The picture above was taken in the Winter of 1961 and shows members of St Mary Magdalene

Dear Friends,

Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you Good News of a great joy … This day is born the Savior, that is, He who, as Son of God and Son of the Father, has travelled (in obedience to the Father) the path that leads away from the Father and into the darkness of the world. Behind Him omnipotence and freedom; before, powerlessness, bonds and obedience. Behind Him the comprehensive divine vision; before Him the prospect of the meaninglessness of death on the Cross between two criminals, Behind Him the bliss of life with the Father; before Him, grievous solidarity with all who do not know the Father, do not want to know Him and deny His existence. Rejoice then, for God Himself has passed this way! The Son took with Him the awareness of doing the Father’s will. He took with Him the unceasing prayer that the Father’s will would be done on the dark earth as in the brightness of heaven. He took with Him His rejoicing that the Father had hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to babes, to the simple and the poor. I am the way, and this way is the truth for you; along this way you will find the life. Along the way that I am you will learn to lose your life in order to find it; you will learn to grow beyond yourselves and your insincerity into a truth that is greater than you are. From a worldly point of view everything may seem very dark; your dedication may seem unproductive and a failure. But do not be afraid: you are on God’s path. Let not your hearts be troubled: believe in God; believe also in me. I am walking on ahead of you and blazing the trail of Christian love for you. It leads to the poorest of your brothers and sisters, to the person most forsaken by God. But it is the path of divine love itself. You are on the right path. All who deny themselves in order to carry out love’s commission are on the right path.

Miracles happen along this path. Apparently insignificant miracles, noticed by hardly anyone. The very finding of a Child wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger—is this not a miracle in itself? Then there is the miracle when a particular mission, hidden in a person’s heart, really reaches its goal, bringing God’s peace and joy where there were nothing but despair and resignation; when someone succeeds in striking a tiny light in the midst of an overpowering darkness. When joy shines in a heart that no longer dared to believe in it. Now and again we ourselves are assured that the angel’s word we are trying to obey will bring us to the place where God’s Word and Son is already made man. We are assured that, in spite of all the noise and nonsense, each Christmas, is Christmas just as truly as two millennia ago. Once and for all God has started out on his journey toward us, and nothing, till the world’s end, will stop Him from coming to us and abiding in us.

From a meditation by the theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar

With love and my prayers,

James

Sunday and weekday Services

Our weekly service times are:
Sunday 10:00am Eucharist
Tuesday 10:00am Morning Prayer (BCP)
Thursday 10:30am Holy Communion (BCP)
Friday 5:00pm Prayer in the Choir Stalls

Additional, Regular Services:
2nd Sunday of the month 6:30pm Choral Evensong
4th Sunday of the month 6:30pm Evening Praise – an informal service

We also provide a livestream of our Sunday Morning Eucharist Service. The link for the livestream page is
https://stmarymagdalene.church/livestream-service/

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Community Café & Informal Singing

Lots of activities are planned for the Community Café, please see below.

Please note: The Community Café will be open again from Tuesday 14th January.

Rekindling, Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30pm

Like the Community Café, we will be meeting again from Tuesday 14th January. We meet in the Hall as it’s a bit warmer than the Choir Vestry! We’re continuing our series on Mark’s Gospel using Tom Wright’s Mark for Everyone.

Opening the Church on Saturdays

Our church is a valuable resource for people in our community to take some time out of their daily lives to reflect and connect with God. Not everyone is available on Sunday mornings and some just want a few minutes to pause and be still. We are hoping to make our church available for private prayer on Saturdays and are looking for volunteers who can give a couple of hours of their time. A minimum of two people will need to be always present. Names will be added to a rota, so the more people who are available to help us, the less often you will be called upon. If you are able to help with this, please see Alison Reeve.

Donate

Would you like to donate towards the work of St Mary Magdalene? If so, this QR code will take you to our donations page where you can choose the amount you wish to donate.

Pilgrimage to Greece 2025

Join us on a pilgrimage to Greece for 2025 which includes St Paul’s time in Greece as well as some sightseeing of the ancient wonders of Greece, including Athens and Delphi. It will cost around £3,100. If you think you would like to come, please speak to me for more details.

If you have not been on a pilgrimage with us before they are great fun, and serious too, help us all to get to know each other better and make us the family we are. Do give it a thought.

A PDF of the Pilgrimage schedule is available on our website here.

Michael Smith

Ladychapel Memorial book

Every week we remember the anniversaries of death for different people. Their names are taken from two Memorial Books we keep. One for those whose ashes are interred in the Memorial Garden and a second, in the Lady Chapel, for people we wish to be remembered on a certain date (usually their death).

If you would like the name of someone to be remembered in the Ladychapel Memorial Book please speak to Ken Cope, the cost is £25.

YouTube Video Playlist

Something to dip in and out of or play while ironing or relaxing! Instead of a single video, this week we have a playlist on our YouTube channel containing twenty videos with lyrics. Four have been shared in the emails before, a few of the others at Rekindling, while others you may have heard elsewhere. Hopefully there will be one, two, or more(!) that strike a chord with you, the words, the tune, or a combination of the two. There’s a variety of styles included so perhaps one day something upbeat works, another something quieter, more reflective resonates with you. Any feedback is welcome. Here’s a link to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOS511gUMPpV2F1Lk-vDW5x9_UE_t_bVG

Dates for your diary

January 2025
Sun 5th 10:00am Epiphany
Tue 7th 12 noon Janet Reed’s Funeral
Weds 8th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by Lunchtime Concert
Sun 12th 6:30pm Choral Evensong
Sun 19th 12:00noon Big Breakfast
Sun 26th 6:30pm Evening Praise!

February 2025
Sun 2nd 10:00am Candlemas
Weds 12th 11:30am Coffee & Cake followed by Lunchtime Concert
Sun 9th 6:30pm Choral Evensong
Sun 16th 12:00noon Sausage Sunday!
Sun 23rd 6:30pm Evening Praise!

This magazine appears online only, with only a few copies available for archival purposes.