Newsletter - December 2023
We are now in the season of Advent.
Our advent wreath has been brought out and will take pride of place as we light each candle to mark the passing weeks of this very special time, the start of the new church calendar.
At home we all have our own ways of ‘counting down’ the days, with advent calendars, candles and other family traditions.
In church, we will save the decorations, the carols and the celebrations until nearer the end of the month. Soon we will be sending out invitations to everyone in the parish to join us for our special Christmas services. We will need help from the congregation with this and to help host these services so please give up some of your time if you can.
You will notice that the flowers are gone from church during Advent but on Saturday 16th December, many of the groups from church will be coming together to ‘deck the halls’ with our eco-friendly Christmas tree displays while the flowers team adorn the church with seasonal foliage. We will be gathering at church from 1pm on that day if you would like to join in!
The churchwardens and PCC have been working with Archdeacon Moira, preparing to advertise the post of vicar at St Philip’s later this month. We are grateful for the help and guidance we have received from the Archdeacon and others at Southwark Diocese and for their prayers, and yours, as we proceed to this next stage of the recruitment process.
Advent, like Lent, is a time when we focus on Giving – as a church and as individuals. At St Philip’s, we make several annual charitable donations at this time and at our Christingle services, we collect donations to The Children’s Society. In the charity’s own words, here’s what they do…
“We are a national charity working to transform the hopes and happiness of young people facing abuse, exploitation and neglect. We support them through their most serious life-challenges, and we campaign tirelessly for the big social changes that will improve the lives of those who need hope most. We've been doing this for 140 years and we won't stop until we've built a society where hope is alive in every child.” www.childrenssociety.org.uk
If you are reading this on our new website – thank you taking a look and if not, do explore online at www.stphilipsreigate.com and let us know what you think! Thank for reading and although it is a little early to say it … Happy Christmas!
Contact us at wardens@stphilipsreigate.com
