Wishing you a Happy New Year.

As the end of the year approaches and the season of Epiphany, we wish you a happy new year of kindness, sharing with each other and living the way that God wants for us. The 12th day of Christmas (January 6th) celebrates the Epiphany - the revelation of God in human form to the Three Wise Men who visited Bethlehem and saw the baby Jesus as the promised One.

As our daily news keep telling us, things are not going to be good in 2009. So make your New Year resolution to do something good each day for someone else. God is still in charge and we are all here to help one another.

Join us for some opportunities to be together:

Thursday, 1st Jan.

10.00am - Holy Communion at St Mary's.

11.00am - Meet outside St Mary's Hall for transport, for a walk in Ruddington Park.

12.00noon - New Year's Day Service at Stanford Church, followed by a Bring and Share Lunch.

Saturday, 10th Jan. 6.30pm - The Cluster Party and Pantomime, at Costock Village Hall with a Bring and share supper.

Sunday, 11th Jan. 2.45pm - Christingle Service for young children at St Mary's.

Merry Christmas everyone!

We wish everyone, everywhere a Very Happy Christmas from the members of St Mary's Parish Church, East Leake, and the Benefice churches of Costock, Rempstone, Stanford on Soar and West Leake. We send these wishes especially to those who have been members of our congregations in the past and have moved away. We are always pleased to have you visit us again.

We also send these wishes to those who don't know yet what Christianity is all about. We would like to meet you and come to know one another. Maybe we'll see you at one of the Christmas Services!

Remember, God loves us SO MUCH, He wants us to love Him back, and each other. In order for us to come and know Him, He came to earth in the form of a baby to show us the way we should live and how to love and care for one another. We need Him now in these troublesome times more than ever.

If you are in any kind of trouble, lonely, friendless, just talk to Jesus. He's always listening and will always respond. But be prepared! You never know who He might send to help you. He is God's wonderful promise to us, so let's celebrate His birth!

Danger for baby Jesus.

Danger threatens but God is in charge...

Mary and Joseph must have been surprised to have so many visitors, and very concerned at the Wise Men's story and warning. The men had visited Herod, the country's king during their search, with news of a new king due to be born. This made Herod worried that he was to be replaced, and asked them for more information on their return.

The Wise Men were suspicious of his motive to know where Jesus was found, and returned home another way, without seeing him again.

Meanwhile, Joseph had an angel's warning in a dream. They were to leave Bethlehem quickly for Egypt, as Herod had ordered the baby Jesus to be killed. This they did and the baby was safe. When Herod died they moved to Nazareth, instead of going back to Bethlehem to avoid further danger from being ruled by Herod's son. This is where Jesus grew up.

Tomorrow, Friday 19th Dec. Harry Carlton Comprehensive School will have their Carol Service at St Mary's.

The church is being decorated for Christmas on Saturday, and the tree will be decorated by the children on Monday, 22nd Dec. at 11.00am. Bring the children and join in the fun.

'The Promise'.

Wow! If you couldn't attend Saturday night's production of 'The Promise' musical, try and get to Gotham next Saturday and see the performance there. Sat 20th Dec 7.30pm at St Lawrence's Church.

Revd. Steve Osman had rehearsed and conducted the Borderlands Choir perfectly, along with the musicians from the Cluster.

Those who took the acting parts in the drama were excellent and the production took on a professional appearance thanks to the expert sound and lighting. See more photos on the website.

As for our Nativity story....

While Jesus had been born and the shepherds had been to visit Him, others had been searching for Him too. At least three wise men, not necessarily kings, who had studied the stars were following an unusually bright one. It led them to Bethlehem and even to the stable where they found Jesus. They knew He was to be a very important person and worshipped Him and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Strange gifts for a new born baby, but ones which would be important to Him later.

And the story continues...

