FRIDAY 9th DECEMBER

Lord Jesus, light of the world,
the prophets said you would bring peace
and save your people in trouble.
Give peace in our hearts at Christmas
and show all the world God's love.
Amen.


'Sweet singing in the choir...'

This evening Clare, Chris and the choir will meet at 19.00, as they do each Friday, to prepare the music for the following Sunday. They're always looking ahead too, because of course some of the music they sing is more difficult, and needs more than a single run-through before it's sung in worship! And at this time of year, with Nine Lessons and Carols on Sunday 18th, Blue Christmas on 21st, and the Christmas Eve services, there's more music to think about in one go than at any other season. Up to forty different singers will be in our choir stalls at various times during the year. Is this typical of churches around the diocese? Not so much! In terms of the numbers of singers and what they achieve St. Peter's is highly unusual. If there are 400 or so churches in the diocese, only twenty or so at most will be as fortunate as we are. And in having Chris to play for our services we are similarly blessed. There are very few organists so skilled and in the prime of life. Reasons to be cheerful!

Another chance to hear Chris...

Tomorrow (Saturday) morning in church at 10.30 and 11.30 a.m. you can hear Chris play a short recital of pieces for the Christmas season. Organ music by Bach,Brahms, Walther, Scarlatti, Vierne and Debussy. Don't miss out on the opportunity to hear Chris at slightly greater length than on a Sunday. And at 10.00, Vince will play a short sequence of piano music by American composers, and before Chris's second stint, an Advent song set at 11.00.


Last chance to see...

...this week's Prayer Space in church today and tomorrow...

Here's a dark, even prophetic, poem by W.B.Yeats which some of you may know, written soon after the end of World War 1. You might think it matches the way things are with our modern world uncomfortably closely. If you're following an Advent discipline (and the same might be even more true in Lent) do you find there's a moment when you think 'Enough!'? But of course, without the experience of those dark places, the redemption, the coming of the light, would never seem so dramatic...


The Second Coming  by W.B.Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

THURSDAY 8th DECEMBER

'Time to go home...'

Yesterday lunchtime a church full of family and friends came to say a final goodbye to Liz Savage, who was a member of the St. Peter's Wednesday congregation. Some of Liz's pupils from the High School were there to give thanks for Liz's life too, and the congregation heard exactly why she had been so loved as a teacher. Liz was a lifelong singer and some of those who had sung with her in the Laurence Lloyd Singers and the Bach Choir joined the church choir to sing a Stanford 'Nunc Dimittis' at the close of the service.

Many of us deal with memories of sadness at this time of the year. For the first time at St. Peter's, we'll be holding a 'Blue Christmas' service on the shortest day, 21st December, at 19.30.


In this Advent of expectation
draw us together in unity,
that our praise and worship
might echo in these walls
and also through our lives.

In this Advent of expectation
draw us together in mission,
that the hope within
might be the song we sing,
and the melody of our lives.

In this Advent of expectation
draw us together in service,
that the path we follow
might lead us from a stable
to a glimpse of eternity.
Amen.

Prayer Space...

Here's where we add a ribbon, as we remember things for which we're grateful. Come and add your thankfulness before the end of the week. The church is open during the next three mornings...and on Saturday there'll be music too!

But next week, we're welcoming more children into church during the morning hours, so accordingly the Church  will be Open a little less. Keep your eyes on the blog to know exactly when!



Our uniformed organisations...

Maybe we only think about them from time to time, perhaps when we see them at an 11.15 Sunday service, or when we take up their kind annual offer of sparing our shoe-leather to deliver local Christmas cards ( get yours to the church hall on Saturday morning: 20p a shot, delivered by 20th December!), but the leaders of Rainbows, Brownies, Beavers, Cubs, Guides and Scouts put in patient week by week work with their (and our) young people. Scout leaders and kids are off to see Snow White on Friday evening. Let's hope they have a stonkingly good time.


A joke...

As previously mentioned, we've been on the look out for jokes about Patriarchs and Prophets, and there aren't any. Well, no good ones! ...But we quite liked this...

Q. Why did Moses cross the Red Sea?   A.  To get to the other side!

                                                   There's a whole lot of knittin' goin' on...


The Call     by George Herbert

Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
And such a Life, as killeth death.

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a strength, as makes his guest.

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joyes in love.

WEDNESDAY 7th DECEMBER

Attention Deficit

It was exciting at first;
Waiting in the darkness.
The mild jeopardy:
The not-knowing
Where this would lead.
But now it's not so fun.
I'm bored.
It's cold in here and I'm
Stiff in the joints.
I could do with a good meal
And frankly
A pint wouldn't go amiss.
Most annoying of all
Is the looping rebuke
'Could you not watch with me?'
I'd rather skip the discomfort
And push on to the good bits.
Birth.
Resurrection.
That kind of thing.

