This Week’s Notices 15th December 2024

‘May the King live for ever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.’

(Daniel 6:21-22)

The story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den is a powerful narrative filled with terrifying beasts, trickery, spying, manipulation, disobedience, and the intervention of an angel sent by God to save Daniel’s life. You may notice that the events in chapter 6, where Jewish exiles face the threat of death but are miraculously saved, are similar to those in chapter 3 involving Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In that chapter, they refuse to worship a statue and are saved from a fiery furnace. The differences, however, are the people involved, what the exiles are asked to compromise on and how the Kings respond to the Miracle.

In the Chapter, God is sovereign, and Daniel is loyal. Daniel’s boldness is evident as he continues to pray to God despite a royal decree against it. This act of defiance illustrates his determination to disobey unjust laws that conflict with God’s commandments, even when the cost of his disobedience is to be thrown into a den of lions. Daniel is gracious and joyful even in the face of threats, and he responds to the King kindly. God’s sovereignty is evident as He protects Daniel from the lions, demonstrating His power over earthly authorities and fierce, wild animals.

Daniel’s unwavering integrity in worshipping the God he knows to be true is a profound example for us, showcasing the importance of standing firm in one’s convictions while remaining kind and respectful to all.

Beth Keenan

Church Finances Update and Appeal

As we come to the end of the year, we have been looking more closely at our church finances. The bad news is that at present we are heading for a significant deficit in 2024 of around £14,500. Stripping out the hall running costs and Project 200, it costs nearly £30,000 a year to run St. George’s. Much of that, around £18,500 is covered by the generosity of people’s giving through planned giving, donations, money in the collection plate and the gift aid we can claim on these donations. We will write to people asking them to consider their planned giving to the church in the New Year, but it would be really good if we can significantly reduce this year’s deficit.

Could you consider giving a one off gift to the church before the end of the year to help us reduce the deficit? We know many people are struggling financially, but if you have the means to give generously to the work of the church this year, it would be a great help. You can give by putting a cheque in an envelope in the collection or online using this link: stgeorgechurchramsgate.uk/donate/

Carol Singing in Town Centre, Saturday 14th December, 12pm

Churches Together in Ramsgate are going to gather in the town centre (outside Timpsons) for carol singing, Bible reading and handing out candy and fliers promoting Christmas services. If you can join us, please just turn up!

Service of Remembrance, Saturday, St. Luke’s 6:30pm

This Saturday, 6:30pm at St. Luke’s. A chance to come and remember and give thanks for the lives of loved ones who, who we will be missing this Christmas. Find out more…

Christmas Tree Festival

The Christmas Tree Festival is now open! From 2-5pm every day this week up until Sunday 22nd. Do encourage friends, family and neighbours to pop in for a visit.

Ramsgate Lumiere at the Sailors’ Church, 12th-15th December

Part of Ramsgate Lumiere, a special feature in the Sailors’ Church will be Kinetech Design’s SUPERNOVA sculpture, commissioned for Clerkenwell Design Week, draws inspiration from the Elizabethan ruff. Its folded facets echo the pleated garment, created using Kiriorigami, a Japanese technique combining folds and cuts.

Sailors’ Church carols are at 3pm and repeated at 5pm on Friday 20th December.

Advent Doors, St. George’s, Monday 16th, 3-6pm

On Monday 16th December St George’s will participate in the annual Ramsgate Living Advent Calendar, Advent Doors. Please join us from 3pm until 6pm for soup, hot drinks, mince pies and music. The Christmas Tree Festival will be open so the church will be looking extra wonderful!

Christmas Baroque Concert, St. George’s, Monday 16th December, 7:30pm

Tickets available online or from Paul in church. Do join us for lovely Baroque music in the setting of St. George’s Christmas tree festival.

Vision 2030 – Please respond by the end of the year

If you weren’t able to come on Monday night and missed the livestream, you can still watch it here. You can find the Vision 2030 document here. We are asking people to give us feedback on the vision using this simple and short online form by the end of the year. Then we will review the Vision and agree how to move forward at our PCC meetings in January.

Links to Share:

This week two contrasting on screen offerings…

Conclave the movie

An ecclesiastical election, conducted behind closed doors, by a group of old men hardly seems a subject for a riveting thriller. Yet, back in 2016, Berkshire-based novelist Robert Harris thought otherwise. Conclave became an international best-seller. Now it’s been turned into a movie. Read more…

Cheeky Pandas Christmas Resources

Looking for exciting resources to help children engage with the Christmas story? This series from the Cheeky Pandas includes four videos, each looking at Christmas from a different perspective.

