Week beginning Sunday 4th January 2026

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, or as the 1662 Prayer Book puts it, the Manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles. This name is used to emphasise that, right from the start, the the gospel tells us that Jesus is for all people. Many artists took up  this theme by depicting Jesus’ visitors coming from the three extremes of the known world. One was from Europe, one from Asia or Arabia and one was from Sub-Saharan Africa. Although this is a contradiction to the actual Biblical text, which says that they came from “the east”, it reminded people that Jesus came for everyone, including those that did not look like them, think like them or behave like them.

Historically, the Church of England in Bristol does not have a good record, when it comes to welcoming people who are different. Today, we need to make sure that we extend the love of God to all, whatever their circumstances or background. Differences of race, social class, disability and sexuality should not come between us. As Paul put it in his letter to the church in Galatia, “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NRSVue).

This Sunday we will have an opportunity to think a little more about Epiphany and its meaning at the 10:30 am Holy Communion at All Saints and the 6:30 pm Evensong at St Mary’s. In the morning at St Mary’s, there is creative church. This gives the following services for this Sunday, 4th January:

10:00 amSt Mary’sCreative Church
10:30 amAll SaintsHoly Communion
  6:30 pmSt Mary’sEvensong for Epiphany

This week we have our normal pattern of services with Celtic Morning Prayer on Wednesday at All Saints and Holy Communion at St Mary’s on Thursday. Next Sunday has our normal services for the second Sunday of the month with Messy/Muddy church at All Saints and Holy Communion at St Mary’s.

Wednesday 7th9.00 am All SaintsCeltic Morning Prayer
Thursday 8th10:00 am St Mary’sHoly Communion
Sunday 11th8:00 am All SaintsHolly Communion (said)

 		10:00 am St Mary’sHoly Communion

 		10:30 am All SaintsMessy/Muddy Church


Wishing you a happy New Year. May God bless you and all you do in 2026.

Yours in Christ

Mark

Week beginning Sunday 21st December 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

A Very Nearly Happy Christmas

As Christmas draws closer, this weekend marks the turning point from Advent to Christmas. The weekend sees Carols around the Yew Tree (All Saints) and Carols by Candlelight (St Mary’s) start to move us from Advent to Christmas. Schools have broken up for the holiday and many people are now travelling like the magi did across field and mountain to be with family and friends. If you have people visiting then do extend our warmest invitation to our worship at Christmas to them as well as yourselves.

As we get ready for those final preparations that then I wanted to share with you a poem I am fond of at this time of year from Malcolm Guite – O Emmanuel –  I have always found it helpfully reflective on why we celebrate with Joy, Love and Hope this Christmas

O come, O come, and be our God-with-us
O long-sought With-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands

​​Services this Christmas are as below. Look forward to seeing you at both All Saints and St Mary’s.

Sunday 21st December

10am – St Mary’s – Sung Holy Communion

10.30am – All Saints – Holy Communion with Carols

6.30pm – St Mary’s – Carols by Candlelight

Wednesday 24th December – Christmas Eve

4pm – Family Carols with Christingle -St Mary’s

7.30pm – Carols by Candlelight – All Saints

11.30pm – Midnight Mass – St Mary’s

Thursday 25th December – Christmas Day

10am – Family Communion with Carols – St Mary’s

10.30am – All Age Communion with Carols – All Saints

Sunday 28th December

8am – Holy Communion  – All Saints

10am – Holy Communion with Carols – St Mary’s

10.30am  – Cafe Church – All Saints

Blessings

Lizzie

Week beginning Sunday 14th December 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

In Advent we remember and reflect on the people who point towards Christ from the Old and New Testament. John the Baptist becomes the focus of our thoughts and attention this week. His ministry was a courageous one of pointing towards a new way. He is perhaps one of the most challenging people we encounter in the Bible. He is often resolute and uncompromising in his actions and words. Yet this week in the gospel we hear an unusual element of doubt as he sits in prison, constrained in his advocacy and dependent on Jesus now fulfilling all that he has championed. Was Jesus “The One”? he asks? Is this really it? How do we know?  I welcome John the Baptists laser sharp focus on the person of Jesus and who he is. I also welcome his doubt and vulnerability.

