You might be seeing
this a little early, but the message for the coming days is a simple one:
HAPPY
CHRISTMAS
&
A
PEACEFUL REST
OF 2019
Working Those Kneelers...
It’s been amusing to witness some of the baffled responses to the invitation to grab a kneeler from the church and take it home…‘Does Jon want us to bring them back next week?’…‘Is this his way of getting rid of the kneelers on the sly?’… ‘will the pews for the log burning stove be next?’
It really is as simple as encouraging you to press into prayer this advent.
It’s surprising how a physical, visual prompt can be more helpful than we might imagine. Some people have said they put it in their bedroom and it’s caused them to kickstart the day in prayer.
Fix it to your wall, put it in your fridge, use it as your bed pillow – however it will best serve as a disruption to your everyday. The power is not in the kneeler, but in engagement with the One who longs to break into our every waking moment. Happy praying.
Christmas Charities
We like to give you advance notice of some of the charities we will be looking to support over the Christmas season. They will be as follows:
Christingles Services – As always, we’ll be taking a collection for the Children’s Society, which seems particularly poignant this year in light of some of the political ‘discussions’ over the true level of child poverty and homelessness in our country.
Carol, Midnight & Christmas Day Services – (i) The Bromley Homeless Shelter support the homeless by providing a Winter Night Shelter. Further information can be found on www.bromleyshelter.org.uk. (ii) ‘There is Hope Malawi’, an organisation who work with refugees in Malawi, where it is particularly hard to be in that desperate situation.
Please pray for all these organisations and the people they are trying to help.
Follow Up ...
TEAMS
We hope that you’ve had some space to pray and reflect on the things that were raised at our time in the Assembly Rooms last week. Take the opportunity in the coming weeks to open conversations with our new Team Leaders as to what possible involvement in a Team might look like.
If you were unable to make it last week, then head to the website for the Team Profiles (which includes contact details for the leaders). They will give you a good start, but nothing quite replaces a face to face chat to get a feel for what we are trying to achieve.
CHURCHSUITE
Last Sunday, we also launched ChurchSuite, our new church communication tool. Please remember to create a login password if you received an email invitation so to do. If you didn’t receive an invitation, please check your junk or spam folders in case it is there. Otherwise please contact Margaret in the Parish Office (parishadmin@stjohnsww.com) for a GDPR form or download one from our website under ‘About/ Forms’. There is an information sheet on the parish website under ‘Blog’ which gives more information.
A Prayer for Advent
Lord Jesus,
I give you my hands to do your work.
I give you my feet to go your way.
I give you my eyes to see as you do.
I give you my tongue to speak your words.
I give you my mind that you may think in me.
I give you my spirit that you may pray in me.
Above all,
I give you my heart that you may love in me your Father and all people.
I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who live and work and pray in me.
Lord Jesus, I give you my spirit that you may pray in me.
I give you my heart, Lord that you may love in me.