This morning our Eucharist was celebrated by Father Roger, as Father Stephen is away for a few days. We sang Carols and listened to the story of the shepherds arriving at the manger from St Luke's Gospel.
Father Roger reminded us of the importance of the whole Church Family worshiping together and that the message the Angels bring is for all people and for all times.

There was no Choir, but there was coffee after the service in the New Rooms.

Sidlesham St Mary will be the subject of prayers at Evensong in the Cathedral on Tuesday 2nd of January, to which every one is invited.  A visiting Choir from Ontario will be singing the office.

We had two services on Christmas Day. At 10:00 am a Family Gift Service was held, at this service, the children donned costumes and acted out the Christmas story, and bought with them gifts for those with no presents.
At 11:15 a said Eucharist with Carols was held,at which Father Stephen was the celebrant, and we were able to sing O Come All ye Faithful including the last verse! With our thoughts full of the singing of the angels we left church in a spirit of joy at our Saviour's birth.
Happy Christmas to every one!!

We came together for our Eucharist for the first Mass of Christmas at 11:00pm on Christmas Eve.
The Church was lit by candlelight and with all the candles on our Advent wreath now lit we felt the move to a joyful welcome for our Saviour.
The Church was full of people starting their Christmas celebrations with this central element of the Christmas story.
 Father Stephen was the celebrant, and the choir sang 'Away in a Manger' and Ding  Dong Merrily on High after the communion.
We left the Church wishing each other a Happy Christmas.

Our Service of Nine Lessons and Carols was held  at 6:00 this Saturday. The service followed the traditional form of Lessons and a mixture of Congregational Hymns and Choir items.
The Church was beautifully decorated for Christmas and the Service opened with the Hymn 'Once in Royal David's City. The first verse sung by two of the Junior Choristers, Lucy, and Emily, in Candlelight made an atmospheric opening.
After the opening prayers the lessons told the story of the Nativity starting with Adam in the garden and God's promise to Abraham, following the prophesies of Isaiah, the Gospel nativity stories of Matthew and Luke, and finishing with the opening of St John's gospel placing Jesus there at the beginning of all things with God.
The Hymns interspersing these readings were, Long ago Prophets knew, O come O come Emmanuel, In the Bleak Midwinter, While Shepherds watched their Flocks, O come all ye faithful and Hark the herald Angels sing.

The choir sang;
 'The Lord at first did Adam make' by David Willcocks, the first verse of which was sung by Lucy as a solo,
'Joseph and the Angel' by Richard Terry 1865-1938. Terry is now chiefly known for the nineteenth century revival of Tudor church music, but he also wrote many carols, as well as being the first Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral.
'Our Blessed Lady's Lullaby' by Christopher Chivers b 1967
This setting of the 16th century text was written by Christopher Chivers, a former Precentor of Westminster Abbey and now principal of Westcott House Cambridge, for the choir of Magdalen College Oxford
'It came upon a Midnight Clear' Willis 1819-1900 arr Rose b 1934.
This tune by Richard Storrs Willis, is that which is commonly used in the USA. Barry Rose, formerly Master of Music at St Paul's and St Alban's cathedrals, has made a charming arrangement to enhance the simple melody.
'Welcome Yule' by C.H. Parry 1848-1918
A lively setting of a 15th century text by the composer of Jerusalem
'Ding dong merrily on high' arr Malcolm Williamson 1931-2003.

After the service we enjoyed mince pies and mulled wine in the New Rooms. An excellent beginning to our Christmas celebrations.

Being the third Sunday, today was Matins. Our Old Testament reading was from Isaiah and the New Testament reading was echoed in the anthem sung by the choir "This is the record of John" by Orlando Gibbons.

Father Stephen reflected on some of the words from Isaiah, "Bind up the broken hearts". Could this be a bit of a tall order? We should bring comfort and balm to those in distress.  Father Stephen remembered listening to a Radio 4 programme where a man who had had extensive surgery on his heart was speaking to a medical doctor. The "patient" had a literal interpretation of a "broken heart" whilst the "doctor" took a more metaphysical response. However it transpired that the heart can show signs of physical deterioration at the time of severe distress, so bereavement and psychological upsets do have physical effects on the heart.  Received wisdom has now to be reassessed.

There are many broken hearted in the world today; refugees, wounded, the traumatised.  Father Stephen saw 3 appeals on TV during one advertisement break, 2 for the UK and 1 for abroad, all legitimate and worthy causes in a few minutes. There is a tsunami of need in the world today. So how do we even start to bind up the broken hearted.

There is a story of a father and son walking on the beach. They came across a shoal of fish that had been washed up onto the shore, some were already dead, but others were gasping.  The son started to throw the gasping fish back.  His father told him why bother, there were too many, but the son continued saying "I will do what I can".  So what the son achieved was only a small effect, but it was a start.

The church had been decorated with evergreens and berries from the countryside and looked lovely without any flowers.

Remember that next Saturday is our Carol Service at 6pm to be followed by mince pies and mulled wine in the parish rooms.   Christmas eve there is no 8am service with a said Eucharist at 10pm.  Midnight mass will be at 11pm.

A very blowy December day was brightened by Father Stephen's sermon.  He was remembering how we learnt to cross the road many years ago, look, right, look left, look right again etc.  Not sure what the up-to-date version of this is, but it moved to The Green Cross Code - Stop, Look, Listen.  He feels this is good advice for our spiritual life, especially in Advent when we anticipate the coming of our Lord.