As we move closer to Christmas, that question of  – What is this really all about? 

Jesus’s response is to say – Look at what you see and hear? What do we see and hear? Where are the outsiders welcomed? Where are the broken invited? Where are the lowly empowered? Where do we see that happening in our lives, churches and communities? And where I see that, I see Christ. And there I see Christmas.

Services this Sunday 14th December

8:00am – Holy Communion – All Saints

10:00am – Sung Holy Communion – St Mary’s

4:30pm – Nativity Service – All Saints

6:30pm – Generations – 10 Pin Bowling

Join us for our worship this Sunday, everyone is welcome to all and any of our services. Our young people, tiny tots and junior church have been preparing hard and practising for the Nativity Play, so come and support and sing with them to welcome Christmas in.

The Week Ahead

Mon 15th Dec

10:30am – Tiny Tots – All Saints

Tues 16th Dec

7:30pm – Advent Group – Vicarage

Wed 17th Dec

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints

2:00pm – Advent Group, St. Mary’s

6:00pm – Fishponds Primary Carol Service – St Mary’s

Thu 18th Dec

10:00am – Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

Fri 19th Dec

11:00am – Living after Loss – St Mary’s

6:30pm – Carols around the Yew Tree – All Saints

Sat 20th Dec

12:00pm-1:30pm – Saturday Lunches – St. Mary’s

Sun 21st Dec

10:00am – Holy Communion – St Mary’s

10:30am – Holy Communion – All Saints

6:30pm – Carols by Candlelight​​

Blessings this Advent

Revd Lizzie​​

Week beginning Sunday 7th December 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

The church’s seasons and year are often shown through different colours. Frontals, vestments change colour according to where we are in each year. Advent, like Lent, is the colour purple. Purple is the colour of royalty (and of bishops!) but more importantly it is for the church the colour of penitence. So here in the second week of advent our readings start to focus on repentance, starting with the prophets this is a call to change.

What is it that this Advent we are willing to ask, brave enough to pray to change in us so that we might be ready? What are we prepared to put down, give up, make up, pivot to or away from to be as ready as possible for Christ (mas)? For each of us that will be something different. Is it a temptation that we need to be honest about? Is it a relationship that needs attention? Knowing what our weaknesses might be, holding them up to the light of God and examining them gently, carefully in prayer, can be the beginnings of this movement. As Paul notes this week it is a time of “encouragement” for us to a place of harmony. Like all good harmonies, it doesn’t mean that we will all sing the same note, or even start or end at the same time – but that when we do this examination of ourselves, that the resulting music with all others is one that brings blessing to the world. 

As well as St Mary’s Christmas Fair this Saturday (11-2pm) we have as worship the following.

Services this Sunday – 7th December 2025

10:00am – Toy Service with the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides – St Mary’s

10:30am – Holy Communion with Band and Junior Church (Nativity rehearsal) – All Saints

6:30pm – Advent Candlelit Procession  – St Marys

The Week Ahead

Mon 8th Dec

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 9th Dec

10:30am – M4T, St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 10th Dec

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thu 11th Dec

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

Fri 12th Dec

1:00pm-2pm – Christmas Concert – Veterans Band, St Mary’s

Sat 13th Dec

12:00pm-1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

Sun 14th Dec

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

10:30am – Advent service of the word,  with Nativity rehearsal, All Saints

4:30pm – Nativity, All Saints

6:30pm – Generations, Avonmeads 10Pin Bowling

May you have a Joyful Advent.