Resources to help you plan children’s group sessions around the videos can also be found in the ‘Downloads and Resources‘ section of the site.

Finally, let’s pray that we can live daring lives for Christ.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

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

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 15th – Third Sunday in Advent

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Daniel 6:1-23

Monday 16th               

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

Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm

Baroque Concert (St. George’s Church) – 7:30-9:30pm

Tuesday 17th             

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

Coffee Morning (St. George’s Hall) – 11:00am-12:00pm

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

Wednesday 18th          

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

Saturday 21st           

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

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

Service of Remembrance (St. Luke’s Church), 6:30am-7:30pm

Sunday 22nd – Fourth Sunday in Advent

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Luke 1:26-38

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.

St. George’s Website

  • What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
  • Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
  • Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. There are now videos for all the sermons over the summer.

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@stlukesramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Christmas Baroque Concert – Monday 16th December

Monday 16th December, 7:30pm. Doors open at 7:00pm.

In the setting of the beautiful St. George’s church as it hosts its annual Christmas Tree festival, join us for this wonderful concert of Baroque music, featuring the Baroque Collective: Hannah Morley, Joel Raymond, Tom Shelley and Petra Hajduchova.

Tickets £15 on the door. Under 16s are free.

Dare to Explain (Daniel 5:1-6, 13-17, 22-30)

“I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.” (Psalm 25:2)

Our main reading is Daniel 5, the origin of the phrase, “The writing is on the wall.”

Advent is a time when we remember that God will ultimately win. Whoever seems victorious in the present will face God’s judgement in the future. Advent is a chance to remind ourselves to keep trusting in Christ, so that we will not be put to shame.

As recorded at St. Luke’s

Listen on Castbox

Daniel 5 – Dare to Explain

Idioms

An idiom is a group of words, that have a meaning that cannot be worked out from the words themselves. A great example of an idiom is, ‘the writing is on the wall.’

As an idiom it means that the end is near and there is no way out.

So, this week, we might have said “that the writing was on the wall for Michel Barnier”, the French Prime Minister, because it was clear he was going to lose a vote of no confidence in the French parliament.

Or a few weeks ago, when pressure was mounting on Justin Welby in wake of the report on the abuse of John Smyth and the archbishops failure to do enough to report him, that the writing was on the wall for Justin – and so it proved, he was forced to resign.

More dramatically, we could look back to 1945, as the allied forces were closing in on Berlin. It was clear that the ‘writing was on the wall’ for Hitler and the Nazi high command. They knew it and committed suicide before the fall finally came.

But, why does the idiom, ‘the writing on the wall mean this’? Because that is what happens in Daniel 5. The night before the Babylonian empire comes to an abrupt and surprise end, whilst King Belshazzar is feasting, a mysterious hand appears and writes some words on the wall: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. Writing appears on the wall and withing a day, the king is dead and Babylon has fallen. So now we say, ‘the writing is on the wall,’ when someone’s power is about to come to a tragic end.

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Before we look at the story in a bit more depth, it is worth explaining the historical context.

539BC – A Major Moment in Ancient History of the Near East

The year is 539 BC, around 70 years since Babylon, under the great king Nebuchadnezzar first captured Jerusalem and Daniel was exiled to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar the great king has been dead 23 years. Nabonidus is now the actual king of Babylon, but he has left his son, Belshazzar in charge of the city of Babylon itself.

Meanwhile, the Persian Empire, under Cyrus the great has been expanding. It has already conquered a huge region to the East and North of the Babylonian Empire, including all of modern day Turkey across to Iran and Afghanistan.

However, both Nabonidus and his son, Belshazzar, had become increasingly unpopular and Cyrus was waging a propaganda campaign to show how lenient a king he was in the Babylonian empire.

Then on 27th September 539, there was a decisive battle with the Babylonians at the strategic crossing point of the Tigris river, Opis. The Persians completed destroyed the Babylonian resistance and marched on to Babylon. They crossed the Euphrates at Sippar on 6th October and arrived at Babylon on 12th October, entering unopposed and according to the Persians welcomed by the residents.

The much later Greek versions of the fall of Babylon suggest that its rapid fall to the Persians was a surprise and happened as the Babylonians were celebrating a religious festival. They suggest that the reason Cyrus was able to take the city so quickly, was because he diverted a river that lay between his army and the city, so that the army could cross quickly and without warning into the city and take it by surprise.