The story of the Nativity does not end with the birth of Jesus. There were shepherds watching their sheep on the hills outside Bethlehem. These shepherds saw an angel in a bright light in the sky and were very frightened. Then the angel said to them, 'Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. Today your Saviour, the Lord Messiah, was born in the city of David.' They were told how to find Him and then the sky was filled with a whole army of angels praising God. What a sight that must have been! Carol Singing There were about 100 adults and children outside the Three Horseshoes Pub on Thursday night, singing carols and praising God. Revd Glynis gave a short address (it was VERY cold) and a blessing, and the music was provided by the Music Group and the Handbell Ringers from inside the 'smoker's shelter'. The night was certainly clear and frosty as the temperature dipped to minus 3 degrees! It was good to go inside the pub afterwards to warm up, eat and socialise. Thank you to all those who came along. Same time next year?

Carol Singing at the Three Horseshoes!

Come and join us tonight, at 6.30pm over at the Three Horseshoes Pub, opposite the church, for some carol singing, just like you used to hear around the village. We'll bring the music and the words, you just bring yourself.

See the Christmas lights on the church tree, the Hall and of course at the pub, and join in the Christmas spirit.

The Christ Child is born!

The miracle happened as it had been promised! Mary, a virgin, gave birth to Jesus, the Saviour of the world, not in a house or an inn, but in a lowly stable. In those days, it was quite common for people to be living close to the animals. His cot was the crib - a place where the animal's hay would have been kept, and for blankets, Mary wrapped him in pieces of cloth, called swaddling clothes. God who made us all, came to earth in the form of baby Jesus, to become a man to share our lives. God wants us to know, worship and love Him, but not as we are. God is so perfect and holy, we need to be free of sin before we can live our lives as He wants us. He has made that possible by sending Jesus to take away our sin if we only trust in Him. This is the gift God sent us as His promise that He's there for us and loves each and every one of us.

No room at the Inn!

Arriving in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph found it crammed with crowds of people who had also travelled to register for the census. Exhausted, they tried to find somewhere to stay, but found that everywhere was full. Finally, they tried an Inn, also full up, but the landlord seeing how close Mary was to having her baby, suggested that they could use the stable. Our young people had some fun yesterday when the All Stars children had their Christmas party, followed by the Sunday Sanctuary young people's Christmas party.

Visitors!

We had two visitors to our home last night. They were brought to stay with us just for the night, and today, we took them on their journey to another home for the night.

The visitors were Mary and Joseph, our Nativity figurines, who are travelling around the area as part of our Posada (the re-enactment of the journey Mary and Joseph made on their way to Bethlehem for the census).

It was a lovely opportunity to welcome them into our homes and meet other families at the same time and pray for a brief time.

Tomorrow we light the second candle of the Advent wreath at our 9.30am service. Come along and share this exciting time of Advent with us.

Ninety miles on the back of a donkey!

Advent - 2. Having got over the shock of being pregnant and accepted the role God has for her - that is to give birth to the Son of God, Mary marries Joseph.

Things are going fine until Joseph is notified that they must travel to Bethlehem, where he came from (about 90 miles away) to register for the census for tax purposes. Yes, they even had tax issues back then. At this point, Mary is very pregnant and I'm sure, very concerned at having to travel on the back of a donkey for so far and over the hills of Galilee.

Sat 13th 7.30pm ‘The Promise’, a musical based on the Christmas story at St Mary's Church. Do you have your tickets yet?

Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th Christmas Tree Festival at Rempstone

Christmas - what is it? Day 1 of Advent

This is a very brief, simplified blog of my own understanding and interpretation of Christmas. If you have never heard the story of the Nativity, you can also read all about it in the New Testament in the accounts by Matthew and Luke - or come along to any of our services. Christmas literally means the Mass (celebration) of Christ. "Christ" is a Greek word and title, meaning "anointed" or one set apart by God for a special purpose. Advent - Dec 1st. At Advent we celebrate all the events which happened up to the day Jesus was born and just after. A young, devout Jewish woman Mary, saw an angel and was told not to be afraid, and that she would be having a baby, even though she was a virgin and was unmarried. The Holy Spirit of God would make this happen. Her cousin, Elizabeth who hadn't been able to have children was also miraculously pregnant and her son would become John, the Baptist. Mary was engaged to Joseph, a descendant of King David. Joseph had a dream which told him to marry Mary and name the baby, Jesus. Prophets had told this would happen centuries before and now it was coming true. Jesus is also called Immanuel - 'God with us' and many other wonderful names. This is because Christians believe that God became a man on earth, so that we would come to love and know Him, and trust in God's love and guidance for us.

