Out with the old - in with the new
Doing Church Inside Out 2020-21
It’s hard to think that anyone will regret the passing of 2020. It has been a year of loss for us all. We have had much to grieve over- not only for the greatest loss; loved ones whom we could not visit or comfort but also for the loss of much that we held dear and had taken for granted in our everyday lives.
As a church we have had to adapt to different ways of doing things. We needed to be inventive in reaching out beyond our Old conventional boundaries and seek New ways to communicate our message. Out of this need came the idea of doing church ‘Inside Out’. If our church building was closed then we could still celebrate our festivals by being creative. We could use the grounds outside and involve our church and community along the way. We could still share our message of hope to bless all those who passed by.
The displays for Harvest and Remembrance gave great pleasure. Who can forget the beautiful Harvest arch over the West door and the spectacular banner of poppies fronting Ecclesall Road?
So here we are at Advent! Watch out for the Advent banner. Look up at the Advent arch. Read the lines of the Advent hymns and ‘sing’ them to yourselves along the way!
Follow the trail of the Nativity story across the parish and find the baby in the manger. Make your Christingles at home to share. Spot ‘4 k-andles’ on Ringinglow Road. Find the Star shining throughout the night. Lights! Lights! Lights! ……There’ll be no mistaking the message of hope and love at the end of this Old Year. Whatever this Christmas may bring- Jesus, the Light of the World is here to stay.
As for the New Year, we have much to be hopeful for, especially as we prepare to welcome our new Priest -in-charge. Mark Brown along with his wife Allie will be moving up from Tonbridge at the beginning of January. Careful plans are in hand to welcome them and help them feel ‘at home’ whilst acknowledging all the restrictions that will still be in place. We certainly hope that we’ll be able to welcome them properly sooner rather than later in 2021!
Verse for the Year 2020
When we chose the verse for the year for 2020, we had no idea the significance it was going to have. The verse was chosen to remind us that God is with us through what we expected to be a year of change and transition in the life of All Saints at a time of vacancy. Most of us could not have predicted the global events of the COVID-19 pandemic and we could not have known how appropriate this verse is to the year we have had.
For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
As we come to the end of the year, we thought it was appropriate to return to the verse to appreciate its significance at this time. Firstly, to remind us that God has been with us through all the challenges and difficulties of the past year. Secondly, to reassure ourselves that we are still held, supported and loved. Finally, to point us forward that in God we can hold onto a hope that things may be better.
For God alone
The word alone stands out, not just in the fact that it repeated in the verse, but because it summarises the experience of many of us through the year of lockdown. Through different parts of this year many people have had to be alone. For some it has been through periods of lockdown, not being able to see people to protect those who are vulnerable. For others, it has been a much longer period of isolation as they have been shielding to protect themselves. Being on your own is hard and yet God is with us. In the verse the word alone is trying to tell is that God is all we need, and yet it is also a reminder that when we are on our own, he has never stopped being with us.
My soul waits in silence
This year has been a year of waiting. Whether waiting for the next news announcement or waiting for news of a loved one. Maybe waiting for lockdown to finish or waiting for normality to return. Or waiting to see someone that you have missed so much or waiting to return to church to see our church family and to worship together in the same place. Some people will have found peace in the process of waiting, others will have found it difficult. Advent has always been a time of waiting and we are reminded that in God waiting always has an ending. God meets us in the waiting and in the silence but he always brings us to a place of hope.
For my hope is from him.
The coming of Jesus at Christmas is the culmination of the Past hopes of the Jewish people, the arrival of a Present hope for those living under Roman rule and the foretaste of the Future hope that God’s kingdom will come. For the people of Jesus’ day they had to rely on the promises of the earlier times, to meet hope in the person of Jesus and be reassured that God was moving them forward. As we celebrate Christmas differently this year so we need to hold onto this same hope, grounded in the Past, experienced in the Present and pointing us into the Future.
A letter from St Gabriel’s
On 10 November the wardens of both churches and Revd Alistair Stevenson met on Zoom to reflect and review the last 6 months and look forward to the next. We wanted to take an opportunity to briefly share and celebrate what has been going on at St Gabriel’s, particularly since Alistair went full-time at St Gabriel’s.
During these turbulent and challenging months St Gabriel’s has put on a varied programme of Sunday worship, ministry and mission. These include a weekly Sunday Zoom Service and an unsung 11:30am Holy Communion in the church building (when permitted) alongside an online service and paper copy produced and delivered to those not on the internet. They have also started and developed termly courses including: Generous June, The Blessings Course, The Bible Course, The Marriage course -all on Zoom.
In October they launched a new ‘Bless Greystones’ initiative to encompass their engagement and mission to the community. Their first project was working in partnership with the local KTN shop to offer free delivery of essentials to those vulnerable or isolating in the community during the second lockdown. They continue to connect with the Playmates toddler group through story times on Zoom and a successful treasure hunt in Bingham Park. They also had a successful Holiday club, again predominately on Zoom, with ‘Adventurer Packs’ full of activities and crafts sent out to all the children the week before. They have continued to invest in the building and branding with the redecoration and painting of the church and hall and a new logo and a new sign at the entrance. Catherine Stevenson, has since September, started to work on a volunteer basis one day a week for the church. The wardens at St Gabriel’s particularly noted the huge positives of Alistair and Catherine working as a team over the last 6 months.
St Gabriel’s continue to be grateful to All Saints for sharing the responsibility and committing to funding the role of Priest-In-Charge at St Gabriel’s. They wait with us at All Saints with anticipation for the arrival of Mark as Priest-In-Charge of All Saints and particularly the impact on the Mission Partnership as he and the staff at All Saints work in partnership with Alistair across the mission area.
