This Sunday, the first of Christmas, was clear and frosty and the wind had died down. The Sunday after Christmas is traditionally a celebration of the Holy Family, but also in the Gospel today the story of the Massacre of the Innocents. This theme was taken up by Father Stephen in his sermon, discussing the horror of Herod's act of killing all the boy children under 2 years to try to prevent Jesus growing up. He reminded us that children are killed every day in the conflicts going on in Syria and in Africa, but that we must be the lights of Christian faith in such a dark and dreadful world.
In keeping with our thoughts of the devastation of war the Choir sang 'This Christmas Night' words by Mary Wilson music by Malcolm Williamson

Frosty grass and winter sun

Christmas Candle and our Christas glass plate

Despite horrendous weather, the congregation convened at 11:30pm on Christmas Eve for the First Mass of Christmas. The Church was lit by candles and the displays of greenery were now supplemented by white flowers. Even the organ was decorated with Christmas cheer! The traditional carols and Christmas hymns were sung, and the Choir sang 'Away in a Manger' and 'Ding Dong Merrily on High'.
In his sermon Father Stephen spoke of the perfect timing of Jesus' birth, at a time when the Roman Empire was at peace so that the news could safely be sent out. There was a common language Greek, that also allowed the whole Roman world to hear of the Saviour's birth. and still more than 2000 years later the wonderful message goes out again with the celebration of Christmas.

preparing for the Midnight service

Joanna with the decorated organ

From the Organ Loft

Candles lit ready to go

Joanna and James with the organ

On Christmas morning the Children came to tell the story of the nativity and to have their presents blessed. Their performance in full costume of the story of Jesus birth started Christmas Day beautifully. At 11:15 we had a well attended said Eucharist with Carols, the choir sang 'Away in a Manger'.

We wish every one Joy, Peace and Happiness at this Christmas tide, the Saviour is born, we will be redeemed!

Christmas morning

Our Crib

Festival flowers amongst the greenery

 

This Sunday our Eucharist included the lighting of the last of the four Advent candles, Christmas is nearly here! The church has now been decorated with greenery, in anticipation of Christmas, and looks festive. In the Sermon today Father Stephen spoke f the importance of listening to God's voice, and how the frantic activity of the pre Christmas season can prevent us from finding those quiet moments needed to hear the message God has for us. Mary had listened to this voice and had accepted the role of mother of the Christ child for us. The Choir sang 'A song of Mary' as the anthem.

In the evening we had our traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols. The readings, telling the story of the Messiah from beginning in Genesis through to St John's opening treatise on the nature of the incarnation were taken from the King James version of the Bible. The Choir sand 'Up! good Christen folk and listen', Words and Melody by G.R.Woodward, 'Adam lay ybounden words traditional Setting by Peter Warlock,
'Away in  Manger' arrangement by Nigel Short, in this item the Junior choir sang the first verse. The Junior Choir also sang the third verse of 'Once in Royal Davids City' Words Mrs C F Alexander, Music by H.J. Gauntlet. Other Choir Items included the Coventry Carol set by Philip Stopforth, Tomorrow shall be my Dancing day English traditional arranged by David Willcox , and Gaudete also traditional words and music.The Congregation and Choir together also sang traditional Advent Hymns and Christmas Carols. The service was a very successful start to our Christmas celebrations!

A Wintery view of rhe Church

A rare flash of winter sunshine

Just before the 9 Lessons and Carols

All the Advent Candles lit

This Sunday, the third in Advent is also the third Sunday in the month. Matins was our 10:o'clock service, and we sang the alternate canticles, Benidicitie and Jubilate Deo. We continue to remember in our prayers the people of Syria and of Afghanistan in these troubled times, and on the day of his funeral we gave thanks for the life of Nelson Mandela. Father Stephen spoke about John the Baptist and his witness to the coming of the Messiah
The choir sang the anthem 'Rejoice in the Lord Alway' words from Philippians 4: 4-7 and music by Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

In the evening the Village Carol Service included a selection of well known carols and was well received and enjoyed by a full congregation. The choir of Sidlesham County Primary School sang 'Stary Night' as a special feature of this service.

