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Dear Friends, Firstly on Behalf of Judy and Myself, Let

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Dear Friends, Firstly on Behalf of Judy and Myself, Let Briefing 44: Tuesday 22nd December, 2020. Dear friends, Firstly on behalf of Judy and myself, let me wish you all a very happy Christmas and God’s richest blessings on you and your families for the coming year. It’s been a difficult year, but we have a great hope and a glorious saviour, and the Lord has shown his goodness to us in many ways. Judy and I would like to thank you all for your continued support and encouragement this year, as well as your sacrificial, willing service and constant prayers. It’s been a year when we’ve had to learn new skills, get used to a new normal, and rely more on God and one another than ever before, but we’ve made it through to Christmas! But as we celebrate the coming of Christ again this year, we do so against a darker backdrop than many of us have ever had to face in our lives. But that darkness cannot overcome the light and hope of Jesus. In the face of our fears and uncertainties about the future, the light of Jesus shines brighter still! He brings light to the darkness, strength to the weary, hope to the hopeless and illumines our paths. May his glorious light shine in our lives and pierce the darkness of our nation. And having received the light of Christ, so we must walk in it and share that light with others. Let’s do that with thankfulness. Despite the restrictions and disappointments the year has brought and the gloom of the media, there are so many blessings for which to thank God. Let’s count them and thank him for them! Let’s rejoice in the light and hope and love of Jesus this Christmas, And let’s do that in helpfulness and kindness. As you think of your neighbours or those in our church family who might be alone or feeling cut off, why not take a moment to call them? Let’s share the light and hope and love of Jesus this Christmas. And let’s do that in faith. We may know the end of our story (we’ve seen that in Revelation) but we do not know what the immediate future holds. But God does. He sees and directs the paths of our lives every step of the way. So don’t give in to fear for the future. Instead, let’s look forward this Christmas, confident of the light and hope and love of Jesus who will never, ever, let us go. May God bless you and your families richly, Yours in Christ, Dave IMPORTANT STUFF – DON’T JUST GLANCE- TAKE IT ALL IN! Whilst some of our events have been curtailed by moving into Tier 4, these are still running! TREASURE HUNT: Starting today (Tuesday at 2pm) family Christmas Story Treasure Hunt in St Nicholas churchyard. Come along and find the 16 pictures of characters from the Christmas story and decode a message which explains why Jesus (and Christmas) is so special! It’s self-guided- so there’s no need to book. Answer sheets can be downloaded from here CHRISTMAS-TREASURE-HUNT-ANSWER-SHEET.docx.pdf (saintnicholaschurch.org.uk) or collected from the lych gate. Christingle kits will be available to collect from the lych gate from Wednesday morning. ON LINE NATVITY AND CHRISTINGLE: tune into our online Nativity Christingle service for the Christmas story in song and drama (filmed on locations around the benefice)– and to light your Christingles! It will be released on Wednesday morning at 9am at (1) St Nicholas Church Stevenage - YouTube CHRISTMAS NEW YEAR ZOOM FAMILY FUN QUIZ THING. Wednesday 30th December 7pm-8:30pm If you’d like to get together for some on line chatting and fun, email Dave for a link. SERVICES OVER CHRISTMAS Christmas Eve 6pm: Carols by candlelight at St Mary Graveley. To book contact Janet on 813863 Christmas Eve at 11pm: carols by candlelight at St Nicholas. To book click here: https://forms.gle/Z8St3aRxMpA1qjVg7 Christmas Day: at St Nicholas at 9:30am - to book click here: https://forms.gle/c3BWpjuaEqMQcMV89 and at St Marys at 11:30am - to book contact Janet on 813863 These will not be live streamed, but a short pre-recorded service for Christmas Day will be released on the St Nicholas YouTube Channel at 9am Christmas Day for those not able to attend. Sunday 27th December at 10am: A joint service for the benefice at St Nicholas with Holy Communion with Ray Porter preaching. To book click here: https://forms.gle/Kj5sdFfur7aUv7JE7 This will be live streamed. SUPPORTING OUR MISSIONARIES THIS CHRISTMAS- 2 DAYS LEFT TO SIGN OUR VIRTUAL Christmas cards here: The St Nicholas card can also be found here: https://www.groupgreeting.com/sign/ef4e18e7e65000b The St Mary’s card can also be found here: https://www.groupgreeting.com/sign/9e78fef31839f60 and to make a donation to our missionaries here: For St Mary’s, click here: https://givealittle.co/campaigns/fcb2cb18-94af-4c38-8b07-1471769b64c8 For St Nicholas, click here: https://givealittle.co/campaigns/5f594bca-73e3-426b-82f0-c46e9bfa2e96 COME AND PRAY TOGETHER! Our next early morning prayer meeting will be on Tuesday 5th January at 7am. Email Dave for a Zoom link. The next newsletter will be coming out in the New Year and there will be a further update on Friday. Until then, may God bless you and your families. .
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