This seems to agree with the impression given by Daniel 5, which takes place just before Cyrus’s arrival in Babylon. The focus of Daniel 5, however, is not on the military manoeuvres going on outside the city, but the events in court at the heart of government. In particular, the focus is on Belshazzar, the son of the king.

Daniel does not reveal was Belshazzar knew about the situation or what he was expecting. Perhaps he hadn’t heard the bad news of the defeat at Opis or didn’t understand how bad it had been. Perhaps he hoped his armies would resist and turn back the Persian advance. That there would be a siege that Babylon could survive. That the Persians would be unable to cross the river. Perhaps he just didn’t care anymore and wanted to eat drink and be merry, because tomorrow we die.

—————————————————————————————————————–

The DECADENT KING – 5:1-4

Whatever, the truth Daniel 5, describes the king taking place in a shocking display of decadence, especially considering the perilous situation the empire was in.

The banquet may well have been part of the religious celebration that the Greek historians mention, but the description in Daniel emphasises the decadence of the king.

This scene is extravagant (vs. 1): 1,000 nobles invited to the banquet, a vast amount spent on partying at a time of national crisis.

It is also a drunken scene (vs. 1-3). Notice that verse 1 emphasises the main thing they did was to drink wine, and drinking is mentioned in verses 1,2,3 and 4.

The scene also emphasises the sexual greed (vs. 2-3) of Belshazzar twice mentioning all his wives and concubines (vs. 2,3), who were present at the feast.

But, the decadence is not just a moral one, it is also a spiritual one. His behaviour is blasphemous (vs. 2-3). He takes the gold goblets captured from temple of Jerusalem (cf. 1:2) made to be used in the worship of the God of Israel, a God that Nebuchadnezzar, the former great king had come to praise at the end of chapter 2, chapter 3 and chapter 4 and used them for his own banquet. Finally, he was idolatrous (vs. 4). He praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Rather than worshipping the creator God, he worshipped created things.

The whole description is one of utter decadence. There is no sense of purpose, meaning or higher good. “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die” seems to sum up his attitude. He was just living for his own pleasures and desires. Worse than that the way he used the goblets of gold from the temple showed that he valued the God of Israel at zero.

  • It’s worth reflecting how much the attitudes of Belshazzar mirror the attitudes of much of our society. Is our society increasingly decadent?

Or indeed, do you find in the description of Belshazzar one that echoes some of your own traits.

Are you extravagant with your money?

Do you drink more than is healthy or use drink or drugs to cover up your worries? Or do you just live to drink at the weekend?

Or are you sexually greedy? Constantly after sexual gratification, through porn, or relationships that are not a lifelong faithful marriage?

Do you despise God, or rave about technology or your latest purchase more than you worship God?

Belshazzar is a warning to us. If we find we are like him we need to do something about it. Before it is too late. Because Belshazzar was in for a shock.

The WRITING on the WALL

Suddenly, the kings decadence is transformed into utter terror. A hand appears on the wall and writes some words. The feasting ends, now the king is desperate to find the meaning. But none of his advisers are able to tell him.

Then the ‘queen’ or more probably ‘queen mother’ is called. She knows of an old adviser, who has a reputation of being able to interpret these things: Daniel. So, Daniel is called.

———————————————————————————————————————-

The REPUTABLE ADVISER – 5:11-17

By this stage, Daniel would have been very old, probably in his eighties.

But, he had lived a life where he had stayed true to God, and always sought to speak the truth to those in power. Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon had respected him and promoted him as a result.

But, now Daniel had been retired off, side-lined and forgotten. But not by all. His lifetime of faithful service, had meant he had built up an amazing reputation. So at this moment of spiritual crisis, even the decadent king comes to him in desperation. He calls Daniel before him and says, Daniel, no-one else can interpret these words, but I have been told you can! Please tell me, I’ll give you the most powerful position in government I can!

  • It’s worth reflecting for those of us who want to live for God, whether we follow Daniel’s example in this way? As Christians we may not have many opportunities to talk to family members, work colleagues or friends about our faith. Certainly, if we constantly go around trying to shoehorn an evangelistic message into every conversation, we will probably soon be shunned and avoided.

But, if like Daniel, we can build up a reputation as someone to go to for advice about spiritual matters, then we may have opportunities to speak for Christ at key moments in people’s lives.

