Happy New Year!

I love the liturgical or church year. The journey we take together year after year exploring the story of our salvation. Each season, with their different colours and focus, revealing something more of God’s love for us.

The pilgrimage through the seasons teaches us different aspects of our life in Christ. Advent encourages to expect the coming of God’s Kingdom. At Christmas we celebrate new life and knowing that God is with us. In Lent we take time to reflect on our journeys, personal and corporately, with God in preparation for Easter. In the Triduum we remember the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus -  the cornerstone of our salvation. In the Easter session we rejoice in the new life we have in Christ. Pentecost brings the celebration of the gift of the Spirit and the birth of the church. Ordinary time (literally counted time not unspecial time) is full of festivals and saints days which bring something new to the pilgrimage of our faith.

The liturgical year begins on Advent Sunday. Just as in the calendar year any new beginning is a good time for a rethink and even resolutions so this liturgical year I find myself Called to Be reflecting on this wonderful pilgrimage and blogging it a bit more.

Happy New Year!

Originally posted here

Advent is here!

The Diocese of London is challenging us all to live our faith with the three C's- confidence compassion and creatively. Tonight marking the beginning of Advent we at St. John and St Matthias are being treated to the first of four evenings of music. Tonight the Arch orchestra is performing Mozart.
In the beauty and space of a church we sit quietly and allow our minds to rest a while on the music as it soars through the church, filling our hearts with its joy and peace.
There are still three more concerts to enjoy this Advent -see the events page-come rest awhile in this blessed season of preparation for the joy and hope that is Christmas.
Thank you to Konstantin for this Creative approach to Advent!

Happy St Andrew's Day!

St Andrew, one of the twelve Apostles, is patron of Scotland, Ukraine, Russia, Sicily, Greece, Cyprus and Romania. People with backgrounds in all of these countries live in this part of London. Have a good one!

Lord God,

  you called Saint Andrew, your apostle,

  to preach the gospel and to guide your Church.

We humbly pray

  that he may always plead for us in your presence.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

  one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Advent is coming

In spite of the insistence of our shops to the contrary (most supermarkets seem to have had Christmas decorations up since at least Hallowe'en!) it is NOT CHRISTMAS. The handy isitchristmas.com website will confirm this.

I'm not being an old Scrooge. I love celebrating Christmas, and I love celebrating Christmas at length. Christmas doesn't end on Boxing Day. Depending on how old-fashioned you are, it finishes on the feast of the Baptism of Christ, or on Candlemas on 2nd February. My decorations will stay up until Candlemas! One of the things I hate about the way supermarkets and the like 'celebrate' Christmas is that they put up decorations in October, but then take them down a few days after Christmas Day. And you try buying a Christmas pudding in early January!

A big problem with celebrating Christmas too early is that we miss out on the feel of Advent, one of the most moving seasons of the Christian year, a time of hope and expectation. Advent begins this Sunday, the 2nd December and continues until the evening of 24th December. The Church doesn't begin celebrating Christmas until the evening of Christmas Eve. Before then, we don't sing carols, we have Christmas themed readings and prayers, we don't put flowers in the church, we wear violet vestments, and we don't place the child in our crib.

So I have a challenge for you - delay putting up your Christmas decorations! Wait at least until 17th December, a day on which the flavour of Advent changes, when it becomes more of a 'getting ready for Christmas time'. In the meantime, why not do some Advent things? Here are some ideas:

Make An Advent Wreath

The Advent Wreath is a way of 'counting down' towards Christmas. One candle is lit during each of the four weeks of Advent. Find out how to make one here.

Put Up Advent Decorations


Advent is not a gloomy time! Why not brighten up your home with decorations in the colour of Advent - purple?


Celebrate Advent Saints

Some significant feast days, with a distinct pre-Christmas feel, fall in Advent. These are associated with customs in various parts of the world:

• December 6th - St Nicholas (Santa Claus)
• December 8th - The Immaculate Conception.
• December 13th St Lucy/ Lucia

 Why not find out about them, and do something to celebrate?

There is much more about Advent over at the Occupy Advent website.

Christ the King!

Today is the feast of Christ the King!



It's a busy day in our churches. I've just had the privilege of welcoming Micah by baptism into the Church at St John's, and in a couple of hours we will be welcoming the Esteem Social Club for their annual service of thanksgiving. Instead of a reflection from me, then, some words from a hymn we sang at St Matthias earlier, written by a great prophet of Christ's Kingdom, Fr Conrad Noel:

You faithful saints and martyrs who fought for truth and right,
We ask your prayers and blessings to aid us in our fight.
Your faith shall be our watchword, your cause shall be our own -
To fight against oppression till it be overthrown.

Lift up the people's banner and let the ancient cry
for justice and for freedom re-echo to the sky.

In many a golden story, on many a golden page,
The poets in their poems have sung the golden age,
The age of love and beauty, the age of joy and peace,
When everyone lived gladly and shared the earth's increase.
Lift up the people's banner…

Today the tyrants triumph and bind us for their gains,
But Jesus Christ our Saviour will free us from our chains,
And love, the only master, will strive with might and greed,
Till might is right no longer, and right is might indeed.
Lift up the people's banner…

God is the only Landlord to whom our rents are due.
God made the earth for everyone and not for just a few.
The four parts of creation -- earth, water, air, and fire --
God made and ranked and stationed for everyone's desire.
Lift up the people's banner…

God made the earth for freedom and God alone is Lord,
And we will win our birthright by truth's eternal sword;
And all the powers of darkness and all the hosts of pride
Shall pass and be forgotten for God is by our side.
Lift up the people's banner…

Christ blessed the meek and told them that they the earth should own.
And he will lead the battle from his eternal throne.
O have no fear, my comrades, cry out in holy mirth!
For God to us has promised the Kingdom here on earth.
Lift up the people's banner…

Oh, and don't forget to STIR UP today!

Thought for 2nd Sunday before advent

In our reading from the letter to the Hebrews the writer challenges us to "Provoke one another to love and good deeds". Hebrews 10:24

This is the job description of a Christian community. We're not talking about competitive Christianity here! The writer of Hebrews is encouraging his audience and us to be a community that meets together regularly to build each other up.

We need each other in the diversity of community to inspire, encourage and build each other up. Community is also a place for accountability, not a place for judgement, but where we are accountable to each other.

It is this kind of community that sustains Christians and allows us to work for the Kingdom of God.

And thank God we have God's Grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit and don't have to do this alone!

Stir Up!

 This Sunday our churches will keep the feast of Christ the King.

Once upon a time, though, every church in the Church of England would have kept the Sunday before Advent as the "Last Sunday After Trinity". The 1662 Book of Common Prayer collect would have been said in every church:

Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Because of the first line, this Sunday became known as Stir Up Sunday and was traditionally the day for making your Christmas pudding!

If you fancy sticking with tradition, I refer you to Nigella.