Christmas donations and windows

I’m delighted to say that our appeal for donations for Christmas Hampers raised £250 including gift aid! This has been used to buy food for ten hampers which have been distributed by the Jigsaw Project to those in our area who are in need. I’m so grateful to Henriet for taking on this task and getting the hampers prepared at very short notice for the Jigsaw Project’s Christmas Party at Trinity Church. At a time of year when there are so many demands on our finances, you have been very generous. Thank you so much.

December was a very busy month in the Parish Church, with several carol concerts which needed a number of rehearsals for each, as well as concerts and the Civic carol service. Peter and I are grateful to Alan and Tom, our deputy wardens, and to Anne Osborne and Reg Blunden for their help during this very busy period. It was very special to see so many young people and their families enjoying our church, and a wonderful opportunity for them to start to get to know David. All were very surprised and interested to see our life-size stable and crib. This really has become a major taking point and a focus for regulars and visitors alike, allowing us to make our pilgrimage to Bethlehem.

I met recently with our church architect, Antony Feltham-King, and Sam Kelly from Salisbury Cathedral Glazing at the Parish Church. They had come to look at the stained glass windows in the Chancel. Some of the ferramenta, the iron cross-bars, have drawn moisture into the surrounding masonry, causing it to expand and crack. Antony has prepared a report on the repairs he considers necessary. It became very clear to me that our stained glass is historically significant, and we have a very real duty to ensure that it is preserved for the future. We also inspected all of the church’s windows, and I’m afraid the result was not good. The windows had secondary glazing in polycarbonate or glass added when the A31 was built and subsequently, and this has been very valuable in keeping noise out, heat in, and providing protection for the windows from vandalism. However, particularly on the south, sunny side of the church, this glazing has created a mini ‘greenhouse’ environment causing some of the windows to bow. The polycarbonate has discoloured and some of the glass panes have cracked. Repairs will have to be undertaken, and we are currently waiting for a full report from Salisbury Cathedral Glazing. I expect that it will be costly, but would hope that we might be able to get help with funding.

Advance warning that before the end of April, we must elect the representatives to each of our three church committees, the PCC, deputy churchwardens for the Parish Church and St John’s, and Churchwardens. So this is a good time to start to think and pray about how you might be able to help ensure that the church continues with growing strength in Ringwood. Over the next few months, I will explain the election process and the various meetings and will provide a nomination form in the Parish News.

Christmas in Ringwood

Our first Christmas in Ringwood has been a delight. Henriet and I have really enjoyed being part of the many Christmas celebrations that have taken place in the churches and various other locations: so many occasions for sharing the light, love, joy and wonder of the birth of Christ.

But when the decorations come down, our homes, shops and streets all seem for a while to be a bit flat, a bit empty, surrounded by a dreary wintry wilderness. But, the fact is, life returns to normal. Luke’s Gospel tells us that, after seeing the babe lying in the manger, the shepherds returned. Like the shepherds, we also return to the ordinary routines, like going back to work. Even wise men departed and returned. Even after the resurrection, the disciples went back to work… as fishermen.

The good news is that, following on from the glory of Christmas or Easter, it is precisely here, in the ordinariness of our lives, that the mysteries of incarnation and resurrection become truly manifest. In our day-to-day living, we begin all over again as witnesses, as we, like the shepherds, return glorifying and praising God for all we have seen and heard. In the hum drum of our existence we are commissioned anew, as were the first apostles, with the task: “Go, therefore, and make disciples…”

As we return to the ordinary, but believing anew in what we have seen and heard, so we shall find the ordinary transformed, as water into wine. This is the meaning of the Epiphany: the revelation of Christ which drew us near, sends us out again, but transformed. And with Christ, as he did after being baptised, we can even dare to leave behind the glory and enter the wilderness of ordinariness. In the same Spirit we can even dare to begin writing on the blank pages of our new 2012 diaries.

And so, we now return to the beginning of a new year. We return to many old familiar routines; but we are changed and renewed. Our journey through last year has brought us here, transformed by what has been revealed to us. We have searched diligently, and rejoiced exceedingly with great joy at what we have found. Now we can look forward to returning to old routines, perhaps by another way; not only a little older but more than a little wiser. I’m going to enjoy filling in my new diary!

Every blessing for 2012.

David

Santiago Supper

Mike Osborne will talk about his 16-week walk to Santiago de Compostela last summer. This event will take place at Greyfriars Community Centre. Tickets are available for £13 from Greyfriars or the Parish Office. Contact office@ringwoodparish.org.uk for further details.

Watchnight service

Join us to welcome in the New Year in the Parish Church. This service provides the opportunity to review the year that has passed and prepare for the year.

Holy Communion

Join us to reflect on Christmas in this Boxing Day service of Holy Communion in the Parish Church.

Holy Communion in Bisterne

Join us to celebrate Christmas in this service of Holy Communion in St Paul’s Church, Bisterne.

Family Communion

We welcome all the family to celebrate Christmas in the St John’s Church, Poulner.

Joint Family Service

We welcome all the family to celebrate Christmas in the Parish Church at this, our main Christmas Day service. This service will be followed by a short service of Holy Communion.

Holy Communion in Poulner

Join us to celebrate Christmas in this service of Holy Communion in St John’s Church, Poulner.

Holy Communion in the Parish Church

Celebrate Christmas with the first of our special Christmas services in the Parish Church.