Pastoral Letter   DECEMBER 2011   Covent Garden market is decorated with Christmas baubles, some four metres in diameter, hanging from the roof girders. They are truly massive. Most are shiny red, some are mirror balls reflecting the lights in every direction and intentionally or otherwise, these huge decorations give the message: this Christmas is far bigger than you are. It was such a surprise to see in mid November that I must admit to being somewhat overwhelmed by this spectacle. Which is, I think, their point. So as I made my way through the market and continued my short cut towards the British Museum, leaving the glitz behind me, I began to ponder on the big-ness of a consumer Christmas and the bigness of God’s Christmas.  How big is it to have God not just promise to be with us but to indeed be with us, born in human shape, for a lifetime? Immanuel, God with us. Many of us live with the constant pressure of the pace of life and out of this has come the desire for quality time with our loved ones; we may not have much time to spare, so let’s make sure it’s quality time. In this pressure, we have lost sight of the value of quantity time. Often, for example, children don’t have a need for focused activity time with you so much as just knowing that you are in tonight, that you are there without an agenda, just sharing tea and the evening at home. And those who are housebound may not be interested in us visiting simply to swish round cleaning the bathroom or the kitchen, sorting out the washing or mowing the grass; they would much prefer that we simply sat with them and had a cup of tea. This requires a different mind-set. It needs us to stop thinking in terms of what can I do for this person and instead think how can I be with this person. Being with someone rather than working for someone. Presence rather than activity. God with us in Jesus shows us an interesting emphasis. Jesus spent his last week in Jerusalem doing things for us: his passion, death and resurrection did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves, it achieved our salvation. For approximately three years before that, he was engaged in doing things with us: training his disciples, teaching the crowds, challenging people’s assumptions and prejudices, bringing healing and freedom. So what did he do with the rest of his life? The gospels tell us very little. He just lived with us, it seems, experiencing the joys and sorrows of family and community life, for thirty years. Look at the proportions: one week, three years and thirty years. To have God with us for thirty three years is mostly about quantity time, isn’t it? All he was doing was enjoying being with us, valuing us and appreciating us for who we are. Immanuel, God with us, is mostly about presence. God is not embarrassed by me, he does not arrive in my life with an agenda for change which begins on day one (though if I spend time with him, it will indeed change me), he does not appear like the covent garden decorations which are simply too big for my life at home. The Christmas message is that God comes to be with us. This is not a new message; it was there in the first two chapters of the bible and is promised in the last two also. It is the mystery of our creation and salvation. God with us is, it seems, the most important thing that we can know. And, thank goodness, it’s not just for Christmas! Louise Corke   Please note that the worship on Sunday 1st January 2012 will be a whole parish all age Communion at St. Philip and St. James in Groby, beginning at 10.00am        NOVEMBER 2011   Who do you follow?    Have you ever felt really angry about something happening in the world but thought that there was nothing you could do about it? If you have, you will know how frustrating this feels, and not only frustrating but disempowering, as we watch people suffer injustice and being marginalised with no way of speaking out about it. The problem (and what stops us from taking action) is that often issues feel too big and we believe we cannot possibly have any effect because we are too small. Billy Bragg told 20, 000 people at Greenbelt that our worst enemy is cynicism. He said “the attitude of ‘what’s the point’ is ever present around us and it is dangerous – it dis-empowers us and detaches us from society.” The truth, of course, is that we have more power than we believe, to be a ‘voice’ in society against injustice and oppression. And that suffering of injustice and oppression may be closer to home than we think. You do not have to travel to far flung countries to see where there is inequality or exclusion. People are pushed to the edges of society and marginalised in this country too. So, what do we do? Well first we remember that Jesus came for those people who were at the bottom of the pile. He came to stand alongside them, to be a voice to speak out for them and let them know they were not on their own. Then we can choose to follow that incredible man in the way we live our lives; choose to follow Jesus and be the hands and feet of the God, who loves us beyond our understanding, and who calls us to be his voice for those most in need. Revd. Helen Hayes, Curate   If you would like to be a ‘voice’ in our community on issues of social justice contact the Social Justice Action Group on helen_hayes@btinternet.com   Team Parish News   Coming up in the Parish are those events which take us into the Advent and Christmas seasons.  