SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
St Mary’s and St Andrew’s Worshipping Together
A very warm welcome to all our visitors today
Readings:
Isaiah 40: 1-11; Psalm 85: 1-2 & 8-13; 2 Peter: 3: 8-15a; Gospel: Mark 1: 1-8
The Nativity Scene
You will notice that our Crib has now been set up. Of course, some of the main characters have yet to arrive and as we have now reached the second Sunday of Advent, we know that their time is drawing near. No matter how many times we do this, and some of us have been doing it a very long time indeed, I never tire of it and I am always excited as the time draws ever near.
We remember Mr Roger Worthington
We remember Mr Roger Worthington, who was until his health began to fail, a stalwart of St Andrew’s. Roger passed peacefully on Monday, and we shall remember him in our intercessions today. May he rest in peace and rise in glory and may light perpetual shine upon him.
Decorating the Christmas Tree
I would like to put up the Christmas tree sometime this week, and certainly before next Sunday. So any volunteers will be very welcome. I am happy to be around on Saturday, later in the afternoon, should anyone be willing to help. There is a wedding at 12 noon so it will be impossible to do it earlier than 2 pm. Please feel free to let me know at your earliest convenience.
St Andrew’s Annual General Meeting
St Andrew’s AGM will be at 1pm on Sunday 13 December by Zoom. Further details and papers can be obtained from Ferdinand von Prondzynski. I will make this announcement again next Sunday.
Advent Services
The fixed service dates, for Advent are thus: Sunday the 13th of December at 10 am, Holy Communion. Sunday the 13th of December at 6.30 pm, Evening Prayer with a Cantor and musicians, with a Christmas Carol theme. Wednesday 16th December at 10 am, Holy Communion. Friday 18th December at 9.30 am, Morning Prayers. Sunday the 20th of December at 10 am, Holy Communion. Sunday the 20th of December at 6.30 pm, Evening Prayer with a Cantor, and some accompanying musicians (hopefully). Wednesday the 23rd of December at 10 am, Holy Communion. Thursday, the 24th of December at 11.30 pm, Midnight Mass Holy Eucharist. As I said last Sunday, the cleaning logistics for having the Church ready for a Christmas day service were just too impractical. I cannot, in all honesty, expect people to sanitise the church immediately after Midnight Mass. Therefore, there will not be a Christmas Day service. There will be a said Holy Communion at 10 am on Boxing Day the 26th of December to remember Stephen, Deacon and first Martyr. We will use the 1970 Liturgy on that day.
Christmas cards from St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral
St Mary’s Christmas Cards have arrived and are now on sale. They display the St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral logo in several colours (The Rose Window), and were designed by Mr Stuart Smith of Alt 10, the same local company who designed our new website. We are deeply grateful to Stuart for all of his help over the past few months. They can be purchased in packs of 10 at a suggested donation cost of £8, or individually at a suggested donation cost of £1 per card. All proceeds will go towards the upkeep of the Church.
Thank you to Mr Godwin Chimara
I would like to thank Mr Godwin Chimara (St Andrew’s Ordinand in Training) who uploads the pre-recorded service for Sunday on to the Diocesan website. It is nice to know that we are able to share our worship using this function and Godwin’s help is most welcome.
General Synod
I will be pre-occupied with General Synod all day tomorrow. This will take place on Zoom, which will be a real challenge to those who are involved in overseeing this process. Hence, the reason why you are receiving the newsletter a day earlier than usual. Of course, should you prefer, the newsletter (and past editions) are always available on our website at www.stmaryscardenplace.org.uk Just click where it says ‘News’ and you will be able to access it.
Sunday Brunches on Zoom
I intend to continue with our Zoom Brunches throughout the Advent and Christmas season. As always, the link is sent out with my group email to many of you, which also contains an electronic version of the newsletter and liturgy for the pre-recorded service.
Rotas
I am hopeful that our rotas for reading, interceding, cleaning and flowers will soon be up and running on the website. A huge thank you to all who have volunteered to help from both St Mary’s and St Andrew’s. This collaborative ministry is so important to all of us as we move forward into the new liturgical year with great hope for the future.
Printing of Service Booklets
You will notice that I have been producing orders of service booklets on a regular basis. There are a number of reasons for this. The situation with Covid and the possibility of cross-contamination is one. We have had several services where there have been slight adjustments to the liturgy (i.e., experimental additions), evening prayer services, and new Advent experimental suggestions being incorporated. I am not a big fan of continually printing booklets as I feel it is both expensive and labour intensive. When we, hopefully, reach some sort of normality in the future, you should expect to be using the 1982 blue book orders of service. However, until we reach the point when this can take place, the current arrangement will continue for now.
Services at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral week commencing Sunday 6th December 2020
Sunday 6th December at 10 am, Holy Communion (Rev’d Canon Terry Taggart)
Wednesday 9th December at 10 am, Holy Communion – 1929 (Rev’d Canon Terry Taggart)
Friday 11th December at 9.30 am, Morning Prayers (Rev’d Canon Terry Taggart)
Friday 11th December at 10 am, Pre-recording Sunday’s Service (Rev’d Canon Terry Taggart)
Sunday 13th December at 10 am, Holy Communion (Rev’d Canon Terry Taggart)
Sunday 13th December at 6.30 pm, Evening Prayer (Rev’d Canon Terry Taggart)
Blessings Always
Fr Terry Taggart
Rector