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church : revd jo's letter : december 2008 added 24/12/08 There’s a rather outworn clerical joke that goes as follows: Harassed Vicar : We’ve got bats in the church. How can we get rid of them? Archdeacon: That’s easy. Confirm them, then you’ll never see them again. Tired joke it may be, but there’s a certain underlying truth. Often Confirmation candidates attend all the preparation classes and the Confirmation service, then disappear off the church radar. It’s as though they are saying ‘I’ve got the Confirmation T-shirt, now I’ll move on to something different.’ But that’s not true of our current loyal band of Confirmation candidates. We meet fortnightly to learn about the Christian faith, and they will all be confirmed at Corby Glen on Thursday April 30th at 7.30 by the Bishop of Grantham. It’s quite a while since we had any candidates from these churches, and we are delighted to welcome them. We welcomed several recently-bereaved families to our All Saints service, which is always a moving and lovely event. As we watched the candles flicker on that dark, rainswept morning, we were reminded of the light that shone from those we loved but see no more. I told the story (which I heard from a clergy colleague) of the little girl who asked her mother what saints were, her mother pointed to a stained glass window depicting halo-wearing figures. Those are saints, she said. That evening the child told her mother, I know what saints are now. They’re people who let the light shine through. What a lovely way of describing all those who have influenced our lives. Our Remembrance service, too, brought back many memories. I am old enough to recall standing, as a very small Sunday-school child, at the war memorial in the village where I grew up, and wondering why so many adults were crying. For them, though I was too young to realise it, WW2 was a recent event, and so many of them had experienced the death or incarceration of their men- folk, many of them as prisoners of the Japanese. I am still awed by the thought that our freedom was won at such a cost. From the large attendance at Remembrance services, I know I am not alone in this; modern-day conflicts continue to tear families apart. But among the sad memories of the past, we have a bright future to look forward to with the election of a new President of the USA. Highly intelligent, sensitive, articulate and charismatic, and with a strong, informed Christian faith, Barack Obama shines like a light in darkness, most of all for the millions of black American citizens who have endured discrimination and poverty for generations. We are told in the Gospels that Jesus read from the scroll in the Temple these words of the prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. We pray for Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House, beset as he will be by so many enormous problems. May he always be reminded of and guided by these words. And so to Christmas. Children from the Bythams School will be busy making Christingles for that service on Sunday 14th at 4.00 – there will be lots of spares, so do bring any toddlers and babies (and indeed Grandmas and Grandpas) along, and share with us in celebrating the light of Christ. You have two Carol Services to choose from; one on Friday 19th at 7.00 in the chapel of Holywell Hall, with refreshments served at the Hall afterwards. Then on Sunday 21st at 6.00 we have our Carol Service in Castle Bytham church. I can promise you a good sing at both. Thanks to Judith Smith and her helpers, the traditional Candle Service will take place at Little Bytham on Christmas Eve at 4.00. All children are most welcome to take part, suitably dressed as angels, shepherds, wise men or even animals, whether they attend the Bythams school or not. This is a lovely start to our Christmas celebrations, and the sight of all those little angels and shepherds will soften the hardest hearts. Midnight Mass will be at Little Bytham this year – starting at 11.30. On Christmas Day there will be Holy Communion with carols at Creeton at 9.00, and Family Service at Careby at 10.30, followed at 11.00 by a short said Communion. As usual, you can leave after the Family Service, or come just for the Communion. The service rota includes services for January, and a reminder that on Sunday February 1st. our three Lay Ministers, Sheila, Shirley and Marion, will be licensed, along with 9 others from our Deanery, at Bourne Abbey at 6.30pm. They have completed a long course of study, spending every Monday evening at the Regional House in Edenham, and will be a great asset to the churches in which they will serve. Nowadays there are ever fewer priests and ever larger groups of churches, so the role of the laity in sustaining and leading worship and pastoral care is paramount. If you possibly can, do come along to Bourne to support our Lay Ministers as they enter God’s service. I wish you all a happy Christmas and a blessed and peaceful 2009. With best wishes Jo |
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