STOP rushing around
LOOK at where we are and take stock of our spiritual life
LISTEN to what God is saying to us, and this may be via other people.  Our interior life can only grow in silence.



©Department for Transport (Open Government Licence)

Advent Sunday falling on the first Sunday of the month we had our Family Service and combined it  with Christingle. The Children of Sidlesham Primary School were with us and they sang 'Silent Night' for us. The Sunday School then gave us a presentation of how Jesus is the Light of the World, following which the intercessions were lead by Emily, one of the Junior Choristers. The Christingles were then lit and distributed and we sang the Christingle hymn. During the Offertory the Children's Society collection boxes were brought forward and placed in front of the Altar.  
After communion the Choir sang 'Gabriel's Message' based on a Basque carol arr. Edgar Pettman .

There was coffee and mince pies in the Rooms after the service.

St Mary's Christmas fair was held on Saturday afternoon in and around the Church Hall. Visitors approaching the Hall were accosted by the wonderful Christmasy smell of roasting chestnuts, and the sight of  a selection of wreaths and bunches of Holly all for sale. Inside the stalls were all beautifully decorated, with a fine selection of cakes, and lots of suitable gifts for everyone including pets!! Refreshments included mulled wine, tea and coffee and all sorts of  cakes and mince pies. We welcomed lots of customers and closed with the draw for the Christmas hamper and the meat raffle.  A splendid afternoon with a good financial result too nearly £200 more than lat year!

Today our 10 am Eucharist was a celebration of Christ the King, this being the last Sunday of the liturgical year. This Sunday, the traditional collect began with the words, 'Stir up, we beseech thee Oh Lord, the wills of thy faithful people', and this prayer was used at the close of our service today. The cold frosty weather reminded us that Christmas is just around the corner, and next Sunday will be Advent Sunday.
In the service today the Gospel was from St Matthew the passage where Jesus describes the day of Judgement, and how those who care for others are in fact caring for Our Lord, and Father Stephen in his sermon developed this theme, that we are not perfect, but must strive to deal with those around us with the love and care we would give to Our Lord, and that this christian expression in every day life is perhaps more important than our, also necessary, worship and prayer.

The Choir sang Oh Thou the Central Orb by Charles Wood as the Anthem. There was coffee after the service in the Rooms.


This Afternoon we followed the tradition of Stir up Sunday by making a Giant Bowl of Christmas Pudding mix!  The mixture for 12 puddings was prepared and mixed by all and finished by adding some brandy!! We all filled our own bowls, and we have 4 lovely family sized puddings for sale at the Christmas fair next Saturday! We then enjoyed some tea before clearing up and going home with our Christmas preparations underway.

This morning our 10 am service was Sung Matins. It was also Toilet Twinning Day!!
The gospel reading this morning was the parable of the talents, read from the King James Version. In his sermon Father Stephen told us that the talents were in fact money, and 1 talent was worth 3 years salary! He also referred to the old testament reading from Zephania, a prophet from the period of 600 BC when the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were united and the Temple was restored. A copy of Deuteronomy was found  in the building works, which caused a great shake up in the religious practice of the times. Much like our own Reformation, we occasionally need a bit of a shake up in our religion to keep us on the right path to God.

The Choir sang the Jubilate Deo in the setting by C.V. Stanford and as the Anthem 'God be in my Head' setting by John Rutter. There was coffee after the service in the Parish rooms.

Next Sunday is Stir up Sunday, come and help us make Christmas Puddings 3pm in the New Rooms

The Christmas Fair is on Saturday 2nd of December come along and find all your Christmas pressies for humans and pets!

For toilet twinning offerings! Flushing Poverty away 1 loo at a time!

This morning we met at 10:45 for our annual Act of Remembrance. The service started in Church with hymns, prayers and readings and incorporated the 2 minutes silence at 11 am marked by the Last Post at the beginning and the Reveille at the end. Father Stephen spoke movingly of his first job working at the National Army Museum cataloguing memorials of young men killed in the First World War, and of how this annual act reminds us to treat every day as a gift from God, remembering those who gave up their lives so we could live in freedom and peace.
The Choir sang 'They are at Rest' words by J.H.Newman, music by Edward Elgar as the Anthem.
After the singing of the National Anthem the congregation, lead by the Church Wardens moved to the War Memorial in the Church Yard, where in blustery sunshine wreaths were laid, representing the Armed services, Village organisations, the Sunday School and the Choir.

Next Sunday the 19th of November is Toilet Twinning day! Did you know that 1 in 3 people on the planet don't have access to a hygienic toilet?As a thanksgiving for having our own new toilets we are going to Twin them with toilets provided by the charity Toilet Twinning, a part of Tear fund. We have 2 toilets and if we can raise £60 for each we can twin them both with a village in the third world, If we can raise £240 we can twin with a school or displacement camp!! So please bring a donation next Sunday, or place your donation in an envelope marked toilet twinning and place in the wall safe in church!

Also please sign up if you would like to come and stir the christmas pudding on Stir Up Sunday 26th November, when we will be making a giant bowl of Christmas pudding mix in the Parish rooms at 3 pm. Bring your own bowl and fill it up (£5 large, £2:50 small) to take home followed by tea!