Newsletter, December 2009
back

From the Rectory

There is a verse of the carol ‘O Little town of Bethlehem’ that is rarely sung these days – you may remember it –

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to Thee,
Son of the Mother mild;
Where Charity stands watching
And Faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

I suppose it does have undertones of a Victorian social system that is not relevant in the twenty first century. And charity is not a good modern word, but if we take it back to its roots ‘Caritas’ and translate it as love – the real selfless sort – the verse begins to take on a different meaning.

We know that for many people the night is still very dark and there is much misery in the world – but there is something special about Christmas – even those who do not normally come to church often manage to find a short time to appreciate the real wonder of the occasion and, for a time, the world seems to hold its breath. It’s almost as if the promised ‘Peace on earth’ might really happen for we can actually feel the love of God; it is there embodied in a tiny baby.

This Love is always there – it always stands watching – and where we have the faith to leave the door open, it will always enter – and wherever Christ enters, even for a short time, people and situations are transformed. In Charles Dickens story ‘A Christmas Carol’ Scrooge cries out on Christmas Day ‘I’m not the man I was! I’m not the man I was!’ That is how we are if we hold wide the door of our faith and let the Love of the Christ Child enter – even if only for a short time – we are wonderfully changed and can never go back.

But for me, the real joy of this verse is in its last line

‘And Christmas comes once more’.

It is a reassurance that however weak our faith there is always another chance. If something goes wrong this year and we are in such a dark place we cannot even open our door by the tiniest chink, Christ will not go away, he will stand watching until we are able to open the door wide enough to invite Him in. It may take another whole year until Christmas weaves its magic once more, it may be sooner, but Love, Christ, will watch and wait, patiently to effect our transformation.

I wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas, full of hope and love.

Yours in Christ

Jo

An orange representing the world with

A red ribbon around it representing the blood of Jesus

Fruits and sweets on cocktail sticks are pushed into the orange representing the fruits of the earth and the four seasons

A lighted candle is pushed into the centre of the orange representing Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Jesus describes himself in the bible, in John Chapter 8 v 12, in this way: ‘I am the Light of the World, if you follow me you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life’ (New Living Translation)

Archive

I have been very aware recently of the amount of material about the history of the church and parish that is in ‘private’ hands. Some, of course belongs to the people in whose possession it is – some is there because no one else wants it or it just happens to be in storage. Jenny Ford, who is an experienced local historian, has kindly agreed to help me to try to catalogue all the material we have and to create an archive in the Manor Room. This could then be accessed by anyone with an interest. The main church records, registers etc have to be stored by the County Archive Department, but there is a wealth of material outside the official records which should be brought together. If you have anything you think should be kept there do please let me know. I understand you may want to keep it for your own interest but I am also aware that this is how things get lost and spoilt – particularly – and this is hard to say – sometimes after a death when relatives are clearing a house, they do not recognise the importance or relevance of papers and they are destroyed. If you do have papers you want to keep in your own possession, I wonder if you would be willing to let us have a copy for the archive? It may be you would like to help with this work, if so, do get in touch.

Jo Spray

A cat died and went to heaven. God met her at the gates and said, ‘You have been a good cat all these years, anything you want is yours for the asking’. The cat thought for a minute and then said, ‘All my life I lived on a farm and slept on hard wooden floors, I would like a real fluffy pillow to sleep on’. God said ‘say no more’. Instantly the cat had a huge fluffy pillow. A few days later, six mice were killed in an accident and they all went to heaven together. God met the mice at the gates with the same offer that he had made to the cat. The mice said ‘Well, we have had to run all of our lives; from cats, dogs, even people with brooms! If we could just have some little roller skates, we would not have to run again’. God answered ‘it is done’. All the mice had beautiful little roller skates. About a week later, God decided to check on the cat. He found her asleep on her fluffy pillow. God gently awakened the cat and asked ‘is everything okay? How have you been doing? Are you happy? The cat replied ‘Oh it is WONDERFUL, I have never been so happy in my life. The pillow is so fluffy, and those little Meals on Wheels you have been sending over are delicious!’

Lord, help us to be yours and reflect your light in the darkness

All who cannot feel any joy this Christmas

Peace in the world and in the hearts of people

The people of the Holy Land

Drivers Please!

The children of Turvey Lower School are inviting a number of older members of the village to see a performance of their Christmas Play on Monday 14th December. They need to be at school before 1.45pm and will be ready to leave by about 2.45pm. If anyone can help with transport, please will you telephone me on 881312? Many thanks Jo Spray

Loving God, the birth of your Son Jesus Christ brought great joy to Mary and Joseph. We give thanks to you for everyone whose birthday we celebrate this month. May they ever grow in your faith, hope and love. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Amen

Thank you to all those who supported the Coffee Morning on Friday 13th November. £110 was raised for Church finds.

Thus passes your glory—all beauty is transient and you are still mortal and will die someday.

The church will be decorated for Christmas on the afternoon of Wednesday 23rd and the morning of Thursday, 24th December. If you would like to help please contact Anne Claypole White (881661) We would be very grateful for contributions of holly and other Christmas greenery. These may be left at the back of the church. Thank you.

Christ has no body now on earth but ours,

No hand but ours, no feet but ours;

Ours are the eyes with which he has to

Look with compassion on the world;

Ours are the feet with which he has to go

About doing good;

And ours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.