This involves playing the long game like Daniel. Building a reputation as someone dependable and honest, open about your faith, but not pushy with it. So, that when people have moments of spiritual crisis, they know who to turn to and then you have the opportunity to give an explanation.

Yet, even in such situations giving an explanation of the truth still takes courage and daring. Will you like Daniel, dare to explain.

——————————————————————————————————————

The DARING EXPLANATION – 5:22-28

I imagine that one of the hardest things for doctors is to give a patient bad news about their situation. To tell someone for example that the diagnosis is cancer and that it is incurable. To do so must take real courage.

Daniel is called into explain the writing on the wall and in a way he has to do the same for Belshazzar. For Daniel this is going to be a daring explanation, as he gives Belshazzar a diagnosis and a prognosis.

  1. The Diagnosis:

The Diagnosis comes first. And in verses 22-23 Daniel goes to the Spiritual heart of the matter:

“You have not humbled yourself”,

but “set yourself up against the Lord of heaven.”

This is the diagnosis that explains the symptoms: extravagance, drunkenness, sexual greed, blasphemy and idolatry are all just symptoms.

Like Daniel, when we are asked to explain our faith, we need to dare to give the fundamental diagnosis. We shouldn’t get stuck on the rights and wrongs of extravagance, drunkenness or sexual greed, but on people’s relationship with God.

Do they value him at zero, or is he given a place at the centre of their lives, so that all other aspects of life revolve around serving him?

Have they discovered that true joy, comes not from running after immediate pleasures, but seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness?

  1. The Prognosis

Secondly, Daniel gives the prognosis. He explains the meaning of the words written on the wall:

MENE – God has numbered your days.

TEKEL – You have been weighed and found wanting. Decadence is not what you want in a leader – Belsazzar was an utter lightweight.

PERES – Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

In other words, Belshazzar, you who have valued God at nothing, have been valued by God as nothing and so your day of judgement has come. Your reign and your life will come to an end.

Belshazzar’s situation was terminal. The writing was on the wall. Judgement was inevitable.

But for most people there is still the hope of a spiritual cure. Even as they were dying on the cross, when the thief cries out to Jesus to remember him, Jesus promises that he will join him in paradise.

And it is Jesus’ death on the cross that is the spiritual cure. He takes the judgement of God on himself, so that we don’t have to face the terror Belshazzar faced.

But we must align ourselves with Jesus in this life, before it is too late. When we do and seek to value God at the centre of our lives, then we will find that God joyfully welcomes us into his kingdom.

Do you want to be a Belshazzar or a Daniel?

So are you a Belshazzar or a Daniel?

If you see in yourself, the traits of Belshazzar. It’s not too late. Turn back to God now and seek his ways.

If you aspire to be a Daniel, ask for God’s strength and courage to dare to explain the bad news, so that people may be ready to hear the good news and turn back to God through Jesus.

This Week’s Notices 8th December 2024

“I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.”

(Psalm 25:2)

Sometimes in life we need to decide who to back or which side to choose. If it turns out to be the winning side, then we can relish the glory and rejoice in the victory. However, if we choose the losing side, we can find ourselves shamed and defeated. For trivial issues, like deciding on which football team to support, this does not ultimately matter, but in other contexts it can be a matter of life and death. Joining the Nazi party in late 1930s Germany may have looked like backing the winning side, but ten years later it would have been a matter of deep shame and utter defeat.

Daniel 5 tells of the last days of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon. He had everything and spent his time partying and mocking the God of Israel. The Babylonians seemed conquering, whilst Israel was just one of several small kingdoms vanquished decades before. Then comes the ‘writing on the wall.’ Literally. A ghostly hand appears from nowhere and writes some mysterious words on the wall – words that no-one can interpret.

No-one that is except a well-respected Israelite, Daniel.  Despite his exile working in the king’s palace, he had kept trusting in the God of Israel – the God Belshazzar had mocked. He tells the king that this God has judged him and that his reign and life will soon end. Indeed, that very night, the Persians marched into Babylon and Daniel’s interpretation of the writing on the wall proves true.

Often it is not obvious who will ultimately win. Yet, Advent is a time when we remember that God will be finally victorious. Whoever seems victorious in the present will face God’s judgement in the future. Advent is a chance to remind ourselves to keep trusting in Christ, so that we will not be put to shame.

Paul Worledge

Churches Together in Ramsgate Prayer Meeting

This Saturday, 9-10am at St. Augustine’s.

