^{Moments of Marvelling}

And all those who heard it marvelled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Luke 2:18-20 New King James Version

As the shepherds left the manger they skipped up to the sheep covered hills with a new spring in their step. Bethlehem’s citizens marvelled at everything the shepherds told them about Jesus’ birth.

What special moments of marvelling have you experienced this Christmas season? The story, the carols, the reflections, the decorations and flowers were only complete when people decided to come along and join our worship at St.Mary’s and All Saints. We were overjoyed to meet you all – both new and old faces. Thank you for making the effort to gather with us. We shared joy, peace and hope as we listened together to story of Jesus birth and heard it receive fresh life and meaning for our times, in words sung and pondered. We hope you’ve had a chance to put your feet up, Revd Lizzie!

Thank you for all of you who made Advent and Christmas so special in so many ways.

May the light and hope of the Christ-child go with you into the New Year 2023.

Church is open all year round of course, so today we invite you back again to share your hopes for the New Year at this Sunday’s services:

Services this Sunday 1st January 2023

Naming of Jesus – Readings: Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7;Luke 2:15-21

10.00 – St Mary’s – Creative Church : Journeying

10.30 – All Saints – Holy Communion

Events in the coming week…

Monday 2nd January Tiny Tots closed – starts back 9th January at All Saints

Tuesday 3rd January No Music for Toddlers – starts back 10th January at St.Mary’s

Wednesday 4th January Celtic Morning Prayer – 9.00- 9.30am at All Saints

Thursday 5th January Holy Communion – 10.00am at St.Mary’s

Friday 6th January- Living after Loss – 11am to 12noon St. Marys

Saturday 7th January- Saturday Lunches – 12noon till 2pm St. Marys

To finish with, here is a beautiful and apt new year reflection by Carol Dixon, as we continue to remember our brothers and sisters in Ukraine and Russia, and other war weary places. We hope for their peace and relief from suffering.

 Step softly into your weeping world, incarnate God; embrace it in your love. Bring light into broken lives, warmth into frozen hearts, hope to those at war. May your peace pervade every place.   Help us to approach this new year filled with the joy of your companionship, ready to face the future, whatever it may hold.

Every blessing in 2023 , Revd Diane

Happy Christmas All Saints and St Marys

After all that waiting we are here. Christmas Eve. Christmas Day – A Whole Christmas Weekend. A weekend of celebrations around this world changing, life changing moment that impacts our daily lives as we learn to be with others in Gods name.

As I think about placing all of those people in the stable I try to reflect again about their story and who they are and why they might be there. Mary, Joseph, Angels, The Magi and Shepherds. As I again imagine that child born in Bethlehem, I think of them all, and the story that they still have to tell us. What would they whisper to me? What would they lean close to tell you? The crib lies empty only a little longer, we are now so close to the good news that starts in that place in the middle east and then reverberates around the world. What makes this moment, this incarnational centre, the most critical of festivals for me, is that Christians believe that God does not remain other, but becomes one with. Simple. Yet mind blowing. Ridiculous, but also so obvious. Terrifyingly beautiful. There is a prayer that captures perhaps part of that paradox – we pray it at Midnight Mass

“Welcome all wonders in one sight! Eternity shut in a span. Summer and Winter, day in night, heaven in earth and God in Man. Great little one whose all embracing birth brings earth to heaven and heaven to earth.”

For a moment those words take us to a different place. A place of possibility. A place of hope. Emmanuel. God is with us.

Happy Christmas everyone.

SERVICES FOR THE CHRISTMAS WEEKEND

Saturday 24^th December – Christmas Eve

4pm – Family Carols and Christingles – St Marys

7.30pm – Carols by Candlelight – All Saints

11.30pm – Midnight Mass – St Marys

Sunday 25^th December – Christmas Day

8am – Holy Communion (said) – All Saints

10am – All Age Family Communion – St Marys

10.30am – All Age Family Communion – All Saints

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday 28^th 09.00 – Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

Thursday 29^th 10.00 – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Sunday 1^st 10.00 – Creative / Open Church at St Mary’s Church

10.30 – Holy Communion with Baptism at All Saints Church

Revd Lizzie

This Sunday we get just a little bit closer to that crib scene. The schools have broken up for the holidays, people are starting to sign off from work, others are cramming in a quick few days away, some are making sure that they get everything they need sorted before next week. Somethings have got in the post, others haven’t. Christmas parties, end of term parties and the first sounds of carols being sung are all happening and as we do so, we creep a little bit closer to the manger.

