Baptism Of The Lord News
A very warm welcome to any new readers, and to visitors and newcomers to St Michael's. A special welcome and thanks to Fr Paul Matthias, our celebrant this morning, who will also kindly be saying Mass for us on Thursday at 10.30 am. If you are new to St Michael's, do join us in the Vestry Hall after the service, so that we can welcome you properly.
Candle-light, music, meditative readings, an atmosphere of prayer in a decorated church – followed by joyous conviviality… Warmest thanks to all the people who contributed to last Sunday evening's special Epiphany service, including Fr Paul who led our worship; all the musicians (visiting and local); the readers; Martyn who set up the Crib in its Epiphany guise; and the many friends who produced and served the wonderful seasonal refreshments. Thank you, too, to Margaret and her helpers who un-decorated on Saturday morning.
Coming to the Altar for Communion: Because we had to change our arrangements during the pandemic, many communicants are at present a bit uncertain about how to approach the altar for Communion. The sidesperson on duty will now be in the aisle to reassure you and help avoid congestion – please follow his or her directions.
Safeguarding: We are deeply grateful to Katja for all the time and energy she invested during her time as our Safeguarding Officer. She has now been succeeded by William Danes-Volkov. From now on, if you have any safeguarding concerns, or want to update your safeguarding certificates, please have a word with William. We are all most grateful to him for taking on this task.
From our Tower:
Kent County Association, Maidstone, Kent
St Michael and All Angels
Sunday, 7 January 2024 in 41m (6–1–24 in C)
1272 Norwich Surprise Minor
- Jacqueline Barlow
- Paul Barton
- Emma Jarvis
- Mark Elvers
- Philip Jarvis
- Neil Jones (C)
1st in m: 3. Remembering Joyce Neal, 5/1/1999 R.I.P.
Lent already?! Not quite – but it begins very early this year (on February 14th) and we need to plan for it. One date for your diary: after Mass on February 25th, there will be a Frugal Lunch (home-made soup, bread, cheese and fruit) - free, but with donations invited in aid of an appropriate charity. Please come, think of inviting a visitor, and offer any help you can. This is the sort of thing St Michael's does well – we don't fast with a sad countenance, and it should be a good occasion!
Cllr Stuart Jeffrey is chairing a new charity, The Friends of Oaken Wood, to help promote and protect the wood and to prevent its being turned into a quarry. The charity will be launched at St Andrew's Hall on Tuesday, 6th February, 7-9 pm. No booking required; further details on www.friendsofoakenwood.org. The Friends of Oaken Wood welcomes anyone who would like to join; membership is free.
What has the C of E to do with the Post Office? Unfortunately, quite a lot. Giles Fraser points out in a recent article (on unherd.com) that the Revd Paula Vennells (CEO of the Post Office from 2012 to 2019) was credited by the Archbishop of Canterbury with having “shaped much of [his] thinking over the years”. The “thinking” relates, in particular, to the attempt to centralise church life around well-resourced “minsters” at the expense of local parish churches and their immediate communities, which was embodied in a report that Vennells (who has never been an incumbent) was asked to produce in 2019. Bishops whose views differed from those of her report should, she wrote, be brought into line with a contract based on “shared leadership values and behaviours”. Her disregard of the local and individual in favour of the corporate juggernaut, her faith in technical and managerial systems to the detriment of people on the ground, resonates disturbingly with the way in which she had been running the Post Office for the previous 7 years. But all too much “thinking” in the C of E is still being shaped by it.
Among the sick, we pray for Paul, Margaret, Ellie, Pauline, Rue, Fr Leon, Antony, Fran, Ellie, Tom, Joseph, Peter, Joan, Margaret, Lindsay, Glynis, Ethan, Sarah, and Yvonne.
Among the departed, we remember Valerie Stickland, recently departed, and Joyce Fermor, Dorothy Pearce, Annie Frazer, Andrew Ward, Sheelagh Ann Rust, Bertha Ward, Dorothy Tester, Lilian Agnes Rootes, Leslie Lott, Joyce Barber, Joyce Payne, Louise Wollen.
Could you pass this sheet on to someone else who might like to see it?