“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.”
(Luke 2:10-11)
This week, the sections of the email are:
- Opening reflection: Joy
- Key notices: Parish Safeguarding Officer Role, Daily Prayer
- Coming Up: Christmas Tree Festival, Christmas Baroque, Dare to Pray, Back after Christmas, Join Up Confirmation course, Churches Together in Ramsgate United Service
- Interesting Blogs: Grumpy Owl, Joy in the Bible, Christmas Karma
- Weekly Calendar
- Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, access Safeguarding training
Scroll on…
Opening Reflection
The theme for this year’s Christmas Publicity is ‘Joy!’ My hope and prayer for all of you reading this, is that you have a truly joyful Christmas. After all, everyone, Christian or not, believes that Christmas is a time to be happy.
Yet, joy can so easily slip away from us. The joy of giving becomes the stress of shopping; the joy of gathering slips into irritation with others and the joy of feasting dissolves into the pain of indigestion.
When our focus is on trying to make Christmas a happy time, then the pressure to be of ‘good cheer’ becomes just another cause of stress and anxiety. But when we embrace the Christian truths of the Christmas story, then we discover something that takes us above and beyond our day to day struggles and brings lasting joy to our souls.
When Jesus was born, shepherds were going about their day to day business. They no doubt had worries about the health of their family, the state of their flocks and how to pay their taxes. But suddenly an angel appeared to them with a message of good news of great joy. A Saviour was born. God was coming to help them and give them a reason for hope that would put all their other worries into perspective.
Life can be far more than worrying about possessions and politics, it can be a journey with God. A journey of transformation, hope and deep joy that lifts us beyond our immediate anxieties. The Christmas story is not meant to be a cute part of our Christmas festivities. When fully grasped it gives us joy for all of life.
Paul Worledge
Key Notices:
Parish Safeguarding Officer Role
Safeguarding in church is the responsibility of everyone. However, we need someone to champion and promote safeguarding in the church and to be a point of contact for any concerns raised. There is a lot of Diocesan training and support for this role. If you think you might be the person to take it on then please let Paul know and he can share more about what is involved.
Daily Prayer
Please note that there will be no daily prayer for the next two weeks. It restarts on Monday 5th January.
Coming Up:
Christmas Tree Festival at St. George’s, 2-5pm
Running from Friday 12th December to Sunday 21st. Come and view the beautiful Christmas Tree festival inside St. George’s church
Christmas Baroque at St. George’s – Tonight , 7pm
Tickets £15 on the door.
Dare to Pray – This Saturday 20th, 9:30-10:30am
There are lots of events happening over Christmas and it is a great opportunity to welcome more people into our churches to hear the good news about Jesus. But we need to pray for God to work. So please join us at our monthly Dare to Pray meeting at St. George’s church this Saturday.
Back after Christmas
- Daily Prayer restarts on Monday 5th January
- Cafe4All will then be closed for two weeks and re-open on 8th January.
- Play and Praise restarts on 9th January
- Community Meal restarts on 13th January
Join Up Confirmation Courses
We will be hosting a Confirmation Service at St. Luke’s on 28th February 2025. Paul will be running a course called, Join Up, from 8th and 12th January, which is both a follow up to Christianity Explored and a preparation for Confirmation. If you have not been baptised or confirmed or are just interested in taking part in the course, then please talk to Paul.
Churches Together in Ramsgate United Service
After the success of the united service at Pentecost last May, we are planning another united service at the Royal Harbour School, for Sunday January 28th at 6pm. This will be more traditional in style and there will be a joint choir for the event. If anyone would like to be part of the choir, please let Paul know.
Interesting Blogs to Share:
The Grumpy Old Owl and the Joy of Christmas
Check out this video for children from the Church of England, exploring the Nativity. Watch Video…
Joy in the Bible
This is a fast paced look at the theme of joy running through the whole Bible. All done in under 5 minutes! Watch the Video…
Christmas Karma
In this article by Graham Tomlin, we discover why the title to one of the latest Christmas movies, does not make sense. Read more (5 mins.)
Christmas Calendar
Sunday 21st December – Fourth Sunday of Advent
Carol Service (St. George’s Church) – 5:30-6:30pm
Wednesday 24th
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Midnight Service (St. George’s Church) – 11:30pm
Thursday 25th
Family Communion Service (St. Luke’s Church) – 11:00am-12:00pm
Sunday 28th – First Sunday of Christmas
Eucharist (St. George’s Church) Matt. 2:13-23 – 9:30am
Saturday 3rd January
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Sunday 4th – Second Sunday of Christmas
Eucharist (St. George’s Church) – 9:30am
Monday 5th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Tuesday 6th
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Community Meal (St. George’s Hall) – 5:30-7:00pm
Wednesday 7th
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Thursday 8th
Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Saturday 10th
Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am
Community Soup (St. George’s Church) – 12:00-2:00pm
Sunday 11th – First Sunday of Epiphany
Carol Service (St. George’s Church) Num. 11:4-6,16-34 – 9:30am
Confirmation Course (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, have a really joyful Christmas.
Yours in Christ,
Paul Worledge
(Priest in Charge, St. George’s Ramsgate)
St. George's Church Ramsgate 