I was thinking about that scene at this particular point in advent. That empty manger. I want to stay there just a little bit longer although I know that the energy of Christmas is just around the corner. But right now the crib remains empty. It is ready to receive the people that we know. It is ready to welcome Mary and Joseph, to be the place of donkeys and camels and sheep. It is ready to receive the shepherds and the magi. It is ready to welcome Jesus. But am I ready? Am I ever ready?

I want to be ready in so many ways, I want to be ready with all the practical things that go with this Christmas season but what I really need is to be ready to receive and learn again from all the people that journey to Bethlehem. To listen and understand why they came to this place and what they bring and what it cost them. I need to be ready to learn again the songs of hope and love. I hope and pray we will use these last days before Christmas to be ready to receive “The Emmanuel”, God with us.

Worship for this weekend – Sunday 18^th December

10am – Guide Toy Service – St Marys

10.30am – Holy Communion with Hymns – All Saints

6.30pm – Carols by Candlelight – St Marys

Looking to the weekend ahead please join us for

The Week Ahead

Wednesday 21^st 09.00 – Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

18.30 – Carols around the Yew Tree at All Saints Church

Thursday 22^nd 10.00 – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Christmas Eve 16.00 – Family Carols at St Mary’s Church

19.30 – Carols by Candlelight at All Saints Church

23.30 – Midnight Mass at St Mary’s Church

Christmas Day 08.00 – Holy Communion at All Saints

10.00 – All Age Christmas Communion at St Mary’s

10.30 – All Age Christmas Communion at All Saints

May you all know the coming of Christ in this week ahead, his love and joy and peace as we creep closer to the crib.

Advent Blessing

Lizzie

This Sunday, we continue our Advent theme of waiting. Our readings bring out three different themes of waiting for the Kingdom of God. In our Gospel reading, we hear how doubt had crept into the mind of John the Baptist as he waited in prison. Yet Jesus told him to look for the signs of the Kingdom all around. In our Old Testament reading, the prophet Isaiah gives the people a message of hope. He paints a picture of healing that goes beyond people and through all creation. In our New Testament reading, James tells his readers to be patient. But this is not an idle or inactive patience. It is the patience of the prophets, who continued to challenge injustice and oppression, despite the Kingdom of God seeming as far away as ever.

We have several opportunities to reflect further on this on Sunday. In addition to the normal 8am Holy Communion service at All Saints and 10am Holy Communion service at St Mary’s, there will be a Service of the Word at All Saints at 10.30am. This service will be held in the link, while Junior Church rehearse the Nativity in the church. The Nativity will be in the afternoon at 4.30pm. this gives the following services for this Sunday:

8.00 am – All Saints – Holy Communion (said)

10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

10.30 am – All Saints Link – Service of the Word

10.30 am – All Saints Church – Nativity practice

4.30 pm – All Saints – Nativity service

This week we have our normal mid-week services with Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints on Wednesday and Holy Communion at St Mary’s on Wednesday. Next Sunday at St Mary’s we have the Guides Toy Service in the morning and Carols by Candlelight in the evening. With Holy Communion at All Saints in the morning, the services for the coming week are as follows:

Wednesday 14^th – 9.00 am – All Saints – Celtic Morning Prayer

Thursday 15^th – 10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

Sunday 18^th – 10.00 am – St Mary’s – Guides Toy Service

10:30 am – All Saints – Holy Communion

6.30 pm – St Mary’s – Carols by candlelight

And as we wait, this Advent, let us look for the signs of the Kingdom of God all around us. Let us plant seeds of love and pray that, though they might be as tiny as a mustard seed, God may make them grow into something large and strong. Let us work with the patience of the prophets for God’s truth and justice, trusting that God will act in his own time.

Yours in Christ

Marc

Advent has many different themes and people to focus our prayers and reflections on. They can run separately or all at once. One structure is that over these four weeks of advent we reflect on the four themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Another is that we look at Patriarchs, Prophets, John the Baptist and Mary.

In this week of advent the themes of Peace and Prophets collide which can be a surprising mix. Issiah sees a vision of a peaceful kingdom. John the Baptist cries in the wilderness preparing people for Jesus. Both these prophets were happy to “tell it how it is” to kings and rulers even if that meant severe consequences for them – they don’t pull their punches when talking to power. But the idea that the purpose of the prophets challenge is to bring about a peaceful kingdom can be missed.

