in Israel and working for reconciliation between Jew and Palestinian. Although he shared a number of shocking stories about the plight of both Christian and Moslem, there are two key messages I took away:

-          As Christians, we should not be taking sides but should be praying for all parties, for peace and reconciliation.

-          A quote from Henry Longfellow: our enemy is the person whose story we have never heard.

According to Andrew White, this quote underpins all successful reconciliation. Indeed, we all have a story that probably drives our own behaviour.

 
I finished the week feeling that there is hope for the Middle East and that as we move into Advent, this is the time to share our real hope. Let’s continue to pray for peace and reconciliation, and expect it!

Ian Bromilow

 

Christmas Tree Festival at Milton Abbas

 

As the Christmas Tree Festival in St James Church last year was so successful, we are pleased to announce that we will be holding another event this year beginning Saturday 13 December and continuing through until 6 January 2015. The theme this year is'Peace'. You are asked to choose a poem or song about peace and display it with your tree.

 

On Saturday 13 at 5.00pm there will be a Family Carol Service followed by mulled wine and mince pies. We do hope you will be able to join us.

 

It is a great chance for sponsors to show the theme in an imaginative and festive way and be a part of a unique mixture of heritage, community expression and fun. During the festival and throughout the Christmas period, the public will be invited to wander through the forest of decorated trees and soak up the festive atmosphere.

 

 

Families, individuals and organisations are invited to support this sparkling event by providing a tree in the Church either artificial or real and decorating it in keeping with this year's theme of 'peace' together with an appropriate poem or song. There will be a charge of £5.00 to cover the cost of the extra electricity used during that period. Please contact Unity on 01258 880240 or unityjoy4@aol.com  for further information.

 

Warm wishes

Unity-Joy

unityjoy4@aol.com