Newsletter from the Bury St Edmunds Circuit th EVE for Sunday 27 December 2020 CIRCUIT CAROL SERVICE 4.00 P.M. First Sunday in https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85360974032?pwd=Nm5N Dear Friends, bVJOVFl4WkErclJKNEdLbmdWdz09

Meeting ID: 853 6097 4032 Passcode: 166044 Merry Christmas! I hope that whatever you did and wherever you The first part of this carol service will be all age, so were this Christmas, you were able to relax and enjoy Christmas Day? please invite along your children, grandchildren and Now, here we are at the first Sunday in Christmastide and for many great grandchildren as we celebrate the Christmas Story. Do the celebration is over and we are moving on. This feeling might be remember to wear your Christmas Jumper. particularly stark this year as the Christmas ‘window’ for meeting with others closes today, but often once the big day is over we seem in a CIRCUIT LOVE FEAST 8.30 p.m. hurry to pack Christmas away and get on to the next thing. I have https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87112909529?pwd=SnpMYnZ2ZGxDN1VR friends who routinely take their decorations down on and Ujlkc2JZbTVIdz09 the record at packing Christmas away is held by one shop in Meeting ID: 871 1290 9529 Passcode: 379265 Cambridge who we saw taking their decorations down on Christmas A time to stop and reflect as we await the birth of our Eve as we returned from our afternoon carol service! Saviour. Please remember to bring food and drink

to the service. Not so in the church, the church calendar gives us 12 days after

Christmas Day to celebrate and enjoy the birth of and then CHRISTMAS DAY another 4 weeks of to unwrap what the gift of the Christ There will be two Christmas Day services in the circuit Child means. Preparing for Christmas can be quite a rush, so it is good to take time to reflect on the amazing impact Immanuel has for 10.00 a.m. hosted by Debbie us and all the world. Even Mary, in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84056423767?pwd=ZW4xUVRlWnQ2eE9v takes time, once the shepherds have left, to ponder all that has WDRrTytGMEZSQT09 happened and what God is doing. Meeting ID: 840 5642 3767 Passcode: 439942

So this Christmastide, may we continue our celebrations in a quiet 10.30 a.m. hosted by Rita way, listening to carols and allowing the words of the nativity promise https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85852814435?pwd=MFlNMG1oMGhNWTV to really sink in. It is a message of lasting hope which is so much iUmMzZkNScCtQQT09 needed in our world today. Meeting ID: 858 5281 4435 Passcode: 004216

Wishing you every blessing for Christmastide CHRISTMAS SERVICES ON FACEBOOK From 4pm on Christmas Rita, Debbie and Ruth Eve a service led jointly by Ruth Ridge and Revd Tom Mumford from St Gregory’s in Sudbury will be available to view on the Ken Button RIP th St John’s Facebook page. Ruth’s 6pm Thursday thought will also be Ken died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday 9 December. our a special one for Christmas Eve. Revd Ruth Ridge will also be prayers are with his family and friends. streaming a short celebration service on Facebook at 9.30am on Christmas Day. The Legend of the Christmas Rose CHRISTMAS EVE AT 6.00 P.M. you are asked to come out onto your On a cold December night, everybody was coming to see their new doorstep and ring bells for 2 minutes – a sign that Christmas is on its Saviour and brought Him all kinds of gifts and presents. The three ways. Spread some Christmas spirit and help Santa fly that sleigh. Wise Men came in with their valuable gifts of myrrh, frankincense and gold and offered them to Baby Jesus. At that point, a shepherdess, IXWORTH METHODIST CHURCH CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL ONLINE Madelon, who had seen the wise men passing through, reached the door of the stable, to see the Child. However, being very poor and having brought nothing to offer to the child, she felt helpless and Please send us photos of your lovely started weeping quietly at the sight of all the wonderful gifts that the decorated Christmas Trees – we need Three Wise Men had got for the child. Earlier, she had searched, in some more to make a really good show. vain, for flowers all over the countryside but there was not even a Please e-mail them to Robert at single bloom to be found in the bitter winter. [email protected] and help us to cheer everyone up! You can view the Christmas Festival at An angel outside the door was watching over her and knew about her Ixworth Methodist Church 2020 Christmas Festival | Virtual Christmas fruitless search. He took pity on her and, when he saw her head Festival supporting two charities: Bin Twinning and Bury Drop In drooped down in sorrow, decided to help her with a little miracle. He gently brushed aside the snow at her feet and where her tears had fallen, sprang a beautiful cluster of waxen white winter roses with pink Sunday Worship A Circuit video recording of the Sunday Worship tipped petals. Then he softly whispered into the shepherdess's ear Sheet can be found at: that these Christmas roses are far more valuable than any myrrh, http://www.trinitymethodistchurch.org.uk/worshipthisweek.htm frankincense or gold, for they are pure and made of love. The maiden There is also a pre-recorded carol service on this link was pleasantly surprised when she heard those words and joyfully gathered the flowers and offered them to the Holy Infant, who, seeing Zoom Sunday Worship: You are welcome to join Zoom Worship on a that the gift was reared with tears of love, smiled at her with gratitude Sunday morning with Rev Debbie Borda or Rev Rita Carr. If you and satisfaction. would like to join in worship in this way then please contact either of Thus, the Christmas rose came to symbolize hope, love and all that is them and they will give you details of how to join a zoom meeting. wonderful in this season.

Live stream service Ruth Ridge is leading a weekly service on the St The legend of Christmas Rose shows us that the gesture counts more John's Facebook page live at 6pm every Thursday. The service lasts than the gift. Perhaps, this legend originated just to teach people that, about 30 mins and is available to watch live and on the page at any no matter what you gift, it must be from the heart and soul. In the time after it has been broadcast. The service is available at: legend the gift in question is a flower, but at this strange Chrsitmas https://www.facebook.com/stjohnsmethodistchurchsudbury and you time maybe your gift could be to phone someone who is alone. do not have to have a Facebook account to Merry Christmas, Debbie access it.