One of the challenges of advent is to do the difficult things today in order that when tomorrow comes we are ready to receive “The Prince of Peace”. That is one of the reasons that Advent is a Penitential season. A season of repentance. A time of getting our stuff in order – or in the simplest of prayers “Sorry”. That is the path of Advent we are asked to keep walking at this time.

We have a variety of worship and services this weekend that continue our advent journey. Junior Church start to practice for the Nativity at All Saints. Open Church is an informal worship space that is an easy place to get to know people and invite friends. The Advent Carol Sequence at St Marys is a beautifully sung advent service that allows for moments of wonder and reflection.

Services this Sunday – 4th December 2022

10am – St Marys – Open and Creative Church Team – Advent theme

10.30am – All Saints – Sung Holy Communion with Junior Church – Revd Lizzie

6.30pm – St Marys – Advent Sequence – Revd Lizzie

A poem from Malcolm Guite (Parable and Paradox) for your reflections

Repent

Repent, repent! What can it mean to me,

But turn around, let go, release, relent,

Unshackle your dark mind and set it free.

Your heart always knew better, so repent!

Repent the cringing and the compromise,

The whole long sorry settlement with sin,

The lowered expectations, the fine lies

That kept the Kingdom locked within.

Your demons threatened dreadful things: they lied!

Repent, resist their tyranny, withstand

The false advances of the prince of pride.

The King is coming, he is on your side,

Rise with him now, rise up and make a stand.

Repent! The true fulfilment is at hand!

Revd Lizzie

The photo above shows a greenly glimmering wood we found ourselves in by the River Dart near Buckfast Abbey – a day or two before the November 2020 lockdown.It reminds me of the mysterious green wood with dark pools discovered by two children in ’The Magician’s Nephew’. If you’re a fan of the Narnia Chronicles by C.S.Lewis you might remember the scene where Polly and Digory find out that if they put on yellow rings and jump into a different pool, they enter a new world. Then by swapping the yellow rings to green ones they get back to the sleepy ‘wood between worlds’.
In her ‘Lectionary Reflections’ the theologian Jane Williams compares the season of Advent to Polly’s ‘Wood between the Worlds’ – or, as Digory prefers to call it, this ‘in-between place’. The children had to actively choose to jump into a different pool to reach a new world.
The Advent Sunday Bible readings all invite us to be active – to be squirrels not sloths, gardeners not gunmen, to seek the light – not cower in the shadows.

In Romans 13:11-14 Paul shakes his readers out of complacency. “Wake up!” he says. “The night is far gone, the day is near!” Be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

Isaiah rallies God’s people saying ‘Come on! Let’s walk in the light of the Lord!’ God’s clarion call at Advent urges us to wake up and wage peace, beating swords into ploughshares and swords into pruning hooks.

In Advent we are invited to walk towards the manger by the light of a guiding star to discover the Jesus child. Maybe a vulnerable, beautiful baby, who invites care and protection, can actually teach us how to live more peacefully on God’s earth.

Services this Sunday 27th November

The First Sunday of Advent

Readings: Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44

08.00am All Saints Said Holy Communion

10.00am St.Mary’s Sung Holy Communion with St.Mary’s Kids

10.30am All Saints Cafe Church on the theme: Why go to church?

10.30am All Saints Christingle

Coming up in the week ahead

Wednesday 30th November 9am Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

Thursday 1st December 10am Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Saturday 3rd December 11am St.Mary’s Christmas Fair

Next Sunday 4th December

10.00 – Creative Open Church St Mary’s Church on the theme of Waiting

10.30 – Holy Communion at All Saints Church

18.30 – Veni Emmanuel – Advent Sequence at St Mary’s

So many joyful and reflective services to help you get ready for Christmas…

This Advent, how you will choose to let the light of love be born in you …?
Come, O come Emmanuel!

Revd Diane, assistant curate.

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” (John 18.36)

Jesus’ answer to Pontius Pilate, when asked if he is the King of the Jews, is in some ways enigmatic. But it is very clear about what the kingdom of God is not. It is not “from this world”. In John’s gospel, the term “world” (cosmos in the Greek), does not refer to the physical world. A different word is typically used for that. When Jesus says, “My kingdom is not from this world”, he means it does not fit into the worldly system of kings, armies, nations, and wars. It does not work in the same way as the Roman empire or the kingdoms that surrounded it. It does not use armies of followers to try to make Jesus king by force. It is not a kingdom in the way that Pilate or even the Jewish authorities understand. It “is not from here”.