Christmas Publicity

We would love to deliver as many leaflets as we can around St. Luke’s, St. George’s and Christ Church parishes. Please pick a road, indicate it on the map, take a bundle of fliers and deliver to the road asap. You can find details of the Christmas Services on the website.

Carol Singing in Town Centre, Saturday 14th December, 12pm

Churches Together in Ramsgate are going to gather in the town centre (outside Timpsons) for carol singing, Bible reading and handing out candy and fliers promoting Christmas services. If you can join us, please just turn up!

Carol Singing at Ramsgate Care Centre, Monday 23rd, 2:30pm

We are planning to go into Ramsgate Care Centre to sing some carols with the residents. If you can come along to help at 2:30pm on Monday 23rd for less than an hour, then please let Paul know asap.

Christmas Baroque Concert, St. George’s, Monday 16th December, 7:30pm

Tickets available online or from Paul in church. Do join us for lovely Baroque music in the setting of St. George’s Christmas tree festival.

Stewarding the Sailors’ Church light display

Coming up at the start of December on Thursday 12th, Friday 13th, Saturday 14th December 2 to 8pm and Sunday 15th December 2 to 7pm we are looking for volunteers who can sit in the Sailors Church down on the harbour to look after a sculpture which is part of Ramsgate Lumiere. You can now offer shifts using this online form.

Vision 2030

If you weren’t able to come on Monday night and missed the livestream, you can still watch it here. You can find the Vision 2030 document here. We are asking people to give us feedback on the vision using this simple and short online form by the end of the year. Then we will review the Vision and agree how to move forward at our PCC meetings in January.

Links to Share:

This week a couple of articles with some suggestions about navigating some of the difficult situations that life throws up. Including Christmas!

Working with your boss

This article is written for those who work as staff members in big churches with the senior minister as a line manager. However, I think most of the advice is transferable to most work settings and volunteer roles! Read more…

Take back your family’s Christmas

7 strategies to beat the Christmas Grinch and take back your Christmas… Read more.

Finally, let’s pray that we can keep trusting God for his eventual victory.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

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

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 8th – Second Sunday in Advent

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Daniel 5:1-6, 13-17, 22-30

Sunday School (St George’s, 10:30am)

Monday 9th               

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

Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:15-9:30pm

Tuesday 10th             

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

Coffee Morning (St. George’s Hall) – 11:00am-12:00pm

Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm

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

Wednesday 11th          

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon

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

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm

Thursday 12th         

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

Saturday 14th          

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

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

Service of Remembrance (St. Luke’s Church), 6:30am-7:30pm

Sunday 15th – Third Sunday in Advent

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Daniel 6:1-23

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.

St. George’s Website

  • What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
  • Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
  • Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. There are now videos for all the sermons over the summer.

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@stlukesramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Advent Doors

On Monday 16th December St George’s will participate in the annual Ramsgate Living Advent Calendar, Advent Doors. Please join us from 3pm until 6pm for soup, hot drinks, mince pies and music. The Christmas Tree Festival will be open so the church will be looking extra wonderful!

Dare to Dream (Daniel 7:9-14)

“[The Son of Man] was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and people of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14)

It is Advent Sunday, and we will be looking at Daniel’s vision in chapter 7 which shows us God’s perspective on the future.

As recorded at St. Luke’s

Listen on Castbox

And then there was light

A big thankyou to everyone involved in ‘Let There Be Light’!

It was wonderful to welcome over 650 people into the church following on from the Christmas lights switch on in Ramsgate town centre. At the opening night of the 1st Ramsgate Lumiere we celebrated the end of Year 2 of Project 200, our 5 year regeneration project at St George’s, generously funded by Canterbury Diocese. The Community Soup team served mince pies, mulled cider and mulled wine and their delicious soup and thanks to the generosity of visitors on the night we gathered a significant sum in donations towards the emergency repair on the Vestry roof.

GB Carnival and Samba Ya Wantsum, Gaddzukes, Thanet Festival Choir and Soul Choir entertained us in the church. With lighting outdoors and indoors by James Brown AV, and video projections by Lumen Studios the church was filled with light and festive joy. See the galleries below for some fantastic photos taken on the night. Some videos which really capture the atmosphere are up on our Instagram.

Photos by Frank Leppard

Photos by Jess Hudsley

Photos by Vicki Couchman

This Week’s Notices 1st December 2024

“[The Son of Man] was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and people of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

(Daniel 7:14)

Important Reminder: This Sunday is a joint service for St. Luke’s and St. George’s at St. Luke’s church at 11am. Please join us there.

