Ministry Team Letter
February 2010
Dear Friends,
What a Christmas we had! With snow underfoot and the country’s transport system seemingly as frozen solid as the puddles, and despite waves of viruses and bugs rolling over many of us, we celebrated our Lord’s birth in a way that for me at least has left a deeper impression than usual. We had our regular fare of services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, including a children’s Crib Service as successful as ever but this time with a script written by a young member of the Children’s Church, Matthew Wright. Our Carol Service was packed, with the choir splendidly on song, and the complete contrast of the Quiet Christmas met the needs of at least one person who, because of personal loss, could not have coped with anything bigger or louder but who still wanted to observe Christmas in church. At midnight we had the unusual bonus of a sermon from a passing bishop, Trevor Willmott, who will shortly become Bishop of Dover. (The Bishop of Dover looks after the Diocese of Canterbury for the Archbishop, who has other things to do.)
On Christmas Day, our worship at 9.45 was a unique experience for all of us. We joined with our Baptist brothers and sisters for a communion service which included traditional carols and the support of those members of the choir who were not completely carolled-out by all they had sung earlier. The communion itself was led by John Smith, the Baptist minister, in a simple, informal but dignified manner that moved many of us. The church was about twice as full as it would usually be on Christmas Day, and it was a great joy to be able so to greet our Lord on this happy morning.
The reason for this joint service was, of course, that the Baptist church hall had been prepared for a Christmas lunch for people who would otherwise be on their own, and if our Baptist brethren hadn’t come to us they would have had no-where else to go. It was good to have a practical reason that all could appreciate as a catalyst for our united worship – perhaps now we have done it once because we had to, we can do it again simply because we want to. The lunch itself was a tremendous success. Jean White has written about it elsewhere in this magazine, so I won’t go over the details again, but I would like to record here my own thanks - and I know I can also do so on behalf of many others - to Mary Jepp, who master-minded the operation from the beginning, as well as the small army of helpers who made it all possible. We were all worn out by the end of the day, but it was worth it. We had done something that made Christmas come alive for us with new depth, and I shall always be grateful for the experience.
Now as I write our thoughts are filled with the truly appalling disaster in Haiti. We will do what we can to raise funds to help with the immediate aftermath. Let us pray God our efforts do not end there, but that individuals, agencies and governments continue their help in the long term to begin to put this afflicted land back on its feet. This would make the Incarnation of God more visible not just for Christmas time but in the hard realities of every day.
With love,
David
We believe that the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Godmanchester, exists to build up the individual and corporate spiritual life of our Church and to spread the love of Christ through word and deed, by enabling those who live and work within our town to come into contact with God’s love and come to faith in Christ.