From the Vicar

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the staff team may I express our thanks for your good will gestures and support over the Advent season. We have sensed your prayers for us and the many volunteers who have shared their skills and gifts with us. We pray that our Church family might continue to be welcoming, adventurous and caring as we celebrate the birth of the one who came not to be served but to serve. This time of year sees occasions of great celebration, rest and anticipation for what 2025 will hold. May our unity together increasingly hold out the gospel of God’s love to a world often divided by tensions in homes, neighbourhoods and countries.

I shall be presiding and preaching at Holy Communion on Wednesday 1st Jan 2025 at 10:30 if you want to commit the shortly to be here New Year to the Lord.

Emmanuel God is with us.

Mark

From the Wardens

December is an especially busy but enjoyable time for the churchwardens with all the special services, interspersed with lighted candles and fire risk assessments, along with all the other general wardens tasks.

The month has started with some wonderful events such as Women’s Wreath Making, and The Christmas Experience. In addition, I am pleased to report that following the work of a small team of volunteers and clergy, All Saints has achieved a Bronze Eco Church Award. In addition, of the five required categories we were silver in two, and so the next stage will be to achieve Silver in the other three areas. There are numerous ways we can do this, and it doesn’t mean just by turning the heating off, but often simple things such as ensuring lights are switched off when no longer needed, using Fair Trade products, closing doors to keep heat in, and supporting local food banks. More about the Silver Award and how to become involved will be announced in the new year.

‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’. Genesis 2:15

Richard on behalf of Rob, Lynne and Alan (The Wardens)

From the Staff Team

We appreciate greatly the support for our new ventures this year and are truly humbled by how many people have responded to help with the Christmas Experience. Our new service at 3pm this Sunday afternoon ‘Christmas can be Difficult’ will need prayer and sensitivity. You are welcome to come and to invite others for whom this might be helpful.

Today we provide for you opportunities to join in Carol singing in various places around our local community. These have been asked for by them for us to serve them. Please get the leaflet and let us know if you want to join us.

And finally - thank you to the behind the scenes team for enabling an upgraded audio visual system. Thank you for your patience as we future-proof All Saints for the next few years! Carpets and decoration/repairs are next!

Advent greetings,

Mark Brown, of behalf of the Staff Team

From the Associate Vicar

It has been almost a month since we started hearing Mariah Carey Christmas songs in shops and on the radio so advent must finally be upon us!

Advent is a season of preparation and is always worth taking note of before the inevitable busyness of December takes hold. But why wait for something that you will know will happen anyway? I think that I personally enjoy anything more that I have been excited about for weeks, even simple things like eating my favourite food or going to a particular place are elevated by anticipation. It’s the same with advent and Christmas!

The other strand of advent is that God who was able to come to earth and live among us will come again. We will meet God and our confidence is simple. God said he would come and live among us which he did in Jesus. He also said he would come again and we can be equally confident in his goodness and return.

From the Curate

Christmas experience:

In 10 days time, around 400 children from our local schools and uniformed groups will come for Christmas experience, a free and immersive walk-through tour of the first Christmas. They will meet the characters, hear their tale, and join in wonder at the greatest story ever told. On Saturday 7th December from 10am-3pm Christmas experience is open to the general public. To book your free ticket please visit the full web link in the emailed notices or via the notices on the church website. The experience lasts approximately 1 hour, and is enjoyable for all ages. Children are invited to come dressed in nativity costumes, and it’s great opportunity to invite family and friends who don’t normally come to church. Who could you invite and come along with? Thank you to the many volunteers who have worked tirelessly since the summer to make Christmas experience possible, and to all those who will be involved in this significant outreach event. May I invite you to pray for all who come, that God would enable them to experience and know his good news for themselves.

And in 2 months time, we will begin our alpha 2025 courses – one on Thursday evenings, 7:30-9:30pm starting on 23rd January, led by Roland, and one on Tuesday mornings 10:30am-12 noon, starting on 28th January, led by Simon. Alpha is a 10-week course exploring the Christian faith in a relaxed and friendly environment, with food, discussion, and a short film. As we consider who to invite to Christmas services in the weeks ahead, may I encourage you to pray for those you would like to invite to alpha in the New Year.

Simon Oatridge

From the Operations Manager

As this will be my last ‘from the’ in the role of Operations Manager, as I will be leaving next Friday, 22nd November, I wanted to take this opportunity to again express my gratitude to all those I have worked with during my time working at All Saints.

The role of Operations Manager means you get to work with everyone in every aspect of Church life from the Sunday services to the finances to the trees and badgers! It is a lot to keep an eye on, but it is made all the more manageable by the amazing volunteers and staff team that All Saints is blessed with.

I have met so many wonderful people through this job, made firm friends and beautiful memories that I will carry with me for years to come (including being levitated!). The experiences I have had will enable to me to embark on a new and exiting role with confidence and passion so once again, I thank you for having me as your Operations Manager and I hope to be back for a visit soon.

Steph

From the Vicar

I commend this week’s prayer to you with some suggestions for specific items for your thoughts as you say it on your own or with others.

Which countries of God’s world do you feel lead to pray for?
Who in authority in the world or the church can you pray for?
Who can you pray for to bring unity where there might be division?
Where do you sense gentleness is needed?

Almighty Father;
Whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the King of all;
govern the hearts  and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reign with you
One God now and forever, Amen.

Restore O Lord the honour of your name this Remembrance Sunday.

Mark Brown

From the Children's Minister

I write this with a grateful heart for those who prayed for our light party and for those who helped with the planning, preparations, delivery and clear up. This evening we opened our church and 50+ children and their families came and enjoyed food, games, crafts and music as we celebrated Jesus as the light of the world. We saw children come who are part of our church family, children who we have connections with at our local schools, children come who came to holiday club, some from the uniformed organisations and some who saw our advertisements and just came.

The evening ended with us going up into the balcony with the lanterns we'd made, hearing the gospel message using a pumpkin to tell of what Jesus has done for us and then switching off the church lights so everyone could see the difference their light shining could make. It was a beautiful moment and one we pray lasts with those who experienced it. So please join me in giving thanks to God for the evening going so well, for the volunteers who made it happen and for all those who came and please join me in praying for the seeds that have been planted.

With thanks and blessings at this special time of remembering all the saints,

Rosie