Parish Support
Can you hear the Angels sing?
Long letter for parish magazines
Can you hear the Angels sing?
Are you ever concerned that the extraordinary thing we celebrate at Christmas has become a little buried? The rumour of Emanuel, of Light in the darkness, the invitation to those that guard our communities to ‘fear not’ for God has come amongst us – all of this is hard to touch or even remember because Christmas has become simply hard work.
Worse – for many – celebrating this most precious of events is the cause of debt, family strife or exacerbated loneliness. If I believed in the Devil (and I don’t know that I don’t) I would say this is a clever strategy to dissolve and tarnish and I feel anxious that we are complicit. If the huge urge to consume and acquire as much as we can for those dearest to us in the days approaching Christmas is part of the soul’s yearning for God – Christians are well placed to offer a redirecting of that yearning. Do we?
The Campaign Against The Secularisation of Christmas www.casc-aid.org.uk offers us a way to pause. ‘How we can turn this situation around?’ It asks ‘whose birthday are we celebrating?’ and reminds us of how John the Baptist suggested we ‘prepare the way’. It asks that we give 50% of what we spend at Christmas to charity – 50/50 giving. A big ask! But even pausing to consider how much we spend in order to calculate that 50% would be a step for many of us. The most conservative estimate of our national high street Christmas spending last year was around £15bn. Just one-tenth of this amount (£1.5bn) is the sum currently estimated by the UN as being necessary for ongoing emergency flood relief in Pakistan alone. As a birthday present…. ‘What ever you do for the least of these …. ‘
But can we do it? Can we even try? Is just thinking about it yet another pressure at Christmas?
What I think at the moment is that for every cubic centre meter we give away we create a little more space inside us for God. I’m thinking that for those of us who try together (and many of you are ahead by years on this) we will find an increased peace within that space that will help us manage the busyness. Also I’m thinking if we approach that space very quietly and as a little child would, we just might hear………
or
Short version of letter for parish magazines
Whose Birthday?
Feeling slightly Daunted by Christmas? The Campaign Against The Secularisation of Christmas www.casc-aid.org.uk offers us a way to pause in the midst of very worldly busyness and asks ‘whose birthday are we celebrating?’ It reminds us of how John the Baptist suggested we ‘prepare the way’. It asks that we give 50% of what we spend at Christmas to charity. 50/50 giving. A big ask! But even pausing to consider how much we spend in order to calculate that 50% would be a step for many of us. The most conservative estimate of our national high street Christmas spending last year was around £15bn. Just one-tenth of this amount (£1.5bn) is the sum currently estimated by the UN as being necessary for ongoing emergency flood relief in Pakistan alone. As a birthday present I think its one he’d like …. ‘What ever you do for the least of these …. ‘
Parish support
Last Updated on Thursday, 23 September 2010 09:34
St Agatha's Community Kickstart Fund
St Agatha’s Community Kickstart Fund exists to help small groups with church connections. We give grants, usually to a maximum of around £500 to enable people to meet the costs of setting up initiatives.
This might include:
- Equipment for a playgroup
- Refurbishing of a kitchen for an elders’ group.
Details of how to apply are available from Julia Alder at Church House, 95, Effingham Street, Rotherham, S65 1Bl , telephone 01709 309133 or E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The Vicars Relief Fund
The Vicar’s Relief Fund gives grants from money given annually to the Diocese by the St Martin-in-the-Fields Radio 4 Appeal. We aim to help people with small grants to meet immediate needs where it is difficult to get help elsewhere. We have a normal maximum of £150 and operate a system that aims to pay out amounts with a minimum of delay.
Awards are made to individuals through parish clergy, church workers and other agencies.
Forms are available from Julia Alder at Church House, 95 Effingham Street, Rotherham S65 1BL. They can be faxed to you if you call us on 01709 309133 or e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Please note that this fund is relatively small and disbursed on a first-come-first-served basis