Traditionally, New Year is the time to think about the future and make plans or resolutions for the coming year. The church’s calendar is different. The church’s new year starts on Advent Sunday (which this year is 1st December). Also, it is not meant to be a chance to think about just the coming year, but the future more generally. It is not just about taking up New Year’s resolutions but asking whether we are ready for Christ’s return.

During his ministry, Jesus regularly referred to himself as ‘The Son of Man.’ He does so finally and climactically when on trial before the High Priest, when he says, “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Might One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62). This is a clear echo of Daniel 7:13, which precedes the verse above.

As we think about the future, it is important to see that the alternatives to Christ’s rule, the other religions, philosophies and political structures, although they all have many good points – as well as bad, are all temporary. Basing our life around them can never be ‘future proof.’ They will all let us down in one way or another.

In contrast, the Kingdom of God, ruled over by the Son of Man, i.e. Jesus, is eternal. It is future proof. As we start a new church year and approach another New Year, let’s not limit our vision to the coming year, but ask ourselves whether we are ready for God’s eternal kingdom. If we are not, let’s pray for God to help us re-orient our lives to his purposes and ways.

Paul Worledge

Let There be Light, Last Sunday

Thank you so much to everyone involved in helping to make this happen. We think we had between six and seven hundred people through the doors of the church on the evening and many who stayed for most of the entertainment. A fantastic event.

Christmas United Prayer Meeting, Sunday Evening

Join together with Christians from all over Thanet as we come together for prayer in the lead up to Christmas. 6:30pm-7:30pm, St. Philip’s Church.

Coastal Choir Concert, St. Luke’s – This Friday, 6th December

Tickets are now sold out.

Christmas Baroque Concert, St. George’s, Monday 16th December, 7:30pm

Tickets available online or from Paul in church. Do join us for lovely Baroque music in the setting of St. George’s Christmas tree festival.

Stewarding the Sailors’ Church light display

Coming up at the start of December on Thursday 12th, Friday 13th, Saturday 14th December 2 to 8pm and Sunday 15th December 2 to 7pm we are looking for volunteers who can sit in the Sailors Church down on the harbour to look after a sculpture which is part of Ramsgate Lumiere. Please let Jemima on 07971 782477 know if you can cover any of the hours. Stewarding will be broken into shifts, so volunteers are not there too long.

Christmas Publicity

We would love to deliver as many leaflets as we can around St. Luke’s, St. George’s and Christ Church parishes. Please pick a road, indicate it on the map, take a bundle of fliers and deliver to the road asap. You can find details of the Christmas Services on the website.

Vision 2030

If you weren’t able to come on Monday night and missed the livestream, you can still watch it here. You can find the Vision 2030 document here. We are asking people to give us feedback on the vision using this simple and short online form by the end of the year. Then we will review the Vision and agree how to move forward at our PCC meetings in January.

Links to Share:

This week some possible Advent Devotionals to try out in the lead up to Christmas:

From London Institute of Contemporary Christianity:

Reflect on our ‘down to earth’ Saviour – the Jesus who stepped into the mess and detail of life on Earth and calls us to do the same. Find out more…

Rediscover the Magic of Christmas (Book or ebook from IVP):

This Advent, join John Hayward on a daily journey to rediscover some of the magic of Christmas. Originally written as letters from a father to his adult children, this book warmly invites you to feast richly on some of the passages of scripture less commonly associated with our celebrations of the birth of Jesus. Find out more…

Church of England Daily Reflections to your Inbox

Sign up to our Christmas reflection emails and receive daily messages straight to your inbox. Our daily emails will offer Bible readings, short reflections and a practical challenge, as well as prayers linked to weekly themes.

Finally, let’s pray that we can re-orient our lives to be ready for God’s future.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

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

 Weekly Calendar

Sunday 1st December – First Sunday of Advent

Joint Service (St Luke’s Church, 11am) – Reading: Daniel 7:9-14

Monday 2nd              

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

Craft Group (St. George’s Hall, Soup Kitchen) – 2:00-3:30pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:15-9:30pm

Tuesday 3rd            

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

Coffee Morning (St. George’s Hall) – 11:00am-12:00pm

Study Group (Lyndhurst Road) – 2:30-4:00pm

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

Wednesday 4th          

Study Group (Langdale Avenue) – 10:00-12:00 noon

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

Depression & Anxiety Self-Help Group (Perry Room) – 6:00-7:30pm

Study Group (South Eastern Road) – 7:30-9:30pm

Thursday 5th         

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

Saturday 7th          

Churches Together Prayer Breakfast (St Augustine’s) – 9:00-10:00am

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

Sunday 8th – Second Sunday of Advent

Eucharist (St George’s, 9:30am) – Reading: Daniel 5:1-6, 13-17, 22-30

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.

