From the Rector

Congratulations to David Taylor and his many helpers on an outstanding Lessons and Carols event last Sunday Evening. The choirs were wonderful, the orchestra sounded great and the church looked stunning! Thank you too to all those who worked to make the event run smoothly. You know who you are and we appreciate the efforts taken to read, light candles, clean up, move chairs, sing, hand out books., serve with the sacred ministers , say hello to strangers and generally promote St Mary’s as a place of great worship. It was out of this world and yet made by this world. Keep buying our beautiful Christmas Cards –they help your church pay the bills and they are valued by those who receive them.

The men from the East are getting closer to the star, the advent wreath is now alight with four candles. I hope many of you are starting to realise that the feast of the incarnation is close at hand and the central mystery of our God is being reborn and seeking to be reborn in us all. I hope you have a good week on our journey to the place of Jesus birth.. Last year I published the Advent Virus which I found most helpful and it appears again this year. Reflect on it.

We had a wonderful carol service for the children of the Child Care Centre on last Thursday… well attended and appreciated by all who were there.

Fr Sherring has settled into Sydney and will be ready to provide a priestly ministry as it is needed during the ensuing weeks. Please call the priest who is on duty by calling the Rector’s usual telephone number… 9387 3277.

There will be no further notices until February. Perhaps you might like to explore our web pages during that time or keep a copy of this sheet nearby. Masses will be held on Saturday nights at 5:30 ( using Book of Common Prayer) and as usual 8 am and 10am. Meditation will not meet on Christmas Day or New Years Day but will be back in full sílence on January 8.

I hope you find the worship in this season of the incarnation of blessing to yourself and to those you love. Bring friends, come yourself and enjoy the festivity of Christmas. Come worship the supreme gift of God in a place that truly reflects glory, dignity and beauty to the praise of almighty God .

Christmas blessings to you and yours.
 

ANGLICANS TOGETHER

Anglicans Together is planning a weekend away on 28th 30th August 2009 at The Tops Conference Centre at Stanwell Tops, just 1 hour south of Sydney.
The theme for the weekend is Living the Good News and Bishop Graeme Rutherford (recently retired from the Central Coast) has agreed to join us to be the keynote speaker, lead discussions and celebrate the Eucharist on Sunday. Rev Sue Emeleus will lead a series of Bible studies and we hope to provide a parallel childrens program and several workshops also.
The aims for the weekend include:
Enjoying fellowship, fun and relaxation with like-minded Anglicans;
Exploring and developing ways for our parishes to reach out to our society, particularly as part of Connect 09;
Sharing experiences and learning together; and
Building and strengthening relationships between individuals and churches in Anglicans Together
We will provide more on the program later, along with details of costs.

What we are asking now:
Please note the dates in your church calendar for 2009 to leave this time free if possible;
Let you Parish Council and congregation know about the weekend and:—

Give us some indication of the possible interest in the weekend within your church.
Our planning group is meeting again on Wednesday 4th February 2009 and we would appreciate hearing your thoughts by that time. Please reply to Barbara.booth@bigpond.com