Amen

Christmas Market & Bazaar

Saturday 5th December 10:30-12:15

Light lunches bookable on the day. Please support this event in any way you can, but most important of all, please come! So much hard work goes into putting it on, it’s very disheartening for us when people miss a very enjoyable morning. It is only on for two hours, so please find time in your busy schedule to come, you may be surprised to find what is on offer!

You cannot say the Lords Prayer

And even once say "I",

You cannot say the Lords Prayer

And even once say "My",

Nor can you say the Lords Prayer

And not pray for another.

For when you ask for daily bread

You must include your brother,

For others are included

In every plea,

From beginning to the end of it

It does not once say "Me"

Godfrey and Leonie Mkushi, profile by Cindy Woods

Godfrey was born in Zimbabwe and went to the local schools. He says the school system is very similar to the English system. After "A" level sciences, he came to the UK to take up a degree in Electrical Engineering at Hull University. His father ran his own retail business and his mom often helped out in the shops. Since his father died she has opted to renting out the shops and live on the income. There were 6 children in the family, 3 boys and 3 girls. One brother and one sister live in Zimbabwe, one brother in Botswana and one sister here in the UK. One sister is deceased.

Leonie’s mom and dad were originally from Jamaica. They came over to England and settled in Birmingham, which is where Leonie was born. Her mother was a hairdresser and her father was an electrician’s mate. Before coming to England he had been a journalist and a teacher, but sadly his qualifications were not recognised here. In the beginning it was very hard for the family.

Leonie has two brothers and two sisters. Two live in London and two are still in Birmingham. Leonie went to the local schools and ended up studying Politics, Sociology and Anthropology at Hull University were she met Godfrey.

Life together was short-lived as, soon after graduating, Godfrey went back to Zimbabwe to start his engineering career. About a year later, Leonie joined him and they got married there. 18 months later saw them back in the UK as the Rhodesian Government was calling up black professionals into the army to fight in a civil war to preserve white supremacy! Leonie says it was terrifying – no cars on country roads after 3:30 pm, and lots of shooting.

They settled in Birmingham and their first son Hurudza was born at Solihull Hospital (now demolished). It was not long before they were back in Zimbabwe, the war had ended and the country had gained

Independence in 1980. Godfrey got his old job back and the couple had another son, Munatsi, and their twin girls, Nandi and Mushana. They both say they had a good life, the children were brought up in a comfortable environment and they felt privileged. But soon cracks appeared in the economy and there was a marked deterioration in standards (education, health, human right etc) due to government mismanagement. They did not like the counter racism that was evolving. They decided to find a new life back in England. Leonie would come back for the girls to finish their education here while Godfrey holds out to see if life in Zimbabwe would improve. Two years later in May 2008, Godfrey came to the UK and the family once more settled in Birmingham. By then Hurudza had got his degree in Chemical Engineering from Aston University and Munatsi had read Physics at Cambridge. The girls took out a gap year doing voluntary work with the local church communities in Birmingham before commencing university life. Now Nandi is studying History and Politics at Sheffield University while Mushana is reading Biological Sciences at Warwick University near Coventry.

Godfrey found a job in Northampton and would commute until they decided to re-locate to somewhere closer to his workplace. A colleague at work suggested he looked at the villages around Northamptonshire. When he drove across the bridge in Turvey he fell in love with the village before he even saw the house they now live in. They wanted to be within reach of London and Birmingham, where extended family still lives, and Leonie still teaches English Literacy for 2 days a week in Birmingham. She says she enjoys her work, like she did when she was a Christian Counsellor in Harare. Godfrey enjoys golf and travelling, he did lots of it commuting between Harare and Gatwick when he was still in Zimbabwe and the rest of the family was here in the UK.

The children all have valuable musical talents, either singing, composing music or playing instruments. Leonie says it is lovely when the family gets together and they all perform. Leonie and Godfrey are both used to a more evangelical church environment, but enjoy coming to All Saints. They say one needs to find an appealing church close to home because church life is an integral part of the social life of a community. They also say miracles still happen in church even though the people who are blessed in the process do not speak openly. God is working in all our lives.

November’s coffee morning raised £167.30 towards church funds. A big thank you to John and Julie Hughes for hosting the event and to everyone who helped with and supported it. There is no coffee morning in December. We restart our programme on Saturday the 9th January at Grove Farm House, by kind invitation of Rod and Carol Petty. We need more volunteers for 2010. If you would like to host a coffee morning Anne Claypole White would be delighted to hear from you!

Do join us for Carol Singing on the green 5pm Saturday 19th December followed by refreshments at the Three Cranes

Creed for Advent 2001 by Cally Booker

We believe in God…

Robed in splendour,

Veiled in mystery,

Ruler alike of darkness and light.

We encounter God…

In Jesus Christ,

Whose touch brings a blaze of colour

To a dull, drab world;

Reviving the weary,

Healing the wounded,

Dazzling the satisfied;

Who was tortured and put to death,

But whose radiance could not be quenched.

We walk with God…

Guided by the light of God’s loving Spirit,

Who enters the shadowed places of our hearts

And leads us into truth and life.

We wait for God…

And for the fulfillment of God’s promises,

When darkness will hold no fear

And the light will no longer blind,

But creation will be made whole once more

And God’s peace will reign for ever.

Amen