Happy New Year! Jayne's New Year Letter 2010	Archive
Dear Friends at St Cross Happy New Year! What a start to 2010 – apparently as I write the temperature is -13°C. The freezing conditions have made the appearance of the camel in church at the Crib Service and on the Sunday when we celebrated the Epiphany even more amusing, sporting as he does a cool pair of sunglasses! We are thinking of making him some snow shoes ready for future appearances. In spite of difficulty in walking and driving it was lovely to see so many of you at the services and other events over the Christmas and Epiphany period. Our church has been looking beautiful with one of the largest trees we have ever had, the two stables, one of which was made by the Sentinels group and some spectacular flower arrangements. Christmas crafts was fun with many children taking part and producing cards, ‘stained glass’ hangings, crowns, gift boxes and decorated biscuits. At the Crib service it was good to see children and grown ups dressing up as Nativity characters; for some this was a fulfilment of a long held dream to be a shepherd, or a wise man.... Our worship was enhanced by the choir, augmented by temporary members and visitors – some beautiful music was chosen and as ever we are grateful to our team of organists and pianists who help us regularly. Now, with many of us being marooned in or close to our homes, there is perhaps time to reflect a little more on the wonder of Christmas and all of the Nativity stories. I have been reading a book by Trevor Dennis, Vice Dean of Chester Cathedral called, ‘The Christmas Stories’ and in particular his chapter on ‘Two Kings and some Magi’. The two Kings are Herod and the newly born Jesus – and then there are the Magi, those mysterious folk who came from the East, so Matthew tells us, bearing gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. He draws our attention to passages from the Old Testament that link in with Matthew’s account – here are some of the references if you wish to look them up: Micah 5.2 and 2 Samuel 5.2. Then there is the whole book of Ruth which for the Jews made the little town of Bethlehem famous. I have been reading this book at Morning Prayer over these last few days – it is a lovely story of love, friendship and commitment. You may like to look at Isaiah 60 verses 1-6 where there are references to gold and frankincense. For myrrh look at Psalm 45 verses 6-8. Once the gifts are given the magi leave for their homes, having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod. Matthew’s story then reveals to us the fragility of Jesus’s early existence, for the Holy Family have to flee Bethlehem as Herod orders the massacre of all boys under 2 in order to get rid of the ‘new king’. And so, like refugees and asylum seekers of today, this family, Mary and Joseph and Jesus, flee to Egypt, escaping just in time. In the midst of chaos God is still at work and will not be thwarted. Jesus will grow up and will one day return from Egypt to settle in Nazareth, a little town well away from Herod and the centres of power up in the far north, some 85 miles from Bethlehem. And so our recalling of the story continues through the year as we look towards Candlemas on 31st January. And what of our plans here at St Cross – what of our mission and ministry – to tell others and to celebrate the great good news of ‘Emmanuel’ which means ‘God is with us’? Here is an update about the GAP process about which you heard last Autumn. Members of the PCC are putting together the papers which have to be sent to Bishop Robert next month. There is still some detail to be worked out, but here is a statement of our vision for how we want to be in 5 years time and here are the goals for the next year: In 5 years we hope that St Cross will be a church with a strong congregation of mixed ages and backgrounds who serve the community, that it will be a place where many of the regular worshipers take their discipleship seriously and are actively involved in leading and taking part in the varied learning opportunities that are available. Goal 1. Actively encourage more people to become involved in St Cross by becoming more involved in our community – finding out what the needs are, what we can offer and how they can help us. To raise awareness of St Cross in our parish. Goal 2. Over the next year increase the number of relationships we have with young people/families through Baptism follow up, seasonal craft activities and invitations to coffee & cake events and special services eg Grandparents day. Goal 3. To travel closely with God and enjoy him – deepen faith and discipleship, nurture and develop ourselves by steps still to be worked out in detail! Having in mind the first of our goals we are seeking volunteers to join the transport rota as a matter of urgency please. We know that there are folk who would come to church if we could offer transport. The more volunteers we can have on the rota the less onerous the task and you will be well rewarded by the appreciation of those you bring to either of the morning services. Please speak to John Ishmael if you think you may be able to help. You may have noticed that there are not many people who assist with leading intercessions at the 10 o’clock services; this may seem like a daunting task so with that in mind I am happy to host a meeting to look at how we go about this aspect of our worship, what resources there are and so on. To come along will not commit you to being on the rota – just come for a taster session and decide then. Please let the Vicar know if you are interested and then I shall arrange a mutually convenient time to meet as a group. The Confirmation service is our next big event and will be on Sunday 24th January at 6.30 p.m. Do come along to support, pray for and celebrate with Nina Rogers and David Carr. Light Refreshments will be served in church after the service. You may be surprised to know that at that service the candidates will be expected to lead the intercessions – the Bishop introduces the prayers as follows: You now share, with all the members of the Church, the privilege of praying to our Father, through his Son Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. So, let us pray for the whole world, which is being renewed by the Word made flesh,Christ Jesus our Lord. There is a challenge to us all! So as I sign off I thank you for all your greetings and gifts over Christmas! Keep safe, warm and well fed and call me if you need help – even if I cannot get to you myself I can link you up with someone else who can help. It has been lovely to see the good neighbourliness that is in abundance just now – we have much to celebrate as we begin the New Year.