Sun 7th 2.15-3.45pm All Stars Christmas Party in Church - this will be followed by Sunday Sanctuary's Christmas Party for young people.

If you like singing carols, come along to The Three Horseshoes, East Leake at 6.30 pm on Thursday 11th December. We'll provide the words and music.

Advent begins - December 1st.

Advent - what does it mean? The word means 'coming' from the Latin word 'adventus'. It is used in the Christian church for the season of the coming, or birth of Jesus of Nazareth. This is when we really get excited about Christmas. The Nativity story tells of how He came to be born in Nazareth and what happened on the day He was born. This is what Christmas is really about, and it's certainly a time for celebrations. Watch for the story throughout December on the blog, if you've never heard or read it before. Events for this coming week are:

• Tues 2nd 7.30pm Taize Service at Roman Catholic Church
• Tues 2nd 7.00pm Emmaus Group in Church - Final session.
• Thurs 4th 8.00pm Abbot Club meets at Nag’s Head
• Sun 7th 2.15-3.45pm All Stars Christmas Party in Church

Come along and join us in all the exciting events running up to Christmas and beyond. Preparations are already under way and the church is a hive of activity. Are you ready to welcome Jesus into your home and your life?

You don't know how? He's just waiting to be invited - that's all you have to do. He really can make a difference to your life wherever you happen to be.

The blog is back!

This week we had a snowy taste of Winter! Thankfully, it didn't last long for those of us who like to get around easily. Having lived in a snowy climate, it's not as much fun as you'd think.

We have lots of updates on our events and all the forthcoming Christmas Services to give you. You can also find all the details in your December Compass magazine which should arrive through your letterbox in the next few days, and on our website.

First of all, the Boys and Girls Brigade Concert at the beginning of November, was very much enjoyed.

The Christmas Card Fair on 7th Nov. was a great success too and brought lots of new faces into the church.

Check out our website.

Please check St Mary's Church website for further details of all the events happening in the next few weeks. The website can be found by clicking the link on the right or on http://www.east-leake.co.uk/stmarys.html. It gives all information on:

• our weekly services and meetings,
• who our groups are, including those from the Uniformed Organisations,
• forthcoming events in November and beyond
• news items
• Photos gallery from our events and our Re-ordering
• Links to the Calendars for the church and the Hall
• and more......

Special events are also listed on the East Leake Village website 'Events Guide'.

Events and changes.

Please note: The National Boys and Girls Brigade Choir Concert will be held on Saturday, November 1st at 7.30pm in St. Mary's Church and not the Methodist Church, East Leake to accommodate the numbers attending. The concert will raise funds for urgent building work needed on the Methodist Church and towards the Brownies' Pack holiday.

Also, all young people please note that the 'Altern8' event planned for October 31st at St Mary's has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

The Christmas Charity Card Fair and Coffee Morning planned for Friday, 7th November is still on at St Mary's. There are some very beautiful hand made cards for sale. Come along and buy your Christmas cards and have a coffee and chat. If you haven't seen the new interior of St Mary's, this is your chance. You will also be able to order a CD of photos taken during St Mary's Re-ordering, which might make an ideal gift for Christmas.

Remembrance Sunday, 9th November, 10.55am. The parade and service with the Royal British Legion, young people's uniformed organisations and other groups taking part, will be held this year at Gotham. There will be a 9.30am celebration of Parish Communion at St Mary's, to include a short Act of Remembrance.

Don't forget!

Don't forget to turn your clocks back on Saturday night! The nights are getting darker now. Time to be more watchful for people crossing the roads.

Sunday, 26th October, 6pm. The Churches Together service for One World Week will be at St Mary's Church. The theme is Fair Trade.

Operation Christmas Child - if you have been preparing a shoe box of gifts for poor children in Romania, don't forget that they're due back in church by Nov. 2nd.

Friday, November 7th There will be a Coffee Morning 10.00-12.30pm, in St Mary's Church with stalls selling Charity Christmas Cards and Advent Calendars. Contact Ann on 852885 if you would like a stall or further details.