St. George’s Website

  • What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
  • Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
  • Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. There are now videos for all the sermons over the summer.

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@stlukesramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Dare to Resist (Daniel 3:13-30)

”They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” (Daniel 3:28b)

This Sunday, we continue our series on Daniel with a look at the time, when Daniel’s friends resisted strong pressure to worship a golden statue.

As recorded at St. Luke’s

Listen on Castbox

Dare to Resist

Dare to Resist – that is our topic today in our Sermon series on the Book of Daniel and I’m going to read our bible passage out after we’ve had a little look at the context so don’t worry it’s not been forgotten. But if you haven’t been here the last few weeks our previous two topics have been based around this idea to Dare – Dare to stand out and dare to pray. That’s partly because the book of Daniel contains many daring stories, people stepping out, being brave, being unshakeable in their faith, such as Daniel in the Lions den or our story today which is about the three men thrown into a fiery furnace. It’s no wonder that the people and the events recounted are so extraordinary because they took place in an incredibly chaotic time, Jerusalem has been conquered by Babylon and the Israelite people, God’s people are forced into exile with those who had besieged their city and plundered their Holy temples. So we read this morning Daniel chapter 3, Daniel 1 Daniel stood out and spoke up for his friends, chapter two is full of prayer, revelation and Daniel interpereting dreams causing the King to actually proclaim God is the one true God, the lord over kings.

So now we come to what is estimated to be years or months later and that is Daniel chapter 3 – where the king on the plain of dura has invited the most important people, including Shadrach Meshach and abednigo, Jewish exiles who so impressed the king, to worship a statue of Gold, an impressive maybe even excessive band is playing and they are warned anyone who refuses to obey and worship the statue will be thrown immediately into a fiery furnace. The King hasn’t seen that these three men have refused to bow but some of the astrologers tell on them and we jump into chapter 3 here at verse 13 to see how the King responds.

Reading – Daniel 3:13-30

The men, without Daniel their leader this time as they had in the last two chapters, the men dare to resist. They resist temptation, pressure, threats and turning away from their God even in the face of such a terrible consequence.

Why did they feel the need to resist in the first place? How did they know bowing down to a piece of Gold in the desert would have been a bad decision.

As much as the men had learnt about their new culture, they hadn’t forgotten what God had done for them, Who God was and who they were in his eyes. Even though they were living and working for the good of Babylon they had resisted the polytheism of the culture, poly meaning many, polytheism meaning many Gods they had resisted that. Knowing their commandments and knowing there were no other Gods above God and that God had commanded them, us not to make Idols. An object of devotion – something you worship and give worth to.

And that is exactly what happened in Babylon; the King had created an idol of Gold 60 cubits by 6, around 90 feet high and 9 feet wide in our measurements today. And the polytheistic people of Babylon, used to acknowledging many different deities or gods had just added it to their collection of things they worshipped.

But this was not the case for Shadrach, Mishach and Abednigo. They refuse, as everyone is bowed to the ground the three men are tall above the rest. And are tattletaled on by the astologers.

An interesting comparison to make is the control between the mens voices, the astrologer, the King and the Exiles.

The astrologer seems calm on the surface but looking deeper we can see a cold manipulation in their use of you, very little they and a lot of you. They use the power of someone else – the king to get what they want

‘They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden statue, 11 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men pay no heed to you, O king. They do not serve your gods, and they do not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” Daniel 3 9-12

The King – able to control so much around him – cannot control himself – He is in charge of his own power, and he is using it, but it causes him rage and anger, not peace and calmness, knowing he is in control. He is SO full of rage that it says he visually become distorted. This feeling inside spews onto the outside and his rage and desire for the furnace to be 7 times hotter results in the death of some of his strongest soldiers. And its not even logical, the hotter the furnace surely the quicker the death. He is so in control in his own power but so out of control.

However the exiles, they hand all and I mean all their power over to God. They don’t expect power back from God, they’re not manipulating God in a way to get out of this death threat, They don’t argue, they don’t explain, they simply and calmly say ‘Dad’s got this’ ‘ Our Father I heaven, he’s got this, I don’t even need to know the outcome because whatever he decides its for our good and for his glory.