Three Candles of the Advent Wreath are now lit

Our Advent plate

Next Sunday the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols will take place at 6:00pm  do come along and hear the story of Christmas interspersed with Christmas Music old and new.

Another busy weekend with the Christmas Fair in the Church Hall on Saturday. The Stall holders were all ready at 2:00pm when the Fair opened, and a pleasingly large number of people came to spend their money and carry off goods of all sorts including bundles of greenery, table decorations household items, Christmas decorations, books and toiletries! A great big thank you to all who helped in any way, especially those who set up on Friday and helped return tables to the ceiling of the church hall on Sunday morning. See the pictures below.

In Church on Sunday the Eucharist for the second Sunday in Advent was proceeded by the lighting of the second Advent Candle. In his sermon Father Stephen, using some Christmas decorations he had bought at the Fair for illustration, talked about the Jessie Tree as a tool for teaching all of us, old and young of the background to the coming of the Messiah. Starting with the family of Jessie, and picking up on the lesson from Isaiah, and going through to the story of John the Baptist, looking forward to the Nativity to come.
The Choir sang 'How beautiful upon the Mountains' words from Isaiah music by Stainer. We wished Joanna a very happy birthday in the traditional way after the service!

Christmas decorations stall

Guess the number of sweeties

Guess the name of the one on the right!!!

Stalls in and out of the Tent!!

This has been a busy week for St Mary our Lady. On Thursday the 28th of November, Father Stephen, with 3 of the Congregation attended a special service at Westminster Abbey in thanksgiving for the Churches Conservation Trust on its 60th anniversary. Our beautiful Church had been nominated as a favourite church on the Trust's website, so we were invited to attend the service. The Abbey was filled with about 1000 people who support their work. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester represented the Queen, the Archbishop of Canterbury gave the address and the work of the Trust was presented in the form of three interviews with representatives of churches who had received grants from the Trust. These were conducted by Huw Edwards of the BBC news.

Our Representatives outside the Abbey

Sunday the 1st of December, Advent Sunday was our Family Service. We  also celebrated  Christingle at the Service,
The Service opened with the lighting of the first Candle on the Advent wreath, followed by the Choir singing the Advent Responsary set by Palestrina. The Sunday School told us about the work of the Children's Society and then the Christingles were lit and distributed during the singing of the Christingle Hymn.
We welcomed three new young Choir Members, Lucy, Hazel and Seth, who are the first of the new Junior division of the choir. They will be joining the Senior Choir for the Family Services and for special events, they will be an important part of the Nine Lessons and Carols on the 22nd of December.

Distribution of the Christingles.

This afternoon we continued our Advent Celebrations with our Advent Wreath making activities in the Church Hall. 16 Wreaths were prepared and placed on the table for Father Stephen to bless before we had a splendid tea provided by Anne and Marilyn . It was a lovely relaxing afternoon and the resulting wreaths were all beautiful. Many thanks to Anwyl Allistone for organising this event once again. In addition we raised £138 for the New Annex project.

working on the wreaths

The first Candles are lit

Father Stephen blesses the wreaths

The finished wreaths

The Feast of Christ the King marks the last Sunday of the church's year with a joyful festival. We celebrated our  Eucharist with a festal frontal on the alter and with Father Stephen in festal vestments. The theme of the service was Christ as King in glory, and Father Stephen told us in his sermon about the process of anointing as a mark of dedication to Christ, used at Baptism, Confirmation and on becoming a Priest, this tradition goes back to the anointing of Aaron in the Old Testament and is also mentioned in Genesis. it marks out  Christians as priests and witnesses to Christ's glory, and unites us all.
The Choir sang Ave Verum in the setting by Edward Elgar as the anthem, and our closing Hymn was 'Christ Tiumphant'

Next week on Advent Sunday we will have our Family Service which will incorporate the Christingle service. Please bring back any Children's Society boxes you may have at home.

