This weekend our Gospel reading is the annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary – the angel Gabriel announces that she is to have a child, Jesus. Although Nazareth was off the beaten track and a sleepy enough place at that time, Mary’s experience ranged far beyond the confines of the little village. Almost immediately after the appearance of the Angel, Mary travelled ‘with haste’ to visit her cousin Elizabeth in the hill country of Judah soon. She returned to Nazareth and then, with Joseph, travelled to Bethlehem for the census where she gave birth to Jesus. After that the Holy Family went to Egypt to escape King Herod, returning and settling in Nazareth when Jesus was still a child. Every year, Joseph and Mary went up to Jerusalem. She went to Capernaum with Jesus and his disciples and was back again in Jerusalem for the fateful days of Christ’s. Passion, death and resurrection. The last we hear of her in the New Testament, she is in the Upper Room with the apostles, some other women and the brothers of Jesus united in prayer (Acts 1.14).
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The bilingual zoom services will conclude today.
This Christmas service flyer (below) is available for collection at all services this week. Please take as many as you would like for friends, family and neighbours.
Christmas services
Register here
If you can’t manage the registration, then you are welcome to ring me on 0421 321 321
Parish Office
We still have no phone so please ring Angela on 0411 702 513.
Music archives
We have received these historic copies for our archives – early music from our War Memorial Grand Organ.
Baptisms
We have had a few baptisms since the end of lockdown and there will be one more before the New Year. The ceremonies are being held privately due to the ongoing COVID risk. Today we welcomed Willow Jean into the church of God (photo3).
Cleaning
You may not be aware that we have new cleaners for the church properties. They have recently done considerable work inside and outside, cleaning external windows that have not been addressed for quite some time. They are now looking great in time for Christmas.
So as to facilitate the Saturday@6 and Sunday services, there is additional cleaning on Sunday morning from 7am to 10am. This is at significant additional cost and some seating is restricted this week in order to both ensure that the congregation, which has not returned to its full compliment, are not too spread-out so as to avoid the necessity of cleaning of every pew between every services.
This week at St Andrew’s
click here to see our calendar of services and events
Memorial Garden seating
Last week I wrote about the new seating in the Garden of Remembrance. All four seats have now been acquired in memory of loved ones.
Fr Jan’s Christmas cakes
A sell-out. Thanks to those who manned the booth at the Farmers’ Markets in November and December and all those who bought and hopefully will get to consume this great cakes.
Merry Christmas
This being the last Vicar’s News before Christmas, Michelle and I take this opportunity to wish you a happy and holy Christmas and hope to see you at our services.