Revd Lizzie

Week beginning Sunday 30th November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Uncategorized, Weekly Info
“Grocery Store at Christmas” by Michael Kappel, CC BY-NC 2.0

Dear Friends in Christ,

Supermarkets are a constant pointer to what time of year it is. The cycle from season to season seems to get swifter and also increasingly blurred. 

We’ve had Halloween, with every possible opportunity taken to shove witches and skeletons onto anything. Some of the items are creative and entertaining, but its created a massive selling opportunity completely out of proportion to the event itself. And of course, the moment its done there’s Christmas merchandise in all its forms, only punctuated by the massive hype around the recent growth of Black Friday (and I’m no more immune to this particular hype than anyone else-the temptation to score that bargain that I don’t actually need is very alluring).

But what of Christmas? What are we actually encouraged to engage with over the next 4 weeks is the season of Advent? Most people’s only contact with Advent is via the plethora of admittedly lush Advent calendars. There’s nothing wrong with this, but surely the season of Advent is more than this.

Advent’s a period of reflection. It’s a thoughtful, positive anticipation, the excitement of Christmas set alongside the invitation to see beyond the busyness and prepare us to meet with God and truly rejoice with arrival of Christmas as we celebrate the birth9 of Jesus.

This Sunday – the 1st Sunday of Advent (30th November)

8:00am Holy Communion (BCP) – All Saints

10:00am Benefice Sung Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

4:30pm Christingle Service – All Saints

The Week Ahead

Mon 1st Dec

10:30am Tiny Tots – All Saints

Tue 2nd Dec

10:30am M4T – St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 3rd Dec

9:00am Celtic Morning Prayer – All Saints

Thu 4th Dec

10:00am Holy Communion – St. Mary’s

Fri 5th Dec

11:00am Living After Loss – St. Mary’s

Sat 6th Dec

10:00am Coffee Morning, Book Sale & Bristol Repair Cafe – All Saints

11:00am Christmas Fair – St Mary’s

Next Sunday Second of Advent (7th Dec) 

10:00am Toy service with Guides & Brownies – St. Mary’s

10:30am Holy Communion – All Saints

10:30am Junior Church – All Saints

6:30pm Advent Sequence – St. Mary’s

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore. Amen.

Blessings,

Fr Kester de Oliveira 

Week beginning Sunday 23rd November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Mattia Poli on Unsplash

This Sunday’s gospel reading has one of the most amazing examples of faith in the bible. While Jesus was hanging on the cross, amid all the mocking of the passers-by, one of the criminals being executed with Jesus says “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. I have no idea what that criminal thought Jesus’ kingdom and rule might look like or how and when it might come to be. Yet, despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation, there was still faith and hope enough to believe in Jesus.

This can be an inspiration to us today. Even when Christ’s kingdom seems far and distant, we still have faith in his just and gentle rule. Despite the very real presence of evil in the world, we still work for and look for the kingdom of God. In the event of tragedy, we look forward to the fulfilment of that kingdom, when there will be no more tears. Faced with our own weaknesses and failings, we turn back to Christ and ask for him to rule in our hearts.

As we start to turn our attention to Christmas, we are reminded that Christ is king, even when we cannot see it or understand it. He calls us to follow him day by day. There will be opportunities to reflect on this more this Sunday at 8.00 am at All Saints and 10.00 am at St Mary’s.

At our 10.30 am Café Church service at All Saints, we will continue our look at the Nicene creed. This month, we will be thinking about God the Father, the creator. What does it mean to call God Father? What can creation tell us about God? What other names and titles do we use for God? All this and more will be up for discussion.

