“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

(Matthew 24:42)

This week, the sections of the email are:

• Opening reflection: Advent
• Key notices: Christmas Publicity, Carol Singing at Care Homes
• Coming Up: Let there be light, Meal and Magic Evening, Christmas Tree Festival, Christmas Baroque, Christmas Services at St. George’s
• From the Wider Church: Safe Families Events
• Interesting Blogs: Resources for Advent
• Weekly Calendar
• Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, access Safeguarding training

Scroll on…

Opening Reflection

The Christmas decorations are already going up. Some have been up for weeks already and it is not December until Monday! However, Sunday marks the beginning of the church’s season that leads up to Christmas: Advent.

Advent is meant to be in part a season to prepare for celebrating Christmas, the festival that marks the Son of God coming among us as a baby. Yet, it is also a time to remember that Jesus will come again, not as a baby, but as the one who will judge, rescue and restore the world, so that God’s kingdom is fully realised and there will be a new heaven and new earth.

As such Advent is meant to be a time of reflection and repentance, when we ask ourselves whether we are ready for Jesus’ second coming. You may think the more urgent question is: “Will I be ready for Christmas? Have I bought the presents, made arrangements to visit family and prepared for the feasting?” Christmas is less than a month away after all.

Yet, not being ready for Christmas is not the end of the world. On the other hand, not being ready for Christ’s return means missing out on the next world. Christmas may feel imminent, but we do not know when Jesus will return. It could be another 2,000 years or it could be today. We need to be ready now.

Why not take time this Advent to prayerfully consider whether you are ready for Jesus’ return? The sermons will help. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at three of the stories Jesus tells to help us in our Advent reflection. They pose the following questions for us to consider: Am I prepared to follow Jesus for the whole of life or is it just a fad? Am I using the gifts and talents God gave me as I should? Do I treat other people, as though they are Jesus?

Paul Worledge

Key Notices:

Christmas Publicity

The Christmas publicity is now ready to deliver. If you can deliver to one or more roads, please grab enough leaflets from the pile at the back of St. Luke’s (this week, next week we’ll have some at St. George’s). Check the roads are not already taken on the maps, then cross out the road(s) so that others do not deliver there. It would be great to cover as many roads as possible.

Carol Singing at Care Homes

We are planning to go into a couple of local care homes to sing some Christmas Carols for the residents. If you can join us for these events, then please let Paul know:

• Keele House, 2:30pm on Wednesday 10^th December
• Ramsgate Care Centre, 2:30pm on Monday 15^th December

Coming Up:

Let there be Light

This evening from 5pm at St. George’s Church, there will be the  Let there be Light event. This is a free event with refreshments and entertainment (see fliers for more information). Last year we had over 500 attend. If you can offer to help steward then please let Paul know, and come to the briefing at St. George’s at 4pm.

Meal and Magic Evening, Saturday 6^th December, 7:00pm

The Men’s group will be hosting this fantastic event at St. Luke’s Hall. It will include a hot meal, a quiz and magic from Colin Hoult. This is open to everyone: children go free, adults only £5. For more information or to buy a ticket see Bruce (07708 682464, bruce.stokes@btinternet.com ) or Peter Erlam.

Christmas Tree Festival

This will be running from 12^th December at St. George’s. If anyone would like to decorate a Christmas Tree on behalf of St. Luke’s, then please let Paul know.

Christmas Baroque at St. George’s – 18^th December, 7pm

The Baroque Collective warmly invites you to the fifth annual Christmas Baroque Concert at St George’s on 18 December at 7pm. Tickets: £13 in advance, £15 on the door; free admission for children under 16. Find out more and buy tickets.

Christmas Services at St. George’s

Carol Service – Sunday 21^st December, 5:30pm (note earlier time than previous years)

Midnight Service – Christmas Eve, 24^th, 11:30pm

From the Wider Church:

Safe Family Events

Christmas Zoom, Thursday 18^th December, 12:30-1:30pm

This is a time for all our supporters in London and the South East to meet online, to share stories from this year and take part in a quiz (trivia). This will be an opportunity to meet our team and celebrate this year. Totally optional but we’d love to see you if you can make it! RSVP using this form.

Kent Celebration, Saturday 10^th January 2026, 2-4pm, St. Christopher’s Newington

Please do bring your friends and family along to our celebration of Safe Families and Home for Good in Kent. There will be fun, food and friends – lots for both children and adults to enjoy and all free! Please do pop in, we would love to see you!

RSVP using this form

Interesting Blogs to Share:

This week, some Advent resources that may help you be ready:

Bible Society Free Advent Resources

LICC resources: The infinite in an infant

Church of England: O Come, Emmanuel, reflections on the carol

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 30^th – Advent Sunday

Joint Service – (St Luke’s Church, 11:00am), Reading: Matthew 25:1-13

Christianity Explored Youth (13-18s) (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Let There Be Light (St George’s Church) – 5:00-7:00pm

Monday 1^st December        

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Christianity Explored (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 7:30-9:00pm

Tuesday 2^nd         

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm

Wednesday 3rd  

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Thursday 4th         

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Christianity Explored (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 11:30am-1:00pm

Saturday 6^th       

CTiR Prayer Breakfast (Newington Free) – 9:00-10:00am

Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm

Meal & Magic (St. Luke’s Hall) – 7:00-9:00pm

Sunday 7^th – The Second Sunday of Advent

Eucharist – (St George’s Church, 9:30am), Reading: Matthew 25:14-30

Christianity Explored Youth (13-18s) (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Online Forms:

Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:

• Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
• Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
• Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.

Safeguarding Training

If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.

If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@churchramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Finally, let’s make sure we are ready for Christ’s return.

Yours in Christ,

Paul Worledge

(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)