But what is the kingdom and what does it mean to proclaim Christ as king?

Many of Jesus parables give images of what the Kingdom of God is like. It is like a tiny mustard seed growing into a great tree or a tiny bit of yeast that causes a whole loaf to rise. It is like hidden treasure or a beautiful pearl that someone would give up everything to own. It is like a great net catching all types of fish. It is like a great feast to which many are invited, but not all come. It is like a king who forgives the debts of his servants. It is like workers, who get a fair day’s pay however long they have worked.

But above all, it is about the king who is himself the way. It is about the king who leads by example and never with force. It is about the king who calls and waits patiently for a response. It is about the king born in the manger and the king hanging on the cross.

In the end, the kingdoms of this world cannot bring about peace or justice by force. It is only the love of God, shown in Christ on the cross, ruling in the hearts and minds of people that can bring good out of evil. That is the seed of the kingdom of God.

This Sunday, we will be reflecting more on the theme of Christ the King some more in our services, which are:

10:00 St Mary’s – Sung Baptism

10:30 All Saints – Holy Communion

There are the usual midweek services. Next Sunday there is Holy Communion at 10.00 at St Mary’s and Café Church at 10:30 at All Saints. In summary, the coming week’s services are:

Wednesday 23^rd – 9.00 am – All Saints – Celtic morning prayer

Thursday 24^th – 10.00 am- St Mary’s – Holy Communion

Sunday 27^th – 8.00 am – All Saints – Holy Communion (said)

10.00 am – St Mary’s – Holy Communion

10.30 am – All Saints – Café church

As we follow Christ in our lives, let us pray:

God the Father, 
help us to hear the call of Christ the King
and to follow in his service,
whose kingdom has no end;
for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, one glory.
Amen

Yours in Christ

Mark

Dear All Saints and St Marys

This weekend we gather in different ways and in different places for Remembrance Sunday. At All Saints Church we join with our Scout Groups and at St Marys we gather at the war memorial in the park. And although we are in different parts of Fishponds, we will be joined together by the collective silences, with a multitude of other gatherings all over the world, as people hold a pause. A moment. A time. A Space. A Silence. There is power to a collective gathering of remembrance. When we look around at others who join in the same simultaneous act, there is a glimpse of hope. In our unified silence I often find a gentle defiance that we know that we are people who are not made for war but for peace. In this I find a renewed commitment to want to be part of a more just world. I look forward to us remembering together.

Our services this Remembrance Sunday – 13^th November

8am – All Saints – Holy Communion

10am – St Marys – Sung Holy Communion followed by

10.55 – An Act of Remembrance in Fishponds Park

10.45am – All Saints – Service of Remembrance with the Scouting Association.

7.15pm – All Saints – Generations – Looking at Saints

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday 16^th 09.00 – Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

Thursday 17^th 10.00 – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Sunday 20^th 10.00 – Baptism Sung Communion at St Mary’s Church

10.30 – Holy Communion at All Saints Church

A prayer of Peace (Church of England)

O God of the nations,
as we look to that day when you will gather people
from north and south, east and west,
into the unity of your peaceable Kingdom,
guide with your just and gentle wisdom all who take counsel
for the nations of the world,
that all your people may spend their days in security, freedom, and peace,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Blessings

Revd. Lizzie

God of the Living

Greetings All Saints and St Mary’s!

As we walk this season between All Saints and Advent our thoughts turn to the people we love and see no longer. This week’s Gospel reading is very comforting because Jesus reassures his disciples that those who have died are still all alive to God.

Paul’s message to the Thessalonians likewise encourages the believers not to be alarmed at the passing of their friends. We are still connected to them – they live on through us too, when we imitate their good deeds to bless others in our turn.

Services this Sunday 6th November

Third Sunday before Advent

Readings Job 19:23-27a 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-5, 13-end; Luke 20: 27-38

10.00am St.Mary’s Creative and Open Church with Open Church Team

10.30am All Saints Holy Communion with Revd Lizzie Kesteven

6.30pm St. Mary’s Evensong with Graham Biddlecombe LLM

Coming up in the week ahead

Wednesday 9th 9am Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

Thursday 10th 10am Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Next Sunday 13th November is Remembrance Sunday

8am at All Saints Said Holy Communion

10am at St.Mary’s Sung Communion followed by Act of Remembrance in the Park

10.45 at All Saints All Age Remembrance Service with 13th Bristol -NOTE: later start time

Christian Art: All Saints

This wonderful website, which my sister introduced me to, reflects on each daily Gospel reading using a work of art. I was struck by the comment given for this painting depicting female saints.

