Worship podcast link and other news: Dec 5

 

Join us for worship online, on the phone or in the building today.  with best wishes Anne Le Bas Online Worship podcast       Order of service You can also access this podcast by phoning 01732 928061 In the church building today - Dec 5 10 am   Holy Communion & Baptism 6.30pm Evensong During the week Wednesday@10.00 am Zoom Church (email for the link)                                  5pm Children's Choir                                  7.15 pm Adult Choir Friday              9.30 am Morning Prayer in Church                             10.30-12.30 Friday Group in the church hall In the church building next Sunday - Dec 12 10 am   Christingle service (not communion) - please note that the church will be more crowded than usual. 6.30pm Breathing Space Holy Communion Advent 2 In today's Gospel reading, Luke introduces the ministry of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Christ, Luke has already told us about John's birth, in the first chapter of his Gospel. Like Jesus' conception, John's is unexpected.. His parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, have not been able to have children and Elizabeth is now too old to conceive, but the Angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah while he is serving in the Temple, and tells him that she will have a baby. He is literally struck dumb at this news, but finds, to his surprise, that this is so.  Neither John nor Jesus seem likely choices to be part of God's plan - a fiery, awkward desert preacher with no social graces or sense of tact, and a carpenter from the backwater town of Nazareth - but that is the point. God can still use unlikely people - us - to do his work!   ALL AGE IDEA Today's Gospel story features John the Baptist, who prepared people to listen to Jesus. What preparations are you making for Christmas. How can you help to get things ready in your home? Have you put up your Christmas tree yet? If you have, does it have any decorations on it which remind you of the Christmas story. Why not draw some of the characters from the story, and hang them in your tree to find.

Today's Gospel story retold.

STORY OF THE WEEK  Luke 2. 1-20   This Advent we are concentrating on stories featuring Mary. This is probably the best known story - the story of the birth of Jesus. We can feel like we know this story so well, though, that we don't notice its details any more. Try reading the story as if you had never heard it before. What might Mary have felt during this story, and what, at the end, do you think she was left "pondering".

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY NEWS   CHRISTMAS AT SEAL December 12th at 10 am CHRISTINGLE SERVICE  December 19th at 3.30pm     CAROL SERVICE - Please note the earlier time than our usual carol service! This service will start outside the church with some congregational carols. We will then process into church with the crib figures and hear some Christmas songs from the choir, interspersed with prayers and a Bible reading. We will finish with a final congregational carol inside. These changes have been made  to minimise the time we spend crowded into the church and the amount we all sing together inside.Please wear a face covering inside the church and be aware that we won't be able to guarantee social distancing. There will be a few folding chairs available in the churchyard for those who can't stand for long, but please come prepared for rain, as we will sing outside whatever the weather! December 24th CHRISTMAS EVE  3-5pm  - DROP IN to see the Christmas crib and have a prayer of blessing from the vicar if you would like to. There will be take-home Christmas craft packs available for families too, and a chance to decorate and add a prayer star to our tree. There will be no crib service (Sorry - too many people in too small a space, too much moving around, and too much singing to be able to make this Covid safe!) CHRISTMAS EVE - 9pm.  First Holy Communion of Christmas (aka "midnight mass"!) Note the earlier time - this won't take place at midnight - but will include carols, a sermon and all the usual features of our first Christmas communion, including some carols from the choir before the service starts (from 8.30 ish) CHRISTMAS DAY 10 am Christmas Communion for all ages, with a story in place of a sermon, carols etc. as normal. PLEASE NOTE - all these arrangments are provisional, based on whatever government advice is in place at the time. It won't be possible to guarantee social distancing at these services, so it is especially important to wear face coverings inside the church unless you are exempt, use hand sanitizer and take regular Lateral Flow Tests if you plan to come to services.  RECRUITING We shall need a new Treasurer VERY SOON and a new churchwarden next year. Can you help? Role descriptions for these jobs are on the board at the back of church, and I will be happy to chat with you if you think these roles might be for you.    ADVENT WINDOWS Each day from Dec 1 a new Advent Window is being revealed somewhere around the village. The list of windows is available on the church lychgate or on the blog here.  Each window has a letter in it. If you can find them all, and unscramble them, you will find that they spell out a Christmas Carol.    KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOURS PLANNING FOR 2022 KYN is planing to call a Zoom meeting sometime in December, for anybody who is interested in plans for the ROYAL CELEBRATION next year, and plans for the choice and care of our village Covid memorial tree. We will advise as soon as a day is set, but please let Marion know (Marionjgilchrist@gmail.com) if you would be interested in 'attending' this virtual meeting. For more community news from Marion Gilchrist, check out the Know Your Neighbours blog. https://knowyourneighbours.blogspot.com/