Advent Carols and Readings On the evening of Advent Sunday, a Team service in which to ponder and sing the expectation of this special season.    Ratby Christmas Bazaar Sat 19th November    Groby Christmas Tree Festival ‘Christmas Stories’ 3rd—6th Dec With refreshments, lunches, Father Christmas, crafts and stalls on Sat 3rd, andConcert Fun on Tues 6th   On 8th Oct in the Cathedral, Joan Hawkins was commissioned as a Pastoral Assistant in the Bradgate Team. These were the questions she was asked:    ‘Will you serve God by witnessing to the Good news of Jesus in word and deed, in care and service, in building and enriching Christian community, firmly trusting the power of the Holy Spirit to guide you?’    ‘Will you accept the discipline of the church of England and give due respect to those in authority?’ to which came the answer:    ‘I will, the Lord being my helper.’   The role and tasks of a Pastoral Assistant are uniquely shaped by that person’s gifts, skills, strengths and weaknesses too. A PA offers these as they serve alongside the rest of the Parish Team and volunteers. They may have a particular heart for the elderly, or for families, for those in social need or any manner of other areas of care, advice, prayer and support. They work to see God’s Kingdom established and flourishing in lives.   Remember Joan in your prayers as she begins this work; also the many others you know in our church families who are involved in providing care and support of others.     OCTOBER 2011   It seems hard to believe that it’s Autumn already. Yet as I write, school children are wandering past my window, smiling senior citizens are packing for their holidays and teachers and lecturers everywhere are feeling the serene anticipation which accompanies the beginning of the new academic year.  When I used to work (a bit of a time ago, now) I was involved in higher education and the beginning of the new session still makes my sap rise a bit. It was hectic, receiving “A Level” results, welcoming new students, starting new classes, filling in new forms, lots of forms…...   But, one of the pleasantest jobs in our department, and one which gave me a lot of satisfaction, was looking after part-time and day-release students. Part-time students were always a mixture, with interesting stories to tell. Almost all were mature (officially over 21!) and many very mature - I think the oldest was in her seventies. Most were very motivated and many were a match for our full-timers. Because they were so keen to be there, they were a joy, to be honest, and fun to teach. They came for a whole list of reasons: maybe for the fun of it; maybe to develop some expertise in a particular subject; or maybe for high qualifications with serious career ambitions in mind. Their backgrounds were as varied as their motives. Many of them didn’t have the same academic roots as their full-time colleagues. But, they might have had industrial experience or they might come with life experience and a willingness to start climbing the academic ladder. The ones which stand out in my memory are those (and there was quite a number) who came in for interview, who would sit slightly nervously answering that question: “why have you come?” with words which were to become very familiar: ‘“When I was at school I messed about and didn’t take it seriously. But when I got to work, I found myself in a dead-end job and I thought to myself, ‘I can’t do this for the rest of my life!’” and they would ask us, “Is there anything you can do for me?” “Well,” we replied, “yes, we can!” and their expression betrayed the realisation that things were going to get better, from here on in. I love the idea of second chances, probably because I have needed so many myself. They have the potential to be life-changing and can offer a broad vision where there didn’t seem to be any.  I like to think of that as a picture of what the Church can do - offer a new beginning. For Jesus said there is always the chance for a new start, whatever we have done or whatever road we have travelled, whether we have been pew-dwellers for years, or we have never darkened the door of a church before. “Believe in me”, He said, “and I will give you a new future…whoever believes in me shall have life!” (from John 3:16).  Jesus is the Lord of the second chance, they say… like a teacher who is anxious to lead us along paths we had never thought of before. And there is one thing I would like to bet (if I were a betting man), and it is this: when we come to Him with a heart for change, He will be gentler with us in our mistakes than we ever were with ourselves!   Keith Wignall, Reader. TEAM PARISH NEWS    Service of Loving Remembrance  Every year, the Parish holds a memorial service for those who have been bereaved in the last 12 months. Each family is invited. It may be that you too have faced bereavement recently and wish to be at that service. You are most welcome.   2.30pm on Sunday 30th October at Ratby church, followed by refreshments     Congratulations Congratulations! to Revd Dr Peter Hooper who has additionally been appointed Area Dean of our deanery (Sparkenhoe East), following Revd John Sharpe, who stepped down at the end of September.      God, the Universe and Everything   Lay Congress2011 on 26th Nov,  Speakers from the Faraday Institute of Science and Religion.  Details available later in October in each church.