This gives the following services for this Sunday 23rd November:

8.00 am  All SaintsHoly Communion (said)
10.00 am  St Mary’sHoly Communion
10.30 am  All SaintsCafé church

We have our normal pattern of services for the coming week. Next Sunday we have a Benefice service at St Mary’s. As such, there will be no 10.30 am service at All Saints. However, there will be a Christingle service at 4.30 pm. This gives the following services for the coming week:

Wednesday 26th9.00 am All SaintsCeltic Morning Prayer
Thursday 27th10.00 am St Mary’sHoly Communion
Sunday 30th8.00 am All SaintsHoly Communion
 10.00 am St Mary’sBenefice communion
 4.30 pm All Saints Christingle

So let us pray together in the words of the collect for this Sunday, the festival of Christ the King:

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

Week beginning Sunday 16th November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info
Photo by Nelli Chaitanya on Unsplash

“The end is nigh” wails a lonely figure in the distance, as the clouds darken and huge waves appear out of the sea, threatening impending doom and destruction. 

Whether it is disaster movies, or thriller novels, or bleak poetry, then there is a way in which there seems to be a human fascination with what might be depicted as “The end times” .

Armageddon, The Day of Judgement or The Final Reckoning is something that for centuries people have contemplated and worried about. A very natural response to times of change or shifts in power and environment. 

Of course, in a disaster movie, then there is often a heroine or hero whose skills are tested to the limit, but who ultimately succeeds in rescuing the world and humanity and that is why I find them so good to watch. I want to see someone save the world!

This time of year we often start to hear in the readings at church things that resonate with that disaster picture. Jesus in Luke’s gospel this week talks about famines, fighting, persecution and rebellions and we are invited to reflect on how we cope with the ever changing world around us. The big question the disciples ask is “WHEN”…let us know when disaster will strike so we can prepare, get ready…..or run away.

Jesus avoids that question. He asks them to be aware, stay alert and put their faith and trust in a way that saves without heroics, but promises that staying in close step with Jesus and his way will bring us through the storms ahead that help us find life.

This week’s worship – Sunday 16th November 2025

10am – Sung Holy Communion – St Marys

10:30am  – Holy Communion with Hymns – All Saints

The Week Ahead

Mon 17th Nov

10:30am – Tiy Tots, All Saints

Tue 18th Nov

10:30am – M4T, St. Mary’s Parish Rooms

Wed 19th Nov

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

2:00pm – Bible Book Club, Venue TBC

Thu 20th Nov

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

Fri 21st Nov

11:00am – Living After Loss, St. Mary’s

7:00pm – “Christmas Choir” Practise, All Saints

Sat 22nd Nov

12:00pm – 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

12-3pm – All Saints Christmas Fair

Sun 23rd Nov

8:00am – Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s

10:30am – Café Church, All Saints

Blessings

Revd Lizzie

​​

Week beginning Sunday 9th November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

As we journey through Kingdom Season, the time between All Saints and Advent, we are invited to reflect on the themes of memory, sacrifice, and hope. This season is a precious opportunity to remember—last week, during All Souls, we held in our hearts the faithful departed. This week, as we approach Remembrance Sunday, we turn our thoughts to how we remember—both as a community and as individuals—particularly in the context of war, peace, loss, and the power of both memory and forgetting. 

Many of us carry precious memories passed through generations—stories of those who stood up for what was right, who fought in wars, or who served in quiet, often unseen ways. I think of my own grandad, who shared with me his experiences of serving in the Home Guard. As he spoke, I could see the deep emotion in his eyes, a reminder of the pain and weight that many carry with them long after the conflict is over. His story is just one of many others, each person fulfilling their role in different ways, in different times, in different places. 

On this Remembrance Sunday, it is right that we pause to honour all those who have made great sacrifices, especially those who gave their lives for the sake of peace and justice. But we are also called to remember those who continue to stand up for what is right today—those who work for peace, who speak against injustice, and who strive to build a more compassionate world. 

As we reflect, I gently remind us all that we, too, are part of this story. In a world torn by conflict and division, we are called to stand up for the oppressed, to feed the hungry, to clothe the poor, and to bring peace where there is none. Above all, we are called to reflect God’s love in all we do. 

