'Good Vibrations.' [The Beach Boys]

Sunday, 13 December 2020 Issue 38

3rd Sunday in Advent ‘Good Vibrations.’ [The Beach Boys] Scripture reading: John 1 v 6–8, 19–28

Dear Friends, Advent joy! Did you watch the BBC Songs of Praise – ‘Chorister of the Year’ last Sunday? A most heart-warming programme. You could play catch-up, if need be – well worth it. The winner was Alexander from Leighton Buzzard with such a wonderful voice. Another contestant was Sebastian from Coventry. His father died of Covid a couple of months ago, and this chorister having experienced a ‘bumpy ride’, as he put it, sings from the heart a piece entitled ‘Gaudete’, which he sang wonderfully. The title means Rejoice. In the lectionary for today, this 3rd Sunday in Advent, all the set readings reflect the joy of knowing the Lord. In the Old Testament reading, found in Isaiah 61 v 1–2, 10–11, the prophet declares, ‘I delight greatly in the Lord, for my soul rejoices in my God.’ The prophet Isaiah believed with his whole being that God would send salvation and redemption to his people, and he encourages us to walk in the way of the Lord, joyfully. In the Epistle reading set for today, found in 1 Thessalonians 5 v 16–24, we are encouraged to ‘Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. The one who calls you is faithful.’ We need to hear both these realities: rejoice and pray! We can only rejoice always if we pray without ceasing. John the Gospel writer speaks of John the Baptist in our Gospel reading – John 1 v 6–8, 19–28. John the Baptist is not at all concerned about being great or important. His one concern is to point to Jesus. Just as in the life of John the Baptist, the more we decrease, the more the Lord may increase. Our joy is to point others to Jesus. I said last week that from Advent and throughout 2021 we follow Mark’s Gospel in the lectionary. I have since realised that during Advent and Christmas other Gospel writers have their say, but Mark makes up for lost time in the New Year! May Advent joy be real to you – our greatest joy to the know we are loved by God, especially at our darkest moments. Hands, face, space. Congratulations to Margaret Keenan [aged 91] and William Shakespeare [81 or 456], first to be vaccinated. It will be our turn soon. Form an orderly queue! Advent joy indeed. Yours, ‘The numbering at Bethlehem’ by Peter Brueghel the Elder, 1566 Derek the Cleric (Can you see Mary and Joseph?) Morning Prayer at Dersingham today, 13th December, 10 am

At 10 am at St Nicholas Dersingham we will hold a service of Morning Prayer. If you’d like to join us, please book with Pauline at 01485 544561 or email [email protected] –Rev Mark

Reminder December calendar of services Please remember to book in advance if you plan to Please see our list of benefice services, next page. attend any of our in-church worship services. We have plenty of space and are using ‘bubbles’ and social distancing. Contactless payment You will need to book in advance each time. At our church services, we welcome you making To book, please contact Pauline Martin on 01485 your Giving by Contactless Payment, which will 544561 or [email protected] be available on the front desk as you come in. Just set the machine to the amount you wish to Face coverings give and scan your card. In line with government rules, the Diocese asks us Those who are unable to get to the service and to wear masks (face coverings) in church for our would like to make a donation, please contact the services. If you have any health problems and are Treasurer, Pat Oughtibridge, c/o the church unable to wear a face covering, please be assured office at 01485 544561 or that you will be very welcome in church without one. [email protected]

A Christmas Prayer

Thanks to Jackie Scott for sending us this timely prayer by Henri Nouwen.

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” –Henri J. M. Nouwen

December Services

ALL SERVICES IN CHURCH REQUIRE BOOKING IN ADVANCE

13th December

From 8am Weekly Online worship available 10am Morning Prayer (Dersingham Church)

4pm Zoom Tea and Carols (contact for access details) From 6pm Pre-recorded Tea and Carols online (Contemporary)

Date TBC Shernborne Christmas Celebration

20th From 8am Weekly recorded online service Benefice Traditional Lessons and Carols with readings from all four churches

10am Celebration of Christmas (Ingoldisthorpe Church)

6:30pm Celebration of Christmas (Dersingham Church)

21st 4pm Anmer OUTSIDE Carol Service (numbers limited – booking essential)

Christmas Eve

4pm Crib Service (Dersingham Church) 11:30pm Midnight Holy Communion (Dersingham Church) (also Live Streamed so you can watch from home, details to follow) Christmas Day From 8am Online Recorded Christmas Day Service available

8am Holy Communion from the Prayer Book (BCP) – (Dersingham Church)

10am Family Celebration (Dersingham Church)