                       VC

Yesterday at St. Peter's:

                         More eating. This time with silly hats. The Mothers' Union lunch.
                                              So happy. And almost no alcohol.

                                             All ready for Assembly at the Primary School

                                                                   Knit together...

Prayer Space  this week takes us from the words of Isaiah into three different activities:

                         seeking calm amid the push and pull of the time of year:

                         re-assembling the broken bits of our lives:

                         and giving thanks for the blessings we experience:

****AND COMING UP THIS SATURDAY****

10.00 a.m. - 12 Noon


OPEN CHURCH

with music from Chris Benton (organ) and Vince Cross (piano)

Vince at 10.00 and 11.00, Chris at 10.30 and 11.30

This will now be an extra opportunity for meditation and quiet conversation, once you've popped your cards into the Scout Hut. Originally we'd thought of something noisier with special guests and light refreshments, but that didn't prove possible this time.

TUESDAY 6th DECEMBER

God our Father,
you spoke to the prophets of old
of a Saviour who would bring peace.
You helped them to spread the joyful message
of his coming kingdom.
Help us, as we prepare to celebrate his birth,
to share with those around us
the good news of your power and love.
We ask this through Jesus Christ,
the light who is coming into the world.
Amen.

Today Hilary and her team are beginning to knit the Nativity in the church and elsewhere...

...and the Mothers Union will be sharing their Christmas Lunch together at the Bold Dragoon.


Open church!

These days it's very difficult for churches to stay open outside service hours, particularly in urban areas, and we probably all appreciate why. Of course it would be lovely to grow our church community to the point where we could afford to staff our lovely building 9 till 5, even with volunteers, but that's a huge ask. This season at any rate, we're finding every morning moment we can for it to be available for quiet meditation, and yesterday we made a start. Sue Kirby has put together a great Prayer Space focus in the Crispin Chapel. Good conversations were had, and the winter sunshine flooding through the windows gave the stone pillars an uplifting beauty. We're open again today...and tomorrow. More about the content of Prayer Space then...

The Minor Prophets  by Michael Lind

None of the minor prophets
knew that he was minor, of course. Habakkuk, I imagine,
thought that his visions earned him
standing as Ezekiel's peer, if not indeed Elijah's.
Then there was Obadiah,
who could be forgiven if he thought he might be a Moses.
How they would be remembered
Providence concealed from them all, though they could see the future.

Maybe it doesn't matter.
If you're on a mission from God, sent to rebuke a city
or to redeem a nation,
where by canon-makers you're ranked may be inconsequential.
Nor is the voice within you
any less authentic for not having a distant echo.
Seers of the world, be heartened.
Even minor prophets can have genuine revelations.

Michael Lind is a Texan, a political and economic theorist and academic as well as a poet. This comes from his 2008 collection 'Parallel Lives' published by the Etruscan Press.

                       A long term resident of the church book-case showing how much he loves us...

MONDAY 5th DECEMBER

                                                             A 'Christmas Rose'

And yesterday...

David presented Doug and Phyll Joll with a card and gift for their dedication and kindness in organising the parish lunch over the last twelve years. Everyone tucked into Gill Allen's shepherds pie (and probably came back for more...)

If you think that there's quite a lot about eating recorded in these pages, you're not wrong, but I don't expect you're surprised. Sharing meals together, symbolic and real, is at the heart of what we do as a church. It's when you write it all down that the theme comes through quite so strongly...

 

Feel like picking up where Doug and Phyll left off?  The parish would be grateful. Please let David or Allison know...

Starting the journey...

At the ten o'clock service Allison baptised baby Delilah, and the church welcomed her and her family into its fellowship. In the congregation was one-time choir member Matthew Bellamy with wife Nicola and new baby Harry. New life: new hope...

                                            Here's Delilah proudly showing off her family

Breakfast Club...

More food again...for the body and the soul. Fourteen young people were fed and watered by Peter Halstead and John Fazackerley as they have been each fortnight during the past year. The 'soul' bit was led by Sue K. We refer you to our question of yesterday: could you guess who they were?


Looking forward to tomorrow...

High jinks at the Bold Dragoon around lunch-time as the Mothers Union enjoy their annual Christmas meal. Will the place ever be the same again...?


A prophet speaks

You think this is a gift?
It hangs on me like a curse.
Unable to help myself,
Addicted to truth,
Compelled by that jolting inner voice
Which may not be the real me.
Always doubting,
Scrabbling for words and images
To arrest and disturb;
Putting on dumb-shows
That are not understood:
Dressing in rags,
Breaking pottery,
Playing the jilted lover,
Hoisting a yoke on my shoulder.
It's damned hard work.
And for what?
My audience go their way.
They have jobs to do,
Children to raise,
Parents to care for;
Are necessarily oblivious.

See the future?
Ask a weather girl
Or buy some snake oil.
I deal in what is.
And what I see scares me.

