Rector's View - January 2012

Dear friends,

New Year's Day falls on a Sunday in 2012. This gives us a fairly rare opportunity to celebrate the occasion in a church service; details of all Church Services in the Benefice are to be found above under Services. The 1st January is also celebrated in the Church's Calendar as the feast of the Naming of Jesus - a name which means "God saves".

As we begin a New Year, we may be thinking of new beginnings - hoping that our heartfelt resolutions will last well into the New Year! We might also be thinking about the purpose of our lives. That might sound deep - but we all need to have purpose in our lives. In the midst of all our uncertainties, hopes and fears over what this new year may bring, it is reassuring to know that our lives, and our world, are part of God's much bigger purposes - "this" is not all there is!

We are reminded, on the 1st January, that God's purposes are seen supremely in Jesus - in the weakness and vulnerability of a baby, but yet a baby who saves the world from sin and death! A baby who grew to be a man. Through this man God saves us from our weakness and selfishness, our pride, the damage we inflict on ourselves and others. In this man there is the promise of a real new beginning, for us and for our world.

Please join us at church to celebrate and give thanks for the meaning and purpose in our lives; for the love and acceptance that surrounds us, and to God who loves and cares for us, just as we are, more than any human being could. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Open Door

Some people have suggested that it would be helpful if it were possible to have a time when they could come to talk with me without having to phone first or make an appointment. Starting in the New Year, I will be available once a month in the Benefice Hall next to Wickhambrook church for anyone who would like to discuss anything with me - it might be a question about the faith; something to do with Church life; a personal or family difficulty - anything really, it's up to you. I thought we could trial this for, say, six months, usually on the last Saturday of the month from 10.00am until 11.00am, or later if needed. Please feel free to come along or let me know if you think some other arrangement would be better. The first "Open Door" will be on Saturday 28th January at 10.00am at the Benefice Hall.

You can read the latest news around the Benefice and in the wider Church on the Benefice blogspot. Please go to the following: http://bansfieldbenefice.blogspot.com/

Full details of forthcoming events may be found on the website at the "Events" link above.

May God bless you and grant to you, and to all whom you love, a truly happy and blessed New Year.

With every blessing.

Stephen

Revd Stephen Abbott

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