‘They will remain faithful to the living God, who is able to save even if he chooses not to save, rather than abandon him for the idols and images of the Babylonians, who could not save even if they were sufficiently alive to wish it’ Iain Provan – Eerdman’s Commentary

And because of that because we are looking at daring to resist specifically today rather than incredible miracles or hints of Jesus in Old Testement Passages – we are not going to focus much on the rest of this passage with the men walking out of the fire unharmed either – of God’s miracle saving them from the flames, of the fourth man in their with them, because their resistance, they themselves proclaim, was not dependant on God saving them, and neither should our resistance be. Our resistance, just like theirs, should be based on who God is and who God says we are, the promises he has made for us.

If we look back to Jeremiah, we can see an amazing prophecy about how the exiles are to live in Babylon.

Jeremiah 29:5-7,11

“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  … 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

So the Men know their commandments and appear to know God’s desire for them to work for the good of the city they are in, not to harm or respond in violence to what has happened to them but respond in peace.

So let’s look at what the exiles, the three men, Shadrach, Mishach and Abednigo resist, and ive got three out of a possible many ways they could have talked themselves into worshipping other Gods. These three are rationalising, minimising and validating, Rationalising, minimising and validating.

Rationalising – Rationalising is where we give or come up with a reason for our actions. These men are exiles they’ve probably got a worry or a desire to see God worshipped by more generations than just them they could very easily have rationalised that if they worship today a big golden statue and live another day maybe they’ll have another chance to share their story of their God that would have been a very rational idea for why they needed to worship another God.

Minimising this is when we convince ourselves that the problem is smaller than it is they could have thought to themselves well it’s clearly not a God it’s clearly nothing that can actually hurt us it’s just a bit of gold in the middle of the desert I’m sure God wouldn’t mind if we just bow our heads down to save us from this horrible future of having to get thrown into a burning furnace I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about it doesn’t mean anything anyway we know in our hearts that we’re not doing anything wrong.

And the third one out of probably many other ways they could have thought around this is validating and the Bible tells us that iron sharpens iron as one man sharpened another.

the problem with rationalising minimising and validating is we take the problem ourselves when we’re rationalising we think there’s a big problem that but that we can solve it for our own thinking power

minimising we’re completely unrealistic about what the problem is in the first place

and validating we have that issue in that communication between us and other people

in each of these areas God is kept out, kept away and actually to work against these we need to make sure that the problem the thing that we’re facing the thing that we need to resist stays between ourselves and God or us and God

For me I think what I find hard with resistance is knowing exactly what to resist I haven’t had a point in my life yet where someone stood me in front of something and said worship this instead of God. But time and time again I felt forced to give things more time more money more power in my life than God and I think that’s exactly what this passage is trying to tell us to resist.

So I’m going to finish with three things that will hopefully help us dare to resist more and more first one is know God more we won’t know what to resist if we don’t know him if we don’t know the good ways in which he’s asked us to live our lives.

The second is to be aware when you’re rationalising minimising or validating reasons why you can’t do what God has specifically asked you to.

And the third one I want to take from king nebuchadnezzar’s response because when the men walk out of that furnace unharmed the king again like he did in the chapter before responds in praise he says praise to the God of Shadrack Meshach and Abednego he sent his angels to rescue his servant who trusted in him they defied the King’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any God except their own God therefore I make this decree if any people whatever their race or nation or language speaker word against the God of Shadrack Meshach and Abednego they’ll be torn limb from limb and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble there is no other God who can rescue like this’

Sounds great doesn’t it but what I notice when I look at this King’s response and he’s responded a similar way to this before is that he praises God but he doesn’t repent to God he doesn’t turn away from what he’s already doing from the other gods he’s already worshipping but he does praise. And surprise surprise he turns away from God again after this but we will hear more of that in the coming weeks. so let’s be careful where in our lives might we might be really willing to receive blessing and praise God but not ready to listen to him for things we need to resist, to be daring in standing up for our faith, for the goodness of all people and the goodness of the whole earth.

Let’s finish with a prayer.

Holy Spirit search our hearts bring to our mind something we need to resist.

Father god thank you that when we have been walking away from you, as soon as we turn back you are there waiting with open arms. We pray give us the strength to not just resist but be daring in our resistance, for our good and your glory, in Jesus name Amen.