On Sunday Afternoon the Advent Wreath making and Tea is from 2:30 to 5:30 in the Church Hall. Sign the list in Church if you would like to join us!

The last of the Autumn Leaves

On Saturday morning we had a visit from Bishop Martin, who is undertaking a visit of the Chichester Deanery. He joined us to celebrate a said Eucharist at Midday. He spoke to us of the priorities of the diocese particularly safeguarding and growth in faith. In his inspiring short talk he emphasised that growth in numbers and growth in depth of faith were both important. After the service Bishop Martin joined the congregation in a Ploughman's lunch, where he took the opportunity to talk to members of the PCC and the congregation. He then spent some time in discussion with Father Stephen before leaving for his next visit. We were delighted to have this opportunity to meet our new Bishop.

Father Stephen and Bishop Martin at the visit on Saturday

Sunday bought us Matins once again, with readings from the King James version of the Bible, Psalm 98, the Canticles, and an anthem from the choir 'Jesus Joy of Man's Desiring'. A damp and grey day did not put off some 30 people who joined us. Father Stephen spoke of the resonance of the words from Job 'I know that my redeemer liveth'.
 The Church's year is drawing to an end, Advent Sunday is in 2 weeks time, marking the beginning of another year. We will be having our traditional afternoon of making Advent wreaths or rings in the Church Hall on the afternoon of Sunday 1st December 2:30 to 5:30, to include Tea. Please sign the list at the back of the church if you would like to come along, £12.50 per ring made to cover materials and a contribution to the New Parish Rooms project.

Very advanced notice!! Do you have Scottish genes? do you like neeps and tatties and haggis, or even know what they are? Would you like to see a man in a kilt recite poetry to a sausage? If so why not come to our Burns Night supper in the Church Hall Saturday 25th of January 2014. Tickets will be available in December, but put the date in your diary now!!

Autumn Colours

This Sunday was  Remembrance Sunday. Our service of Remembrance started at 10:45 to include the 2 minutes silence at 11:0'clock. The service included readings from the Prophet Malachi and St Luke's Gospel. Prayers were said and after the silence the Roll of Honour of the names of those from Sidlesham  who died in the 2 world wars was read. The Choir sang 'And I saw a new heaven' words from Revelations music by E L Bainton. The Congregation sang 'Jerusalem'and the National Anthem, among other Hymns. The wreaths of poppies were blessed by Father Stephen and representatives of various organisations in the Village collected their wreaths and were led to the War Memorial by the Church Wardens. We were blessed with a fine sunny day. The congregation followed by Father Stephen and the altar party moved to the War Memorial and the wreaths were laid. This moving act of Remembrance, was choreographed by Dan Bailey with Father Stephen and the Church Wardens. Today's collection will go to the British Legion who are aiming to raise 37 million pounds this year for the care an support of the wounded military personnel of all conflicts.

Poppies in our church flowers

The wreath laying party leads the congregation to the War Memorial

The Wreath Layers await the arrival of the altar Party

Children from Sidlesham County Primary School and St Mary's Sunday School laid posies of poppies

All Saints day was celebrated this Sunday, and as it was the first Sunday in November it was also our Family Eucharist. The Sunday School told us about St Jude, which was very topical as his day is 28th of October, the day of the recent storm. They told us that it is uncertain who he was, perhaps an apostle Thadeus, or a farmer who always carried a picture of Christ. He was Martyred in Ad65 with a club and an axe, and he is often depicted carrying these implements. He is the patron saint of lost causes and people with depression, there is a shrine to him in a church in Faversham Kent.
The Choir sang 'Give us the wings of faith' by Bulloch as the anthem.

