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St. Mary's Newsletter Christmas & New St. Mary’s Newsletter Christmas & New Year edition Transformation through Jesus Word for December and January Welcome to the last Spotlight of 2019! As I write, we are just a few days away from the start of Advent and all of our preparations for celebrating Christmas! Do pray for our services over the coming months, when we will see many visitors coming through our doors as usual. It is an extraordinary opportunity for us to share the Good News of Jesus with our community and we want it to be steeped in prayer, us partnering with God to see His Kingdom advance in our town and local area. One Christmas, my father was ill and had to spend Christmas Day in hospital. Generally, hospitals make every effort to send people home for Christmas, but it is not always possible. And so it came to pass that my Dad was in an otherwise unoccupied ward in a London hospital on Christmas Day. As he wasn’t able to join in with our usual celebrations, we thought ‘if Dad can’t come home for Christmas, we will take Christmas to him!’. That’s exactly what we did! Christmas celebrations were in full swing in that hospital ward that year! Our theme for our Christmas services this year is ‘Here comes Heaven’. God created human beings to live in love and peace with Him – to live out heaven on earth. But that first rebellion against Him in the garden of Eden had drastic consequences. At that point, humanity chose a different king – the serpent that desired to be greater than God. Not only did Adam and Eve disobey God, but they obeyed the serpent. And the effects of that choice were catastrophic. At that point, heaven was lost to us. But the Good News that we celebrate at Christmas is that through Jesus, heaven is restored! He puts right, all that went wrong in those early days of humanity. I love the song we sometimes sing ‘You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus you brought heaven down’1. We couldn’t attain heaven, and so Jesus brought heaven to us. He demonstrated how good it is to live under the rule and reign of the King of kings. He showed heaven on earth. And when we respond to his offer and exchange the dominion of the serpent for the Kingdom of God, through repentance and faith, heaven is opened up to us. This is not just an insurance policy for when we get to the end of our earthly lives! This marks the beginning of eternity! We start this ‘life of the age’ or ‘eternal life’ at that very moment! We then become his agents for change in a broken world, through whom his beautiful Kingdom is advanced, as we act as ambassadors for Him and as we point others towards this most wonderful King. We pray that this will be a wonderful Christmas for you and your families and for Ferndown, and that each of us will grasp afresh the momentous gift that God has given us in sending His son Jesus to bring heaven to us. “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” Galatians 4 verses 4-5 With love Rev. Sarah Pix (Team Rector) 1 “What a beautiful name” by Hillsong Christmas Invitations Who will you invite to church this Christmas? Christmas Services postcards are now available. Please take as many as you would like to invite family, friends, neighbours and colleagues to join you for one of our Christmas services. 2. Christmas Services at St. Mary’s “Here Comes Heaven” Sunday 8th December 9.00am - Morning Worship 10.45am - Children’s Christmas Service 6.30pm - Hungry Sunday 15th December 9.00am - Holy Communion 10.45am - Family Service 4.30pm and 7.00pm - Carols by Candlelight (both services will be followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Hall) Sunday 22nd December 9.00am - Morning Worship 10.45am - Morning Worship 6.30pm - Carols in the Café Tuesday 24th December (Christmas Eve) 3.30pm - Christingle 11.00pm - Midnight Communion (joint with Hampreston at St. Mary’s Church) Wednesday 25th December (Christmas Day) 10.00am - All Age Service 11.15am - Holy Communion Sunday 29th December 2020 10.00am - Carols & Communion (joint with Hampreston at St. Mary’s Church) Christmas Flower Displays at St. Marys If you would like to sponsor a window flower arrangement at Christmas, please contact Ann Jones on (01202) 875730, or bring your donation to the Office. Thank you. 3. St. Mary’s Christmas Appeal This year our Christmas Appeal will be for “Transform Salone” Transforming lives in Sierra Leone AND the Salisbury Women’s Refuge “Transform Salone” Those of you who know me well know of my love for our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone. For 12 years I have been able to share in their lives, going on 2 – 8 week mission trips. Sadly, I had to stop going on these trips two years ago due to health issues. I am a trustee of a small registered Christian charity called “Transform Salone”, which provides support to desperately impoverished communities in this beautiful yet tortured country. This is done in a number of ways: Education and training – “Transform Salone” undertakes school sponsorship and also provides children with uniforms and school books, without which they are not able to attend school. So many families simply cannot afford these basics. Today (as I write on 21st November), 400 primary children in a slum school have received such supplies. We are proud of all our children, some of whom progress to further education. One is now a plumber and another is a roadworks machinery operator. We also have a young lady now training to be a doctor, another as a nurse, one is awaiting exam results to enter the army and another is studying economics to be an accountant. We are also currently training three girls to set up their own business making reusable sanitary products. We are passionate about enabling and encouraging these precious children to fulfil their potential as much as possible in their difficult circumstances. Food Provision – We supply rice to people in need. Blind beggars benefited especially during the Ebola crisis when they were unable to beg to feed their families during the epidemic shut down. We have also been busy in the recent period of floods, providing rice to those who have lost everything. Medical Assistance – There is no NHS in Sierra Leone and all medical care has to be paid for. “Transform Salone” funds treatment for those who can’t afford it. When visiting a poor fishing village, a small child was brought forward having suffered terrible burns from falling into an 4. open fire. This brave little chap received the vital medical treatment he needed and although scarred is now recovered. A young lady in intense pain made contact with us via the school as she had no money and was unable to seek medical help. We got her to hospital where she underwent surgery for appendicitis which if left untreated would have killed her – she is now fully recovered. At “Transform Salone” we are all volunteers working in the love of Jesus, depending entirely on donations and our own fundraising efforts to do this work and other projects. To support this I am walking 760 miles from 1st Sept – 31st March (my 76th birthday). Adele Pirrie Salisbury Women’s Refuge Salisbury Women's Refuge provides accommodation and support for up to 11 women and their children. They work tirelessly to fulfil their mission to provide a safe haven for women and children who experience domestic abuse and support them in leading an independent life. The service that they provide includes secure accommodation, a tailored support package, advice and signposting for agencies, safety planning, counselling, domestic abuse awareness, empowerment and self esteem support work, and highest level of safeguarding. Salisbury Women’s Refuge provides accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic abuse including honour based violence, female genital mutilation and forced marriage. As an independent charity, they rely on the support of the local community to help them to carry out the vital work that they do. How to give to St. Mary’s Christmas Appeal Giving envelopes for the Christmas Appeal will be available in the pews. Please enclose your donation and put it in the collection bag or hand it into the Church Office. If you are UK tax payer you may like to complete the Gift Aid declaration on the envelope. The collections taken at our Carols By Candlelight, Christingle and Midnight Communion services will all be donated to the Christmas Appeal. Thank You for your generosity. 5. An 8-session course helping you explore the world’s bestseller Accessible and interactive, it will enhance and inform your ongoing Bible study, whether you are new to the Bible or want to go deeper. Using a unique storyline, the course shows how the key events, books and characters all fit together. You’ll get to see the BIG picture and discover how the Bible applies to your life. Where: St. Mary’s Church, Ferndown When: Tuesdays at 7.30pm - from 21st January to 17th March (inclusive) How to book: Call the Church Office on 01202 897087 or email [email protected] or sign up on the sheet at the back of church Appeal for drinks and treats for Carols By Candlelight Services (on Sunday 15th December) Once again we would like to serve steaming vessels of mulled wine and scrumptious mince pies to our guests at the Carols by Candlelight Services.
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