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A Message from Mark Hilliam, Head Teacher of our wonderful Primary School.

"After two, long frustrating years, parents, carers, parishioners, and friends were delighted to attend two amazing performances of the Nativity by the KS1 children on the 6th and 7th of December.
It was such a moving time!

Our festivities continue this week and we would like to invite you to the following events which will take place in the Church:
- Wednesday 14th of December at 6pm: KS2 Carol Service -"Christingle"
- Thursday 15th of December at 9:30am: School's Advent Mass for Christmas.

Please come along!"

What a weekend it was for our Church!

We awoke to a sprinkling of snow which helped to make the Christmas Gift weekend and Carols by Candlelight afternoon even more festive this 'Gaudete Sunday' (3rd Sunday of Advent) - Gaudete meaning 'Rejoice!' - a moment of Joy for us all as we continue to prepare for Christmas Day.
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~The lighting of our Church Christmas tree...
~Gifts donated for those we will meet on the Soup Run over ~Christmas, equalling: 94 big bars of chocolate, 158 pairs of socks and 68 pairs of boxer shorts!
~Singing of festive Carols and Advent reflections...
~Children hanging their Advent promises onto the little tree...
~Cuppas and minced pies in the hall for all...
~The Parish Prize Draw winners announced...
~A wonderful amount of money donated for our 2 Parish Projects at the Carols event...
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What an amazing community we have - thanks to all involved in making it such a special weekend.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections for 3rd Sunday in Advent Year A

1st Reading from the prophet Isaiah 15: 1-6, 10.
Let the desert rejoice and burst into bloom, is the opening of one of the most beautiful passages in the scroll of Isaiah, it evokes the joy of returning exiles crossing the frightening desert wastes after their exile. All the things that should bring fear are now turned to joy because the Lord is bringing them home. No matter how tough the journey the Lord will strengthen and inspire them to keep heading for home. The lame will leap with joy, grief and sorrow will be left behind; the Lord has ransomed his people. These themes will re-occur several more times within the scroll of Isaiah, which has prompted scholars to wonder whether it was, in fact, written after the exile, but nevertheless it evokes the joy of their liberation, and early Christians saw in this vision a parallel with the Messiah, particularly with its reference to the Lord ransoming his people. Either way just soak up the sheer joy this passage evokes. This is describing the delights of pilgrimage, leading to a new dynamic for living within God’s covenant once again.

Psalm 145: 6-10.
A song in praise of the Lord. It echoes the themes that Jesus will highlight in his answer to John’s inquiry as to whether he is the one who is to come: he sets prisoners free, the blind see, the lame walk, good news is proclaimed to the poor. It is another illustration of how the Old Testament echoes the New Testament and the New Testament reflects the Old Testament. It is important for us to become familiar with both Testaments.

2nd Reading from the letter of St. James 5: 7-10.
This letter is addressed to the Jewish Christians who live outside the Holy Land, and this passage is encouraging them to be patient, whilst awaiting Jesus second coming, exactly like the prophets, who waited patiently for the Word of the Lord. It is a very special Judaic appeal going from the Old Testament to the New Gospel of Jesus Christ to illustrate the continuity of the New Covenant.

The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 11: 2-11.
This is a mysterious passage in Matthew’s Gospel, and one would assume that there was a strong community of John the Baptist’s disciples, whom Matthew would like to convert by relating this episode, highlighting confidently that, Jesus is the expected one. Jesus quotes Isaiah (as well as the psalm 145) in answering their question. These were the signs of the Lord among men. Jesus unequivocally aligns himself with God in his answer. Then he goes on to praise John as one of the greatest, however John ranks lower in heaven than one of Jesus’ disciples. John is clearly shown to be the “messenger who prepares the way for the Lord.” Matthew has a very tidy mind and does not like any confusion between John and Jesus. He declares to all that Jesus is the Messiah the one who is to come. We should not be left in any doubt that Jesus is Lord, and we can follow him with confidence, and furthermore Jesus has endowed us all with the extraordinary acclamation of being great in the Kingdom of Heaven. This privilege, bestowed upon us in our baptism, should always be before our minds and hearts as we live out the Gospel in our daily lives.

God Bless us all as we come to the true realisation of our calling. Deacon Vincent