“The illuminated page we are looking at today is stunning. As the perspective takes us deeper into the composition, the faces slowly disappear and the halos take over… It is a beautiful way to show us that there are so many anonymous saints around us too… people who never get recognised but do wonderful work for God.

The saints are actually not so very different from us: they come from similar backgrounds, similar education, similar worries, fears, strengths, etc… But what distinguishes them is that they took seriously God’s invitation to holiness.”

Painting: All Saints (females), From theBook of Hours of Luis de Laval, Louis de Laval Seigneur de Chatillon, Lord of Châtillon (1411-89) French, Executed 1470–1475 and 1485–1489, Workshop of Jean de Colombe, Paint, ink, gilding on vellum

The world we live in has been described by the acronymn VUCA – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. It is therefore humbling and a relief to remember saints are in fact forgiven sinners – people who discovered their need of God -who accepted with joy and thanksgiving that Christ died and rose again for them and the certain hope held out to them. Death and sin do not have the last word. Earth will know the peace of heaven in the end.

Special Prayer for this Sunday 6th November

God, our refuge and strength bring near the day when wars shall cease and poverty and pain shall end, that earth may know the peace of heaven through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Revd Diane, Assistant Curate for All Saints and St.Mary’s churches

This week marks a change in direction. The church pivots to face the next season of the year and that begins with the celebrations of All Saints Day and the Commemoration of All Souls Day. For us that also means a celebration of a Patronal Festival, and Benefice Service, at All Saints Church. One of the readings for this Sunday is found in Pauls letter to the Ephesians 1. Here there is a very clear link to the church community and the power of the Holy Spirit, the promise that we remain connected through prayer to God and Christ and all those who have gone before us, are present with us now, and to those to come. It is a complete sense of belonging. An invisible yet tangible thread, through our experience of it, that binds us together as Christians in the church community of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

The link to the Holy Spirit and the thread that binds us is interesting, as the first celebrations of all the “Saints” used to occur just after the feast of Pentecost. Pentecost was seen as the natural season to celebrate and honour all the early Christian Saints and Martyrs. It was not until the later 9^th Century that All Saints day was moved to November 1^st by the Pope.

The shops are currently filled with pumpkins, and cobwebs, as people ready themselves for Hallow “een”. Yet even Hallow “eve” is a night linked to Christian Tradition when people would exchange prayers for gifts, prior to All Hallows Day (All Saints Day). I welcome the chance in this season to stop and reflect on the many great saints, and faithful loved ones from our families and communities whose stories teach me so much about how to live and who God is. It is a reminder to me of the connecting thread of the Holy Spirit through time and space that links us so closely to a universal communion that is far more expansive than I could ever possibly imagine. It is also a timely reminder that I belong to not just a communion of saints, but to God.

The following services this Sunday:

8:00 am – All Saints – Holy communion (said)

10:30 am – All Saints – Patronal Festival and Benefice Communion

6.30 pm – St Marys – Evensong

Please also join us for a special service of sung compline at All Saints on November 2^nd at 8pm. It will be a short, reflective, candlelit sung service by a bass and tenor choir directed by Andrew Morgan (RSCM Trustee). A chance again to belong to that communion of souls and saints.

Also this week:

The week ahead

Wednesday 2^nd 09.00 – Celtic Morning Prayer at All Saints Church

20.00 – Sung Candlelit Compline at All Saints Church

Thursday 3^rd 10.00 – Holy Communion at St Mary’s Church

Sunday 6^th 10.00 – Creative and Open Church at St Mary’s Church

10.30 – Holy Communion at All Saints Church

18.30 –Evensong at St Mary’s Church

Do join us for the Fish and Chip Quiz Supper at All Saints on Saturday 29th Oct 7pm if you fancy testing your wits against others. All Welcome.

I love the collect for All Saints Day, there is something about that phrase “knit together” that seems poignant and profound and yet at the same time joyful. And so I leave it here for your prayers.

Almighty God,

you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship

in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord:

grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living

that we may come to those inexpressible joys

that you have prepared for those who truly love you.

Blessings

Revd Lizzie