Come and sing Christmas Carols! Sunday 19th December

Sunday 19th December 10am & 3pm

We all love the opportunity to sing Christmas carols with gusto, perhaps more so this year because we weren’t allowed to sing at all last year because of the covid restrictions, or even stand next to each other.

However, thankfully things are different this year, and we are free to sing Christmas carols, together.  On Sunday 19th December we are holding both a carol service and an outdoor carol singing event, and both are opportunities to join in with our most favourite and familiar Christmas carols.

There will be a Carol Service at 10am on Sunday 19th December with lots of carols and familiar Bible readings, followed by refreshments.

And also Outdoor Carol Singing at 3pm on Sunday 19th December.  Meet in the church car park for half an hour of outdoor carol singing, also with some refreshments.  Remember to wrap up warm and come prepared for all weathers!

Letter for December 2021

One of the things I have missed over the past couple of years has been the occasional trip to a campsite and then a walk in the local area. In the past, my son Sam and I have enjoyed the challenge of getting all the kit ready and then driving off on a camping adventure. Camping involves facing the challenges of the weather, the ground conditions, making sure you have remembered everything, and having an unsettled night’s sleep.  Alongside this though it is invigorating to be out of the nice protective vicarage, wonderful bed and the ease of switching on the kettle. One really enjoys being closer to nature and taking in the fresh air and viewing the night sky.  Alongside this it is lovely to chat to those who are camping close by and hear about their lives and love of camping. Finally there’s nothing better to return home and have a night’s sleep in one’s own bed.

As we draw closer to hearing again the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, the beginning of John’s gospel literally reads that God came and pitched his tent amongst us; that the creator of all that we see and experience in this wonderful universe sent his son Jesus to be born and live a human life with all its joys and sorrows for a mere 33 years. Jesus gave up the glory of heaven to come down and share in our lives and in doing so pointed us to his Father and our Father. It’s no wonder that it ‘good news’ is at the heart of Christmas when God took the initiative, sent his son Jesus to live a human life and  through his life, death and resurrection offers us a glimpse of heaven and abundant life.

Several years ago I came upon this which tries to shed light on what it must have been like for Jesus to swap heaven and live on earth…..

The Greatest Love Story ever told….

Like your landlord becoming your lodger
Like your managing director up before you for an interview
Like Beethoven queuing up for a ticket to his own concert
Like a headmaster getting the cane
Like a good architect living in a slum built by a rival
Like Picasso painting by numbers
God lived among us.

So dear friends, as we face another unsettling Christmas, take heart in the good news that God is with us in the midst of life.  No matter how dark and challenging life gets, Jesus is the light of the world and through him God offers us comfort, strength and hope. Perhaps this Christmas make room for Jesus in your heart.

Take care, stay safe and God Bless this Christmas time and into 2022    

Glenn

Remembrance Sunday 2021 – Sunday 14th November

10am Sunday 14th November

Remembrance Sunday family parade service at St Peter’s church.

This year the remembrance service will follow a familiar pre-pandemic format. The service will begin in church at 10am and then part way through the service walk to the war memorial for the act or remembrance.

For those that are unable to walk to the memorial or do not wish to stand in the cold November weather the act of remembrance will also continue in the church.

For those that wish to join just for the act of remembrance at the memorial, then it is estimated that we will reach this part of the service arriving at the memorial between 10:30am and 11am.

Letter for November 2021

Dear Friends,  

COP26 has started in Glasgow a year later than originally planned and with the stakes even higher.  Just before it started, Boris Johnson said it’s the “last chance to save the planet”, which hopefully will focus the minds of the delegates to produce some hard and solid plans to help reduce the impact of rising temperatures across the globe.  It’s interesting to look back at the speed of how the world responded to the Covid pandemic with the production of vaccines in double quick time. The impact of coronavirus was immediate and affected our health, our way of life overnight, and action was needed quickly which we are all truly thankful.  

With climate change though it feels like it has been bandied around for quite a number of years but only now is the world really waking up to a possible future catastrophe for our whole way of life and wonderful world we live in.

I don’t know if you are like me but I am trying different ways to reduce my carbon foot print but it seems an uphill struggle when the    challenge across the world seems so great and immense.

At times like this I am reminded of the words of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson who wrote ‘More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of’. These words encourage me to pray for God’s intervention that hearts and minds (including my own) will be changed so that we offer concrete hope to future generations.

So, please keep doing your own ‘bit’ for the environment and in the meantime I offer you this prayer for your use during the COP26 summit: 

Loving God,

We praise your name with all you have created.
You are present in the whole universe, and in the smallest of creatures.
We acknowledge the responsibilities you have placed upon us as rewards of your creation.
May the Holy Spirit inspire all political leaders at COP26 as they seek to embrace the changes needed to foster a more sustainable society.
Instil in them the courage and gentleness to implement fairer solutions for the poorest and most vulnerable, and commit their nations to the care of Our Common Home.
We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ your Son.
Amen

God bless and take care and stay safe and hope to see you soon. 

Glenn

Rev Glenn Coggins, Vicar of  the United Benefice of Stanley, Outwood and Wrenthorpe and Alverthorpe.

Letter for June 2021

Dear Friends,  

You will have heard the saying that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. Well, in this case it was a recent Matt cartoon in the Daily Telegraph in which a man was dressed for work in a suit and holding a brief case and upon opening his front door he is a faced with a bricked up door. In the cartoon, he turns to his wife and says ‘did anybody tell us about the latest local lockdown restrictions?’ As lockdown eases and hopefully we continue travelling in the right direction, it is such a challenge for the   government to communicate clearly what we can and cannot do in our   daily lives. We know by now that information, instructions and guidance can get misinterpreted, ignored and half followed  and against this       navigating a path that allows for some easing of restrictions and keeping COVID under control is a job not many people would sign up for.

When one sits back though it’s amazing though how technology has allowed us to communicate and keep in touch. Just think how we can talk face to face with people at the other side of the world say in Australia.  We then have 24 hour news, social media and the likes of Google that offers you advice on anything under the sun and Wikipedia that puts the contents of the Encyclopaedia Britannia at your finger tips. But, with all this communication and access to information, getting one’s message over is such a struggle. People can get half the story, give up reading after the first paragraph, only hear what they want to hear or suffer information over load and switch the telly off.

I was reflecting on this the other day about how the early Church spread the message of Jesus across the known world. When you think that Jesus didn’t write a book, only gathered a few people around him during his three short years of ministry, and did not travel very far from his home town. And yet his message has spread to all four corners of the world and has transformed the lives of millions of people down the generations and helped countries build a good foundation for society to live and thrive. A couple of weeks ago we heard the story of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost  empowering those early disciples to go out and share the good news in words and action. The church has continued to take Jesus’ transforming message out and at St Peter’s we try live our lives following in Jesus’ footsteps and being a family together and sharing the good news with those on our doorstep. As lockdown eases we continue to gather for services and social events are starting to be booked. You are most welcome to join us at anytime and discover the life changing message of Jesus.

God bless, take care and stay safe, and hope to see you soon.

Glenn

Rev Glenn Coggins, Vicar of  the United Benefice of Stanley, Outwood and Wrenthorpe and Alverthorpe.