27th From 8am Online recorded service available 10am Morning Prayer (Dersingham Church)

Please Remember: ALL SERVICES IN CHURCH REQUIRE BOOKING IN ADVANCE Contact Pauline at 01485 544561 or [email protected] Ideas for prayer + wisdom in the safe use of our churches + families bereaved at this time and those not + all those affected by the coronavirus able to use the church as they would wish to + our NHS workers and those in care homes + our public church services during the + our collective health and welfare, our nation festive season and community life + our online worship service and fellowship + our Government and its advisors + all who make our services possible and all who + for wisdom and patience in dealing with the attend them, in church or online many changes to our ways of life + hope, encouragement and peace during this + those who are worried about their jobs, time of continuing restrictions livelihoods and businesses + those working in essential services We give thanks for: + those who have lost their jobs + God’s presence in our lives + those who are adjusting to new ways of working + Advent and Christmas + those who are homeless + our church community and our families and + those who are suffering any injustice – racial, friendships social, economic + God’s grace, love and forgiveness + those facing any illness or medical treatment + opportunities to serve others and share + those who feel isolated and those who cannot God’s love be with their families + progress in understanding and treating the + our children and young people, their coronavirus, and the development of vaccines parents, teachers and all support staff + God’s word and help for our own situations + our young adults + acts of kindness, courage, selflessness

We pray for all Christians in countries where they are persecuted for their faith.

5) PAKISTAN Population 204.6 million. 4 million Christians. Extreme anti-blasphemy laws are frequently used to target Christians.

Prayer Points • Pray that Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws will not be used to target Christians or other minorities.

• Pray for protection for vulnerable Christian women and girls.

• Pray for Open Doors partners supporting isolated believers with vocational training and spiritual support.

Thanks to Revd Adrian for providing these prayers for the persecuted church.

Wordsearch – John the Baptist

Thanks to Carol for this week’s puzzle. All the words can be found in John chapter 1 verses 6 to 8 and 19 to 28.

Stopwatch: how quickly can you solve these anagrams?

AGE DUET

SEASONAL THINS SLED RACE ICE SNARE

FUN DO LOWLY REFUND

(All are words found in Derek’s letter. Answers, last page.)

BBC iPlayer Link to Young Chorister BBC iPlayer - Songs of Praise - Young Chorister of the Year - Final

Christmas Card for the Villages rd A Christmas Card is currently being prepared to be Collect for the 3 Sunday delivered to all homes in the villages of Dersingham, of Advent Anmer, Ingoldisthorpe and Shernborne.

This will be an opportunity to share a mini message, God for whom we watch and wait, communicate how the church has been offering gifts of you sent John the Baptist love in the community this year and advertise the to prepare the way of your Son: Christmas services both online and in church. give us courage to speak the truth, We would love to have many volunteers to deliver to to hunger for justice, a road or two please. If you can help, please contact and to suffer for the cause of right, Pauline to let her know: 01485 544561 or [email protected] with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thank you in anticipation. –Church of England Rev Mark Advent Prayers

Towards Alpha: a brief history of evangelism

Thanks to Allan Coleby for this interesting series, which this week looks at Billy Graham’s ministry. Some of us may remember hearing Graham speak at Carrow Road in the 1980s! Next week Allan will conclude the series with an article about Alpha.

Part 14 – Billy Graham, the great communicator

Through the Middle Ages, Christianity was kept alive by the monasteries. But at times it was expanded by some of the most powerful people in history – St Paul, Constantine, Luther, Brewster, the Wesleys, – who travelled thousands of miles, preached thousands of sermons, wrote books and led international movements. As powerful as any of those figures was Billy Graham, sometimes called ‘the most influential Christian leader of the twentieth century.’ Born in 1918 on a dairy farm in North Carolina, his conversion was in 1934, aged 16. He was ordained a minister by the Southern Baptist convention in 1940. Eventually, it is estimated that he preached directly to more people than anyone else in history, to 215 million people in 185 countries. Including TV and radio coverage, his lifetime audience was probably over 2.5 billion people world-wide.

His message was simple, based on Jesus’ commands in Matthew 10:7 and Mark 3:14, and especially Mark 16:15, ‘Go and preach the gospel to the whole human race.’ Graham did just that. His first crusade was in Los Angeles in a circus tent called the ‘canvas cathedral’ by the press. The newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hurst, was so impressed, he ordered all his papers to promote him. From then on, his preaching ‘crusades’ went round the whole nation and the world and he achieved international renown.

