Rev Chris’s Weekly Update 18th December

Dear all,

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow let it snow let it snow

These are some of the lyrics from that famous song ‘Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow’, written in July 1945, in the midst of a heat wave, by Sammy Cahn and put to music by Jule Styne. It was first recorded by Vaughn Monroe that same year and became a Christmas hit, and then went on to be recorded by many famous names such as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and, more recently, Michael Bublé.

Once you start singing the song you can’t get it out of your head. It came to my mind last Sunday as the snow fell just as we had finished the carol service at St Nicholas Church. The sudden downfall caused a degree of inconvenience the following day as schools closed and travel was disrupted – I was particularly disappointed as a school concert, due to be in church, had to be cancelled which was a great shame for all those that had put a lot of hard work into proceedings.

I have no doubt that many took the opportunity to enjoy the snow and I saw families out pulling sleds with excited children. I cannot deny that the blanket of snow made everything feel more ‘Christmassy’, although this sort of scene would not have played any part in that first Christmas. There is much about the nativity story, as we often see it presented, that does not ring true to the actual events on the ground all those years ago in another part of the world, however, as a Christian, the meaning behind the story is clear and, for me, is summed up in the word ‘EMMANUEL’, meaning ‘God with us’.

During advent, the lead up to Christmas, we sing the advent carol ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’, which, like many carols, has a sense of longing and expectation that stretches beyond Christmas and to the eventual return of Christ.

COME, LORD JESUS, COME

Rev Chris

p.s. Next week’s update will cover the two-week Christmas & New Year period. The first update of the New Year will be on the 6th January.

Please note amendments to services on 1st January;

  • There will be a short ‘said’ Holy Communion service at 10am at St Nicholas Church and then the same at 11am at St Paul’s Church.
  • Oasis in the Afternoon, at St Nicholas, will be on the 8th January at 5pm and will be an outdoor ‘Christingle’ service with bonfire and hot dogs.

 

CHURCH CHRISTMAS CARD SCHEME FOR WATER AID
Cards will be available for collecting from Sunday (18th)
Thank you for your contributions so far – the collecting tin will be available on Sunday, or use the wall-safe.