On Sunday we welcome Archdeacon Martin Lloyd Williams to preach for us at our 10am Zoom service. The church now moves into the season of Advent, a time of expectant waiting for the coming of Christ.
This week saw the publication of the Government’s Covid 19 winter plan and it is good news that from 2nd December churches in all tiers can again be open for public worship. The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, who chairs the Church of England’s recovery group writes:
‘Churches and cathedrals can now approach Advent and Christmas with more certainty; a time when we know many people will look forward to attending services celebrating the birth of Jesus.’
From Sunday 6th December both the 8am and 10am services will be in church again and socially distanced as before. You will need to book if you want to attend the 10am service. This service will be live streamed for those joining us at home. Thank you for keeping up with these changes.
Collect
Almighty God,
as your kingdom dawns,
turn us from the darkness of sin to
the light of holiness,
that we may be ready to meet you
in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Readings
- Isaiah 64.1-9
- Psalm 80.1-8,18-20
- 1 Corinthians 1.3-9
- Mark 13.24-37
Praying for the nation
During lockdown the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, together with the Bishop of London, have asked us to set some time apart on Thursdays to pray for our nation, for its leaders, its health and essential services, and all those who suffer. We will do this during our weekly Celtic Evening prayer service on Zoom at 7pm. Do join us if you can. There is a special prayer for each week. This is the prayer for 30th November to 6th December.
Loving God,
your Son Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly;
pour out your blessing upon our nation;
where there is illness,
bring your healing touch;
where there is fear,
strengthen us with the knowledge of your presence;
where there is uncertainty,
build us up in faith;
where there is dishonesty,
lead us into truth;
where there is discord,
may we know the harmony of your love; this we ask in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
The St Francis Fund
The fund is here to help anyone facing a financial crisis, leading up to Christmas.
The fund is able to help by gifting small grants to those in need, within the Good Shepherd.
Please contact Edgar Powell, in confidence, if you, or anyone you know, is in need. Edgar: 01273 453709
Post a Prayer
The healing team is trying out a new way of offering prayer at the church – a prayer box. This is at the entrance of the church. If you have any prayer requests, you can write them down and bring them to church and post in the box. This will be emptied once a week and the requests shared with the healing ministry team for prayer. You can also email your prayer requests to Trish Holme goodshepherdhealingbook@yahoo.com
Food Bank Collection for Christmas
We are teaming up again with the Shoreham Beach Resident’s Association to collect food for the Shoreham Food Bank. You can leave donations in the church Friday 4th December and Saturday 4th December, between 9am to 6pm. Thank you for your support. Here are the items especially needed:
- UHT Fruit Juice
- Tinned Tomatoes
- Tea Bags (Packs Of 40)
- Tinned Fish
- Tinned Mixed Vegetables
- Squash (1L Bottles)
- UHT Fruit Juice
- Coffee
- Tinned Meatballs
- Tinned Sweetcorn
- Tinned Lentils
- UHT Milk
- Tinned Potatoes
- Tinned Fruit
- Toiletries - Shampoo, Deodorants, Tooth Paste, Washing Up Liquid, Hand Sanitiser, Nappies, Sizes 5 & 6, Baby Wipes.
You can also donate any Christmas "goodies" such as chocolates or biscuits, and small gifts such as children's books, games and adult toiletries.
Children – and adults too!
An activity sheet for the children is available for download.
Daisy is also inviting adults to join in with the
activity this week and make decorations for our Christingle event, which will take place outside at a beach hut, Saturday 19th December, 4-5pm.
Next week 6th December would normally be an all age service, but we have decided instead to run a Sea Lights session in the church hall to give children time to rehearse for the crib service. Please email Daisy if you would like your child to attend on 6th December.
Admission to Communion
Revd Steve will be running an admission to Communion course for children early next year. If you feel your child is ready to take this step, let Daisy know.
Christmas card delivery service
As part of our ongoing fundraising, we are offering a delivery service for Christmas cards. The cards are for delivery on Shoreham Beach only. Our collection service will operate on 6th, 13th, 16th and 20th December. We will collect from you home and deliver door to door. The cost will be £1 for 5 cards.
Jill Charlish and Angela Tritton will collect your cards from your home. If you would like this service while also helping to raise money for our church please contact us via email by clicking their names.
We will collect your cards in the morning and aim to deliver the same day. Please state the preferred date.
George’s Sponsored Walk
Congratulations to George Hickman who has completed his sponsored walk to raise funds for brickwork repairs needed on our church hall. As many of you know, George is disabled, so this walk, from Shoreham Fort to
the church, required enormous personal physical effort. George has reached his target of £2,000 for hall repairs. Any extra money donated will be used for repairs on the church. There’s still time to donate. Go to his Just Giving Page.
Thank you George for doing this on the church’s behalf, and thank you to everyone who has donated so generously. A tremendous achievement.
Bible Art
Revd Jess writes:
‘In Mark 13 Jesus is talking about seeing the Son of Man coming in great glory and power, and how we might know that time is coming near. He says that, in the same way that the people in Israel would keep watch over the fig tree for the signs of summer drawing near, so we should keep alert and watch and wait.
If Jesus had been born here in the UK, he would not have talked about the fig tree, so I was thinking about which plant he would have talked about here? I decided on the snow drop because it is also a Trinitarian plant with three petals, and a wonderful pureness about its petals’.
And finally...
We have beautiful new purple church fabrics for Advent, made for us by Chris Diebel. Thank you Chris! She has also lent us an Advent church banner depicting five candles. Do stop by and have a look.
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like a chat or ask for prayer. My hours as Associate Vicar are half time and my working days are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and also Sunday mornings. Blessings and prayers for you all this week.
Revd Jane