Activities | History | Nurture

December and January magazine

stjohnstmarkchurchburySaturday, November 26, 2022

Please see a link below to the digital version of our bumper December and January magazine. Paper copies can be picked up from our 2 churches from this Sunday.

Inside this extended edition we have news and views and Christmas greetings. There’s also a tribute to our dear friend Meg Schofield and an article on The Great Invitation. This is where we’re being invited to action and prayer as we follow the star and find out more about the person of Jesus.

The December and January magazine also has this letter from Barbara…

Endings and beginnings

What a year it’s been!

For Nigel and myself, it probably is one that we want to move on from, for very many reasons, not to forget but to move on from.

December – the ending of a year, can be a time of looking back at times gone by, sometimes with nostalgia, other times with regret at the things we didn’t do, or as her late majesty put it – that it had been an ‘Annus Horribilis’.

What I look forward to in December is CHRISTMAS when in the midst of long winter nights we remember the Hope that was born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago – Jesus Christ – our Saviour. Light had come into our dismal world. God, giving us a chance of a new beginning.

The words of one of my favourite worship songs by Tim Hughes popped into my head just now,

‘Light of the world you stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore you,
hope of a life spent with you.’

Has this happened to you, Jesus letting you see what the world could be like with his hope in our lives? In fact a new beginning for us all for a new year.

Improving our relationship

2023 will see new challenges for us as a community following Jesus. Will we get a new vicar this year? Will our churches thrive? Can we make Jesus known to people around us? Etc. Etc. But really what we should be asking ourselves is how can we improve our relationship with Jesus? Through service, study and most of all by showing the love of Jesus for all humankind perhaps would be a great way to start. So, my hope for 2023 is a new beginning for both churches, built on faith, hope and love.

Barbara Silvester