In the afternoon we enjoyed an excellent concert from Frescala, a group of saxophone players,  followed by tea, and we await the total raised. Many thanks to the performers and the tea makers!!

Next Sunday will be the Act of Remembrance please note the service time is different

St Jude's Storm has blown down the leaves leaving us looking very wintry

This morning at our Parish Eucharist, we celebrated the dedication of our Church. St Mary our Lady was founded and dedicated in the 13 century, and there has been continuous Christian worship here ever since, truly a cause for celebration! The service included an anthem by the choir 'Glorious and Powerful God, by CV Stanford. In his sermon Father Stephen reflected on the generations who have had custody of our Church, and pointed out to the young people present that this was their future responsibility!

We are pleased to report that the Off Centre Concert last week raised £355 for the New Parish Rooms project, many thanks to all who took part and made donations.

Next weekend please do come to the service to mark All Souls day on Saturday at 6:00pm, when the Faure Requiem will be performed as part of the liturgy. On Sunday afternoon we have a concert of saxophone music from Fresalca   at 3:00pm followed by tea!

If you would like to join us on Advent Sunday afternoon in the Church Hall to make an Advent Ring, please sign the list at the back of the church so that we can order the materials and arrange the tea!! The cost this year is £12:50, payable to the Church Wardens or on the afternoon.

Our Beautiful Church

 

Autumn has arrived with wet and windy weather to greet us as we come together for Matins this morning. Father Stephen took the service which was well attended. The readings, from the King James version included the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel, and from St Luke's Gospel the story of the widow and the unjust Judge. Father Stephen talked about Jacob and his experience of struggling with the angel, also using the Hymn by Charles Wesley (350 NEH) to illustrate how this story relates to the coming of Christ,and his transforming effect in our lives. The Choir sang 'Oh Lord increase our faith' By Henry Loosemore as the anthem.

The flowers of Autumn

In the evening we had a splendid concert of a real mixture of music from Off Centre, with several solo items included. They sang some old and new sacred music and also some modern standards. It was a performance of real enthusiasm and greatly enjoyed by the audience. Many thanks to all who took part, and for those who organised and served the interval refreshments.Total raised will be posted as soon as it is known.


Events on the Horizon include;

Saturday 2nd of November at 6pm there will be a service for All Souls Day. As has become the tradition this will include a performance of the Faure Requiem performed liturgically with in the service. If you would like to sing in the choir for this service, please come along to a rehearsal on Saturday 26th October at 10:am, or at 3pm on the day for a run through followed by a cup of tea in the Church Hall, or contact one of the Church Wardens through this site for more details.

Sunday 3rd November at 3:00pm an afternoon concert of music by the Fresalca Saxophone Quartet.They will play a mixture of Gershwin, Mozart, and Cole Porter! This will include tea. Retiring collection for the new Parish Rooms Project.

Slightly further off we are looking towards the Season of Advent with our Advent ring or 'wreath' making afternoon. December 1st from 2:30 to 5:30 also including tea. A list at the back of the Church can be signed if you would like to join us, we need numbers to ensure we have enough materials and enough tea!!

We came together today for our Parish Eucharist on a rather cold and rainy morning, quite a contrast from last week.The Church was still looking glorious with the harvest festival decorations. Father Roger celebrated the Eucharist, and preached on the gospel from St Luke, the story of the 10 Lepers, of which one, the Samaritan, came back to thank Jesus and praise God. Father Roger pointed out that this story underlined that we must guard against prejudice against those who are different from us.

The Choir sang 'Ave Verum' set by W.A. Mozart. and at the end of the service we said goodbye, for the moment, to Father Roger who will be helping out in other local parishes over the next few weeks. Father Stephen will be back among us next week.







Dont forget the Concert next Sunday evening at 7:00pm when Off Centre will be singing for us. There will be drinks in the interval, and a retiring collection for the New Parish Rooms project.