Sunday Worship podcast links: Nov 27 Advent 1

Dear friends 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 - Nov 27 Advent 1 10 am  Holy Communion 6.30pm Evensong During the week Monday              2-3.30pm Talking Village drop in at Deniz' Cafe in the High Street. Wednesday       10.am Good Book Club                            4.30-5pm Children's Choir in the church hall                             7.15-8.15 pm Adult Choir in the church hall                          Friday                 9.30 am Morning prayer in church today                            10.30-12.30 Friday Group in the church hall Saturday            10-11 Talking Village drop-in in the Library Next Sunday  10 am   Holy Communion 6.30pm Evensong Advent Sunday Today marks the beginning of Advent (not Dec 1, though that's when our Advent reflections (see below) will start) Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas, and is partly a time of preparation for it. Today's sermon explores how it might be more than that, though, encouraging us not just to look back to the coming of Christ (Advent is from the Latin "adventus" meaning "coming") in Bethlehem long ago, but to the ways he comes to us now, and the way he will come to us in the future.    ALL AGE IDEAS FOR ADVENT Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is from a Latin word, 'adventus' which means 'coming'. We think about Jesus coming to us as a baby in Bethlehem, but also about the way we might find him today. During Advent we try to  to look around us and to reflect and pray - to notice God at work in the love and joy around us, and also in the things that might need to change in our world, so that we can join in with God's work. That can be difficult when everything is so busy as people get ready for Christmas, but we will enjoy Christmas more if we have been able to stop be still.  There are lots of ways of reflecting during Advent. You could: Make an Advent ring with four coloured candles and one white candle. In church we use three purple candles and one pink one (for the third Sunday of Advent). We light one candle each Sunday in Advent, and the white one on Christmas Day. In some churches the candles are red. Make an Advent countdown candle. Mark 24 lines on a plain candle and burn down through one line each day, being still and thinking, or talking to one another as you do. Send Mary and Joseph on an Advent journey. Find or make a Mary and Joseph - you could make them by decorating some cardboard tubes if you haven't got any. Take it in turns to hide them somewhere in your house each day during Advent for others to find, and think about the long journey they had to make from Nazareth to Bethlehem before Jesus was born. What might it be like for people who have to leave their home and become refugees today? Collect a "reverse Advent calendar"  - a box into which you can put one item of food each day during Advent. On Christmas Eve, bring it to church, and put it in the foodbank box by the font. Follow our Advent series this year, which is called "One Word" , and looks at one word connected with Advent or Christmas and asks some questions about it. There is also a colouring sheet to fill in each day, where you could write the word or draw something connected to it in each space. There are copies of the booklet and the colouring sheet in church, but you can also download them from the link below, or you can follow it on the church blog, where each day's post will appear, from Dec 1 onwards. What will you do to make Advent a holy and blessed time?    WHAT'S ON IN SEAL... SEAL CHRISTMAS BAZAAR – TODAY Return of last year's successful event with stalls offering a range of unique Christmas gifts - 10.30am-3pm. Teas and cakes, Tombola, Raffle, Unique Christmas Gifts, Many Crafts and Sweet Stalls. Come and join us!! CHRISTMAS LIGHTING around the village HELP NEEDED NEXT SATURDAY Marion Gilchrist writes: "We now have a healthy number of volunteers to climb ladders, but if you have a tall ladder you might be able to lend for the morning of Saturday 3rd, we would be very grateful, as we now have more climbers than ladders!. Most are saying they have time on Saturday 3rd, rather than Sunday 4th, so we will aim to get as much done that day as possible. I would be very grateful if 1 or 2 people might be able to oversee the putting back of the equipment safely in the Village Hall at the end of the session, as I may have to leave a bit earlier than finish time. If you feel you could help in this way, please let me know. Erman in Deniz's cafe, is ready to take the final number for our bacon sandwich order - please remember, this is our way of saying thanks to those of you who have braved the elements and giving of your time, so any veggie options need to be directed to me in advance please. Only people who have committed in advance, will have a sandwich orders for them - this includes those hanging lights in areas other than the High Street. You just have to be near Deniz's at 10am please. marionjgilchrist@gmail.com CAKE BAKERS NEEDED!  We are looking for cakes to sell after the Christingle service on Dec 11, as well as small gifts etc. so please let us know if you can help with this.  KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOURS FAMILY PARTY IN EARLY JANUARY We will also need help to organise this please, so  please let Marion know if you can offer your assistance in any way. marionjgilchrist@gmail.com THANK YOU to all who helped at the Christmas Wreath making session on Friday, and especially to Maggie and Chris who did such a great job of preparing for and running the evening. A great time was had by all! AND THANK YOU to all who came along, and helped, at Messy Church last week. We really enjoyed preparing for Advent and Christmas together. There's no Messy Church in December, but we'll be back on Jan 15! PLEASE PRAY... For our new Finance Team, which, at the moment consists of the vicar, Paul Thompson and  Wivine and Mark Turner (we would love to have a couple more people join us, especially if you have some experience of church finance, or any finance!) For our finances - we are currently running at a loss and having to eat into our reserves. Just like everyone else, our costs are rising, and income is falling! You can donate online by clicking here.