• Advent Sunday: 27th November 2011
• Crib Blessing and Posada (the St Mary's Travelling Crib)
• Advent Carol Service
• During Advent
• Live the Challenge - Gifts for Life
• For children and families
• Books
• Websites

Advent Sunday: 27th November 2011

At the 8 and 10 o’clock Services: Crib Blessing

As well as lighting the candles on the Advent Wreath each Sunday, we will be ‘putting together’ the Crib.

Bring along your Crib to one of the Services on Advent Sunday morning so that it can be blessed before you put it up at home.

When you come to Church on the day, put your Crib at the back of Church on the table so that we can enjoy the different designs. The Cribs be blessed at the end of the Service, and then you will be able to collect them and take them home again ready to build them at home.

There will be prayer cards available too for you to use at home, as well as ones in Church so that you can come and pray at the Crib as we journey together through Advent, preparing for Christmas.

Posada ~ St Mary’s Travelling Crib, coming to a house near you!

Our Travelling Crib starts its journey round the Parish on Advent Sunday. Please sign up to take part in this annual Advent activity. The crib is taken from house to house each day where greeting, prayer and hospitality are shared.

The Travelling Crib will be setting off around the Parish (and beyond) on Advent Sunday (27th November) and then returning to Church on Christmas Eve for the Crib Service.

6pm: Advent Carol Service: The Foreunner

With readings, music and hymns to reflect the theme of the ‘heralds of Christ’, this is an opportunity to open our minds and hearts to a broader experience of celebrating and marking the season.

The idea is that Mary and Joseph begin their travels following a prayer in Church on Advent Sunday; they then travel from house to house around our church community.  Just as Mary and Joseph received hospitality after travelling far, so we do too. As you arrive at someone’s house, you share a moment of greeting and prayer, set up the crib and light a candle and then share a time of hospitality (hopefully with refreshments for the travellers!).

If you would like it to stop off with you - then please drop in to Church to sign-up - as soon as possible! If you don't know what the Travelling Crib is.

During Advent

Sermon Series

Linked with the prayers for the Blessing of the Crib each week, we take a different theme for each Sunday (there are no frequent flier points for hearing all five, but it might be more interesting if you do!).

• Advent Sunday: Stable
• The Second Sunday of Advent: Shepherds and animals
• The Third Sunday of Advent: Angel
• The Fourth Sunday of Advent: Mary and Joseph

Leading to... Christmas Eve – Midnight Service: The Christ-child and star

Prayer Focus Table

In addition to the Crib as an aid to our preparations through the Season of Advent, there will also be a Prayer Focus Table, with readings, images and ‘prayer’ prompt cards, providing a different focus for our thoughts and prayers:

• The first week of Advent: The Colour Purple
• The second week of Advent: What kind of King?
• The third week of Advent: Dying to live
• The fourth week of Advent: Opening our hearts

Live the Challenge

Take time in the run up to Christmas to unwrap Gifts for Life - take a moment each day to think about and act on the things that truly matter - the gifts that really make a difference

Join 1000’s of others and receive a text or email - a verse, a thought, a prayer, a challenge - it all begins on Advent Sunday!

The Live the Challenge Initiative follows on from the daily Scripture Reading Challenge in Advent 2010 and Lent 2011. Sign up at: www.livethechallenge.co.uk

You can also ask for copies of the weekly sheet at the Parish Office.

And especially for children and families

Wait - Look - Listen: Colouring sheets and worksheets that run parallel to the Gifts for Life challenge.

Print them off from the Live the Challenge website

Books

There are some new books in the Church Library especially for the Season – why not read one?

• Ready, steady, slow (Various, Church House Publishing)
• When the time was right (Stephen Rand, brf)
• Stepping Stones to Bethlehem (Jack McCardle, Columba)
• The Advent Adventure (David Rhodes, SPCK)

Websites

This Year’s Lent challenge from the Diocese: www.livethechallenge.co.uk

One of Deborah’s favourite websites: www.followingthestar.org

Methodist church: www.methodist.org.uk (Open to God and Prayer links)

The Church is open every day so do come in and take the opportunity to pray, to spend time thinking on the different themes of Advent, and to prepare yourself to welcome again the new-born King.