An item for your diary: The Borderlands Choir (a combination of choir, worship band, drama group and production team, from the 12 parishes in the South Notts Cluster of Churches) will be performing the musical 'The Promise' at 7.30pm on Saturday 13th December at St Mary's Church. It will also be at St Lawrence's Church, Gotham on Saturday 20th December. Admission is £5 (children are free), including a free glass of wine or juice. Further details and tickets are available from Steve on 856202, Janet on 853553 and Sue on 820252 The leaves are falling fast and our churchyard teams are working hard to keep it looking good. New helpers are always welcome. Just come along any Saturday morning. For those who have volunteered to assist with moving seating in St Mary's, there will be a brief meeting after the 9.30am service this Sunday - but not to move chairs!

Sunday's Baptism

Yesterday, we welcomed the family and friends of Sophie, for her baptism at our 9.30am service. Her big brother, Oliver helped too. On Saturday, about 24 people who had attended a Cursillo in the past, met at St Mary's for an Ultreya (meetings held after the Cursillo weekend). Cursillo is a Spanish word meaning 'Short Course' and supports and encourages Christians in their lives. If you would like to know more about this group, please contact Maureen or Jan. Please note: Sunday Sanctuary will not be meeting during the Half Term holidays. This applies to all the uniformed groups too, who meet in the Hall. The holiday is this week for Leicestershire and next week for Nottinghamshire.

Banquet in Heaven

The congregation containing many families, were invited to share in a 'banquet' on Sunday at the Worship Together service, just like the banquet that welcomes us in heaven. There were lots of happy hymns to celebrate what God has given us and how much He loves us. Our curate, Claire Goode and Gill Sprake led the worship. The music was led by the St Mary's Music Group using hymns from the book written by our own John Sprake.

A memorable weekend

We would like to thank Chrysalis for a memorable Saturday night, when we welcomed many people from the community to join us. The food was delicious and the entertainment by Chrysalis was superb.

The very talented ladies sang on the theme of 'Aspects of Love', ending with their testimonies on Christ-like love, the best love of all.

The professional musicians provided music on keyboard and strings, and it was a real pleasure to hear.

The stage lighting was arranged by two very able technicians who came with the group too.

The ministry of Chrysalis is to break down the barriers and misconceptions about Christianity, and they ask for your prayers to be able continue.

A good night out.

We are looking forward to sharing a meal followed by a cabaret performed by 'Chrysalis' on Saturday 11th October. All the tickets have been sold and the food is being prepared by our friendly, neighbourhood chef, Ian Spencer, formerly of The Nags Head. Watch the blog for photos of the event, if you would like to know more and haven't bought a ticket.

I know it's early, but you may have heard folks talk about 'Operation Christmas Child', but what is it? It's an opportunity to fill a shoe box with small gifts and help to bring some happiness into the life of a child this Christmas. This year the boxes will go to poor children in Romania. Leaflets giving details of what items are appropriate, are available in the church and you can bring your box to the church too. This is being organised by Ann Sharpe of the Roman Catholic Church in East Leake. In spite of the 'credit crunch', I'm sure people will be able join forces to fill a box, if not fill a box of their own. Please help this worthy cause. Our young people are already gathering items for their boxes.

Tapestry or tightrope?

The meeting was well attended by approximately 40 interested members of the congregation last Saturday 4th Oct for the consultation on worship at St Mary's. Our brains were well exercised, everyone's views were heard and we were still sharing ideas by 5pm! The tapestry represented a relaxing familiar pastime, and the tightrope - a new, risky, exciting venture, as our worship might be.

We would like to welcome anyone to St Mary's who would like to join us. There's no pressure. The Emmaus course is in its third week on Tuesdays at 7.00pm at the church, and welcomes anyone who would like to know more about Christianity. It's a good chance to ask all those questions you've always wanted to ask. If we can't tell you the answer, ..... 'we know a man who can'.

Let's get together with lots of people from East Leake this coming Saturday for an evening of after-dinner cabaret. Have you got your tickets for Chrysalis? If not, call Rosemary on 856202 or Avril on 852228. There will be drama, comedy and music. We hope to see you there - and say hello.

Nearly there!