In the 1930s, Protestantism was deeply divided between Fundamentalism and Modernism, which applied scholarly textual criticism to the Bible. Graham had a foot in both camps. He was theologically conservative, but refused to be sectarian. Crucially, he seized the opportunities presented by the new media technologies of radio and television, and, later, films, videos and webcasts, to spread the gospel message. His popular appeal was his extraordinary charisma and his simple, homespun message of repentance, and achieving salvation by accepting Jesus. He delivered this message energetically, without patronising.

Behind the message there was a complex organisation, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. For each crusade, there was advance work with media coverage, support from political leaders, and co-ordination with local churches who provided a follow-up programme for new converts. The crusade itself used the biggest arena and stadia, choirs from local churches and the Association’s own choir supporting the most wonderful baritone voice of Beverly Shea. The meeting itself was mesmerising, and the culminating focus was on Billy’s address, intense but simple and Bible-based. There were thousands of converts who were then supported locally. He wrote 33 books, all best-sellers, and was on Gallup’s list of the ‘ten most admired people in the world’ 61 times. He and his wife received the Congressional Gold Medal in the USA in 1996 and in 2001 he was made a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE). He was always ecumenical in his outlook and refused to be sectarian. His world-wide crusades, his friendship with five US Presidents, and his role as spokesman for all American evangelicals made him the most recognised religious figure in the twentieth century.

–Allan Coleby Billy Graham preaching at Carrow Road, Norwich in 1984 as part of three months of evangelism by Mission England

Photo: unattributed, www.networknorwich.co.uk Christmas Trees at St Nicholas, Dersingham

Open for tree viewing Private prayer amongst the trees Saturday, December 12th and 19th 10 am – 4 pm Tuesday, December 15th and 22nd 2 – 4 pm Sunday, December 13th and 20th 12 noon – 3 pm Thursday, December 17th and 24th 10 am – 12 noon

Reduced Offerings/Alms Giving

This year it has been hard for people to come to a church building for worship, but the good news is the church continues to be active and alive for Christ within the villages and beyond. The pandemic has made it difficult for people who would normally give on a weekly basis to do so. The income this year particularly at Dersingham and at Ingoldisthorpe has been considerably lower in part due to service restrictions and minimal fundraising opportunities. If you have been keeping aside your offering and would like to offer this for the church, please contact Pauline (544561) or deliver to Pauline who will pass it on to the respective treasurers. (If making your offering by cheque, please make it payable to ‘Dersingham PCC’.) If you would like to commence giving via the ease of a standing order (with or without gift aid), please also contact Pauline for more information. Thank you. Rev Mark Carols and Some Meanings

Some of you remembered this piece from a couple of years ago. It was written in a time before Covid, when singing together was just singing together. Carols are on the schedule this week – if you’re up for singing along at home, tune in today at 4 pm for Zoom Tea and Carols or at 6 pm for a pre-recorded version. Looking ahead, on the 20th there’s our online worship service of Traditional Lessons and Carols, from 8 am.

‘Carol’ comes to us from Old French and, according to most dictionaries, the word begins to appear in English sometime around the thirteenth century. A carol was a joyful song and to carol meant to dance in a ring, usually to the accompaniment of singers. By the end of the fourteenth century the meaning carried more gusto, and we find that to carol now meant ‘to sing with joy or festivity’. By the time of London’s 1879 Christmas Day fog (which, weather records show, was to persist long into January) the term was beginning to describe ‘going from place to place singing Christmas carols’ – a meaning familiar to us today, although carolling is perhaps no longer the perambulatory activity it once was. Of my childhood memories of winters in Dersingham several could be bookmarked as carol singing. Standing outside Thaxters in the sleet with song sheets from the church. Trailing along Manor Road with Ever Ready torches the dads had sent us out with. Rattling the collection tin. Hoping someone really would give us toffees to stop us from singing – they never did! A few memories are from so early in my life that I can’t remember my age or what we sang, only that I was singing outside in the cold and did not feel cold. The carols were melodies and they were also the small clouds of breath that puffed in front of us in the icy air. They were sounds and shapes at the same time, winter making the music visible. It’s an imperfect analogy for the miracle of Christ’s birth – God coming to live among us in a form we could understand – but the memory of seeing music stays with me as one of the joys of the Christmas season and as a way to think about the surprise and transformation of God’s love. –Lois Williams

A Wintry Nursery Rhyme The north wind doth blow, And we shall have snow, And what will poor robin do then, poor thing? Image: line drawing for colouring, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Pixabay He’ll sit in the barn And keep himself warm, Anagrams: Gaudete, Thessalonians, declares, increase, And hide his head under his wing, found, wonderfully With help from: anagrammaker.com poor thing!