                  Vince Cross

SUNDAY 4th DECEMBER

                       The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
                                        Make straight in the desert a highway for our God'


Last week 'Patriarchs'. This week 'Prophets'... 

Blessed are you, sovereign Lord, just and true:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
Of old you spoke by the mouth of your prophets,
but in our day you speak through your Son,
whom you have appointed the heir of all things.
Grant us, your people, to walk in his light,
that we may be found ready and watching
when he comes again in glory and judgement;
for you are our light and our salvation.
Blessed be God for ever.


Tomorrow:

The church will be open after Morning Prayer until 12 noon, and the first of the weekly Prayer Spaces will be there as an additional focus for meditation.

Why not drop in beforehand if you're going to the monthly Residents' Association meeting at the Bold...(11.00 a.m.)?

Apart from the immense amount of work done by our clergy, David and Allison, the parish is so lucky to have a tremendous amount of lay support. Tomorrow our lay pastors meet as they reflect on their quiet ministry of care for church members.

And if you're limbering up for Christmas, there's Pilates in the hall at 18.00 and 19.00.


Yesterday

Nearly £250 was raised by Advent Soup, with the vote going to N.A.A.S.H. (Northampton Association for Accommodation of Single Homeless) as the charity most people wanted to support.

Half the money will go to them, with the rest divided equally between the two other nominated charities: The Northamptonshire Historic Churches Trust, and the Emmanuel Coffee Shop. Thank you very much to all who provided the food, and all who made time in their busy schedules to be there to enjoy it.

                                                                     'Say "soup"!


                 News Briefing

No lack of prophets, false or true
In these fast shortening latter days.
Easy slogans spew from every electronic mouth
Coarse clamouring for our attention
And God gets little mention.

We are held in the gnawing grip
Of disorienting dilemmas
Through the medium of which
Enterprising moguls grow louche and rich.

When Jesus came
Bursting through the cracks in space and time
The earth re-booted, normalised.
And still he comes
To reconcile and heal.
Defenceless, candid, opens his eyes,
Speaks truth to power.
And so he dies.
                               Vince Cross

                                                  Dancing in the Dark: Tallinn, Estonia


People of God: be glad!
Your God delights in you,
giving you joy for sadness
and turning the dark to light.
Be strong in hope therefore;
for your God comes to save.
You are God's children.
Lord, make us one in the love of Christ
today and for ever.
Amen.


Some of the prayers, collects and liturgical material in these posts is copyright of the Church of England and is reprinted with their kind permission.

SATURDAY 3rd DECEMBER

God our deliverer
whose approaching birth
still shakes the foundations of our world,
may we so wait for your coming
with eagerness and hope
that we embrace without terror
the labour pangs of the new age,
through Jesus Christ,
Amen
              Janet Morley

Sundays are different...

Here are just some of the things you could do at St. Peter's tomorrow:

Your day could start by joining the worshippers for Holy Communion at 8 a.m. in church. If your life is too busy and noisy this could be for you: quiet, calm and dignified.

Our young people will be enjoying Breakfast Club in the Hervey Room at 8.30. Are you on 'hello' terms with them?  Do you know their names?

At 10.00 a.m. there's Holy Communion again, this time with music, and usually with a full church. We run a crèche so the children are looked after.

Immediately afterwards, there'll be coffee in the hall, and like last week a chance to buy from the Traidcraft stall.

At 12.30 p.m. a significant Parish Lunch. Doug and Phyll Joll have organised these Lunches for some years, and feel it's now time to hand on the mantle to others. They deserve big thanks for the hard work they've put in.

There's Evensong for the residents at St. John's at 15.45 ( usually a simple service with a few hymns).

Candles in the church make us see things differently. Perhaps we become more aware of all those who have worshipped in St. Peter's before us. Perhaps we just think the softer light on the ancient stones looks beautiful. Perhaps the candles make us think of the fragility and wonder of life. At 18.00 we hold our annual Candlelit Advent service, with some beautiful music from Clare, Chris and the choir, and thought-provoking readings.

And after the service at 19.00 there's the AGM of the Friends of St. Peter's who over the years have provided us with a considerable amount of money to help with the fabric and repairs of our ancient building. We are still a lovely beacon of hope for those who pick their way through the village on foot or by car.

Outside their families, where else can people aged 0 to 90+ share their joys and anxieties? 

                     We're not implying anything about the ages of the people in this photograph!!


STOP PRESS!

A good time was had by all at ADVENT SOUP.  More pictures and news tomorrow, but here's a mouth-watering snap of a craftsperson at work...

God of hope
be with us in our Advent journey
to the stable and beyond.
Be with us in our meeting
and in our travelling together.
Be with us in our worship
and our praying together.
Be with us in our parting,
and as we take your love
out into the world,
Amen.