The railings have now been placed around the Bley Tomb in St Mary's churchyard, which means the temporary fence will soon be removed. There are some final details to be resolved, and there will be some signing yet, to be placed inside the tomb railings and opposite, on Main St, to indicate the historical tomb for visitors. There were approximately 20 people who attended the talks in September by Mr Antony Grundy in the Library and in St Mary's, who enjoyed hearing about our benefactor, John Bley. East Leake and District History Society have spent a lot of time and effort working on promoting and raising funding from English Heritage to rebuild the tomb and bring it back to its former state. The Licensing of the new Priest in Charge, Revd Glenn Martin by The Rt Revd Tony Porter, Bishop of Sherwood, took place this Wednesday at Sutton Bonington. He will be working with Sutton Bonington and Normanton on Soar churches, and the South Notts. Cluster clergy, which include the East Leake and Gotham Benefices. We welcome him and his wife, Sally. For those who enjoyed the very entertaining concert by Nottingham Male Voice Choir in September, there were about 135-140 people who attended. £565 was raised on the night, plus other donations reached £620 in total, which was sent to CAFOD for their Burma appeal.

Harvest Time

It's harvest time and our Benefice churches will be holding their special services and events now. St Mary's held a combined Harvest Communion with a 'Back to Church' service last Sunday complete with balloons and some beautiful flowers.

Many people took the opportunity to accept the invitation to come back, and we were pleased to welcome them all. The usual refreshments after gave everyone the chance to meet and greet each other.

The children brought some of the gifts to the altar for a blessing, and these have been distributed to local families or those living alone this week. These brought plenty of smiles to their faces and thanks. We have missed those who are unable to come to church because of illness or infirmity and would like them to know they are always in our prayers. If you would like someone to visit you, please let us know.

The second 'Sunday Sanctuary' for young people was again, well attended. There were 40 young people at the first meeting the previous week. The event held at 5.oopm in the church, gives those who have never been inside the church the opportunity to share an informal gathering, led by Lydia, the Youth Worker.

Music, music, music.

Approximately 150 people gathered to be entertained by a very talented group of musicians on Saturday Night for the 'Music of the Night' concert. We were treated to a number of wonderful saxophone solos by our own Elizabeth (Lizzie) Holland, and a variety of traditional classical and modern classics sung by the beautiful voice of Katy Howarth.

Simon Baker provided the most professional accompaniment on the keyboard. To top the evening off, Lizzie joined Sue Masters, Judy Nicol and Jo Jones as 'Sax Sensation', a saxophone quartet entertaining us with some very lively, entertaining and diverse pieces.

We'd like to say thank you to all these talented musicians who have made use of their wonderful skills and provided us with such a lovely evening. God has truly blessed you all.

Calling all young people!

Sunday Sanctuary is a new informal event for all young people in the East Leake and surrounding areas. They meet at St Mary's Church at 5.00-6.00pm every Sunday evening. Contact Lydia for further information on: 07702 815532 or just come along. You'll be very welcome. The 2009 Bellringers Calendar is now available. Calendars featuring churches from the diocese are available from Andrew (559087) for £4.50. All profits go to the Diocesan Bell Fund.

Back to Church Sunday and Current activities.

The recent Nottingham Male Voice Choir was a great success, as those who attended might testify.

This Saturday, 27th Sept. there will be a concert called 'Music of the Night' in St Mary's Church at 7.30pm. For any last minute tickets, please see Rosemary on 856202.

On Sunday, 28th Sept. St Mary's Harvest Communion combines with a very special service to celebrate 'Back to Church Sunday' to welcome all visitors and those who haven't been for a while. Please bring your friends, family and neighbours for a service with a difference.

AN EVENING OF AFTER-DINNER CABARET WITH CHRYSALIS SATURDAY 11th OCTOBER 2008 is planned for St. Mary’s Church, East Leake too, at 7-30pm. .What’s the Cabaret about: ·Cabaret evening based on West End show “Aspects of Love” ·Presentation includes drama, comedy and songs from the show ·Presented by a professional group of musicians, Chrysalis Arts Trust ·Includes Christian performers who have been in West End productions How much is it? Tickets £10-50 per head to include Dinner which will be served at 7-30pm Soft drinks will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own wine with you if you like. Glasses will be provided. More information and contacts for tickets: Rosemary: Tel: 856202 Avril: Tel: 852238