Happy New Year! Jayne's New Year Letter 2010

Archive

Dear Friends at St Cross

Happy New Year! What a start to 2010 – apparently as I write the temperature is -13°C. The freezing conditions have made the appearance of the camel in church at the Crib Service and on the Sunday when we celebrated the Epiphany even more amusing, sporting as he does a cool pair of sunglasses! We are thinking of making him some snow shoes ready for future appearances. In spite of difficulty in walking and driving it was lovely to see so many of you at the services and other events over the Christmas and Epiphany period. Our church has been looking beautiful with one of the largest trees we have ever had, the two stables, one of which was made by the Sentinels group and some spectacular flower arrangements. Christmas crafts was fun with many children taking part and producing cards, ‘stained glass’ hangings, crowns, gift boxes and decorated biscuits. At the Crib service it was good to see children and grown ups dressing up as Nativity characters; for some this was a fulfilment of a long held dream to be a shepherd, or a wise man.... Our worship was enhanced by the choir, augmented by temporary members and visitors – some beautiful music was chosen and as ever we are grateful to our team of organists and pianists who help us regularly.

Now, with many of us being marooned in or close to our homes, there is perhaps time to reflect a little more on the wonder of Christmas and all of the Nativity stories. I have been reading a book by Trevor Dennis, Vice Dean of Chester Cathedral called, ‘The Christmas Stories’ and in particular his chapter on ‘Two Kings and some Magi’. The two Kings are Herod and the newly born Jesus – and then there are the Magi, those mysterious folk who came from the East, so Matthew tells us, bearing gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. He draws our attention to passages from the Old Testament that link in with Matthew’s account – here are some of the references if you wish to look them up: Micah 5.2 and 2 Samuel 5.2. Then there is the whole book of Ruth which for the Jews made the little town of Bethlehem famous. I have been reading this book at Morning Prayer over these last few days – it is a lovely story of love, friendship and commitment. You may like to look at Isaiah 60 verses 1-6 where there are references to gold and frankincense. For myrrh look at Psalm 45 verses 6-8. Once the gifts are given the magi leave for their homes, having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod. Matthew’s story then reveals to us the fragility of Jesus’s early existence, for the Holy Family have to flee Bethlehem as Herod orders the massacre of all boys under 2 in order to get rid of the ‘new king’. And so, like refugees and asylum seekers of today, this family, Mary and Joseph and Jesus, flee to Egypt, escaping just in time. In the midst of chaos God is still at work and will not be thwarted. Jesus will grow up and will one day return from Egypt to settle in Nazareth, a little town well away from Herod and the centres of power up in the far north, some 85 miles from Bethlehem. And so our recalling of the story continues through the year as we look towards Candlemas on 31st January.

And what of our plans here at St Cross – what of our mission and ministry – to tell others and to celebrate the great good news of ‘Emmanuel’ which means ‘God is with us’? Here is an update about the GAP process about which you heard last Autumn. Members of the PCC are putting together the papers which have to be sent to Bishop Robert next month. There is still some detail to be worked out, but here is a statement of our vision for how we want to be in 5 years time and here are the goals for the next year:
In 5 years we hope that St Cross will be a church with a strong congregation of mixed ages and backgrounds who serve the community, that it will be a place where many of the regular worshipers take their discipleship seriously and are actively involved in leading and taking part in the varied learning opportunities that are available.
Goal 1. Actively encourage more people to become involved in St Cross by becoming more involved in our community – finding out what the needs are, what we can offer and how they can help us. To raise awareness of St Cross in our parish.

Goal 2. Over the next year increase the number of relationships we have with young people/families through Baptism follow up, seasonal craft activities and invitations to coffee & cake events and special services eg Grandparents day.

Goal 3. To travel closely with God and enjoy him – deepen faith and discipleship, nurture and develop ourselves by steps still to be worked out in detail!

Having in mind the first of our goals we are seeking volunteers to join the transport rota as a matter of urgency please. We know that there are folk who would come to church if we could offer transport. The more volunteers we can have on the rota the less onerous the task and you will be well rewarded by the appreciation of those you bring to either of the morning services. Please speak to John Ishmael if you think you may be able to help.

You may have noticed that there are not many people who assist with leading intercessions at the 10 o’clock services; this may seem like a daunting task so with that in mind I am happy to host a meeting to look at how we go about this aspect of our worship, what resources there are and so on. To come along will not commit you to being on the rota – just come for a taster session and decide then. Please let the Vicar know if you are interested and then I shall arrange a mutually convenient time to meet as a group.

The Confirmation service is our next big event and will be on Sunday 24th January at 6.30 p.m. Do come along to support, pray for and celebrate with Nina Rogers and David Carr. Light Refreshments will be served in church after the service.

You may be surprised to know that at that service the candidates will be expected to lead the intercessions – the Bishop introduces the prayers as follows:
You now share, with all the members of the Church, the privilege of praying to our Father, through his Son Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, let us pray for the whole world, which is being renewed by the Word made flesh,Christ Jesus our Lord.
There is a challenge to us all!

So as I sign off I thank you for all your greetings and gifts over Christmas! Keep safe, warm and well fed and call me if you need help – even if I cannot get to you myself I can link you up with someone else who can help. It has been lovely to see the good neighbourliness that is in abundance just now – we have much to celebrate as we begin the New Year.