17 Dalling Drive Houghton Regis LU5 5EF Tel 01582 529788
November 2012
Dear Friends, It’s scary but Advent is just a couple of weeks away. A book I’ve ordered is called ‘Do Nothing: Christmas is coming’. We easily feel under pressure from festive customs and expectations, our own and others. They drive us to celebrate in particular ways so this may sound unrealistic. But perhaps learning how to ‘Do Nothing’ is precisely what we need to do to ensure that we prepare well for Christmas, and Advent isn’t just a desperate rush round the shops. A book I’m just reading again is called ‘Less is More’ by Brian Draper. ‘Spirituality for Busy Lives’. He’s written it for Christians and others as well. It’s not written for Advent but I’ve found it really helpful. It’s simple, really easy to read and practical. There’s encouragement to slow down and take time to ask truly important questions. I’m going to make a couple of copies available in church for people to look at. If you’d like to grow your Christian spirituality and you enjoy a book.... why not get your own, or ask Father Christmas for a copy or borrow one of these. Looking back, thank you to all who helped to make our Harvest Supper & Line Dance such a wonderful evening. The food was fantastic and the company great, which is more than can be said of my dancing. However, there are clearly some potential Strictly Stars amongst us! Looking ahead as we step into Advent there are lots of opportunities to enrich our celebrations this Christmas. The Christmas bazaar is on Saturday December 1st – bring your friends and their children and enjoy some festive activities together. Watch out for details about the Church Christmas lunch on December 9th, Carols by Candlelight at 6pm on December 16th and a special all-age service entitled ‘On The Eve of Christmas Eve…’ at 6pm on December 23rd.
We’re on the lookout for a team of men to help sort and serve the Christmas lunch. If you could help in some way please let Paul Bentley or myself know. But before we get to Advent please can I invite you to join with those who have been on the ‘Growing Leaders Course’ this year. On Sunday 18th November at 7pm we celebrate the end of the course with a service at St Hugh’s Church in Lewsey, where Bishop Graham Cray will be speaking. He’s a great speaker in great demand – please don’t miss out. We’ll be recognising those who have been on the course and praying for them as they seek to take their next steps in serving God. If you’d like a lift please let me know. Our Alpha Course is going really well each Thursday evening. There are up to18 people doing the course either at church or at home, which is really good. However it means that our next Church Members Meeting has been displaced onto Tuesday evening November 20th. We have some important issues to address and we hope by then to have prepared the church budget for 2013. And finally as we set off towards the celebration of our Lord’s birth here are some words to begin that journey. John sums up the significance of Jesus birth in the opening of his gospel - and the Message translation puts it this way.
‘The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the oneof-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.’ John Ch 1 v 14
As together we explore this great mystery of Jesus’ birth, in which God reveals himself to us, may you know his richest blessing. Every blessing!
David
We continue to communicate by e-mail, face book and through our blog spot. Keith kindly maintains a full diary of church events so you can check ‘what’s happening and when’. So do keep in touch at http://houghtonregisbaptistchurch.blogspot.co.uk/ or find us on face book for the latest on what’s happening.
November Church Diary mon 5 tue 6 thur 8
Fun Space 9.30-11am Coffee Morning Parent & Toddlers 9.30-11am, 1.30-3pm
8pm Leaders mtg *pm CLP meeting Alpha
sun 11
10.45am Service “New relationships”
4:30pm Service “No greater love”
Fun Space 9.30-11am Coffee Morning Parent & Toddlers 9.30-11am, 1.30-3pm
8pm Finance Group
mon 12 tue 13 thur 14 sun 18
Alpha
11.00am Service “Be strong in the Lord”
7pm at St Hugh’s, Lewsey. Growing Leaders Commissioning Service
Fun Space 9.30-11am Coffee Morning Afternoon devotional meeting Parent & Toddlers 9.30-11am, 1.30-3pm
8pm Leaders mtg 8pm Church Members Meeting
Bishop Graham Cray mon 19 tue 20 wed 21 thur 22 sat 24
9:30
sun 25
11:00am service: “There is a time and a place”
mon 26 tue 27 thur 29
8pm Alpha
Church Work day
Fun Space 9.30-11am Coffee Morning Parent & Toddlers 9.30-11am, 1.30-3pm
6:00pm service: “He is Alpha and Omega” 10:30am Pastoral Care group Alpha
Church Directory The church directory is a valuable resource – keeping all the church contact information in one document. However, our current directory is nearly two years old so we need to update it. This will require you to fill in a form so that the directory can be compiled for issue in the autumn. The forms are on the back table in the church. Please fill one in NOW.
December Church Diary sat 1 sun 2 mon 3 tue 4 thur 6 sun 9 mon 10 tue 11 thur 13 sun 16 mon 17 tue 18 thur 19 sun 23 mon 24 tue 25 thur 27 sun 30
Children’s Bazaar & Coffee morning 10:30 – 12:00 11:00am service: “Promises of a Messiah” 6:00pm service: “Born a child and yet a King” Fun Space 9.30-11am Coffee Morning Parent & Toddlers Alpha 9.30-11am, 1.30-3pm 11.00am Service Dinner time: Christmas Lunch "In the sixth month" Fun Space 8pm Finance Group 9.30-11am Coffee Morning Parent & Toddlers Alpha 9.30-11am, 1.30-3pm 11.00am Service 6pm : Carols by candle light “At Elizabeth’s house” with Dunstable Ladies Choir 8pm Leaders mtg 9.30-11am Coffee Morning Parent & Toddlers Alpha 9.30-11am, 1.30-3pm 6:00pm Christmas all age service: 11.00am Service “On the Eve of Christmas Eve” “From Nazareth to Galilee” 10:30am Christmas day service
“At a stable in Bethlehem”
11.00am Service
no evening Service
If you can help in any way: making coffee, serving on the stalls, helping the children, or with the gang doing the wrapping please let David know. It’s tiring but great fun.
Blatant family plug: ‘Movember’ Raising money for prostate and testicular cancer charities by growing some facial hair. It’s a case of the mo ridiculous the look, the mo money is made.
"Mo-space" link: http://mobro.co/JonWallis Jonathan raised £145 last year. This year (by day 7) he’s already raised £85! Jonathan says: “This year I’m growing ‘The Rascal’ – what that says about me I’ll leave you to decide. Please sponsor me and spread the word.” If you can’t use the sponsor link have a word with Jonathan, he’ll be glad to relieve you of your spare cash.
Newsletter Deadline for items for the next Newsletter: 21st of December. All items to David Skinner on or before that date please. NB. We are still looking for an editor for the newsletter, who can work with David to gather and prepare items for publication. Keith Wallis will continue to prepare the layout of the magazine. If you’re interested please speak to David.
Contact Number David can be contacted on 01582 529788 at anytime of day apart from Saturday. Otherwise contact one of the leadership team (Keith Wallis, Eric Gurney, Jane Bentley) or for Community Link project Penny Geraghty.
Advent (deep calls to deep)
Deep calls to deep the imprint of God upon the ghost of spirit, a watermark in virgin paper, a tincture of a whisper from creation’s nativity. We too bring gifts to the child – the twisted gold tinsel crown for a king, fragrant candle for a deity, the romantic fairytale an antiseptic for reality. This is a death and entrance, a lower case alpha and omega, the bracketed phrase in the sentence of eternity. This is no stable mucked out and sterile but God among the droppings of mankind. Keith Wallis