This Week’s Services

8:00am Holy Communion, All Saints

10:00am Holy Communion, St. Mary’s (shortened service ending in a procession to the Park for the Act of Remembrance)

11:00am Civic Remembrance in Park, St. Mary’s

10:45am Remembrance Parade, All Saints

7:15pm Generations, All Saints

The Week Ahead

Mon 10th Nov

10:30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints

Tue 11th Nov

10:30am – M4T, St. Marys Parish Room
11:00am – Said service at the park memorial

Weds 12th Nov

9:00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints

Thurs 13th Nov

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s


Fri 14th Nov

7:00pm – “Christmas Choir” Practice, All Saints


Sat 15th Nov

12:00pm – 1:30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s

Sun 16th Nov

10:00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s
10:30am – Holy Communion, All Saints

Blessings, 

Charlie Blackett

Week beginning Sunday 2nd November 2025

On By Sam ToogoodIn Weekly Info

There have been two and a half momentous occasions in the life of the worldwide church in recent weeks:

Pope Leo 14th and King Charles praying together in the Sistine Chapel, a holy place which lies at the heart of the Roman Catholic Church.  The backdrop is the magnificent portrayal of the Last Judgement, painted by Michelangelo.  The King was there not solely as monarch, but also as the supreme Governor of the Church of England.  Both Pope and King guide, govern and encourage their branches of the worldwide church, not through dictat, but by drawing on the wisdom of the ages, and through their own personal examples of attempting to live a godly life.  500 years of discord – sad though much of that has been – is set against the background of God patiently drawing us closer by grace, towards our heavenly home.  That is what it means to live “under the judgement of God”. 

Sarah Mullally, currently Bishop of London, has been appointed to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.  I did not think that I would live to see the day when a woman – a gracious, strong, godly woman – would sit on the Throne of Saint Augustine.  She takes on the mantle of guiding the Church of England, formally begun in 597 AD – a church which has weathered storms and dangers, which has at times been a shining example of Christ-like living (and at times has cloaked the light for the Holy Spirit, through timidity, half-heartedness and resistance).  The Church of England has never been perfect – but is at its best when humbly seeking to discern God’s will afresh in new circumstances, and sacrificial serving all people of this land.

The “half” momentous occasion has been the decision form the House of Bishops to pause its efforts to make the Church of England a more inclusive, hospitable church (by recognising the full contributions of LGBTI+ disciples).  I am truly saddened by this.  But I take heart from the other two examples – that the journey towards building God’s kingdom on earth is neither easy nor short; that God’s gracious providential care will not be thwarted.

This Sunday marks the festival of All Saints, when we are called to remember the “saints” of past generations (some of whom, as they sought to be faithful to God, made decisions that we now question), the “saints” from different countries and cultures to our own, and the “saints” who do not look like us.  I put the word in inverted commas, because saints are not only to be found in stained glass windows.  Saints are all those who listen attentively for God’s word, who know they won’t get everything right, but who trust in the continuing inexhaustible kindness of God. 

This Sunday we have the following services

10am – Creative Church – St Mary’s

10.30am – All Saints Patronal Festival with Junior Church and Band

6.30pm – Choral Evensong – St Mary’s

THE WEEK AHEAD

Mon 3rd Nov

10.30am – Tiny Tots, All Saints 

Tue 4th Nov

10.30am – M4T, St. Mary’s Parish Rooms 

Weds 5th Nov

9.00am – Celtic Morning Prayer, All Saints 

Thurs 6th Nov

10.00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s 

Fri 7th Nov

11.00am – Living After Loss, St. Mary’s 

Sat 8th Nov

12.00pm – 1.30pm – Saturday Lunches, St. Mary’s 

Sun 9th Nov

8.00am – Holy Communion, All Saints 

10.00am – Holy Communion, St. Mary’s 

11.00am  – Civic Remembrance in Park – Fishponds Park

10.45am – Remembrance Service – All Saints 

7.15pm – Generations, All Saints 

Revd Bob