‘Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.’
I do hope you all had a blessed and joyful Christmas and
managed to find some time to relax with family, away from the
pressures of work, and to feel a little refreshed.
We had a very full December calendar in the the busiest time in the
church’s year, celebrating the arrival of the Christ Child. There were
some very special and uplifting services. The Toy & Gift service was
led by our minister, Revd Sue McCoan, and the donated gifts were
given to the Salvation Army.
On December 16th in the Candle service of Carols and Lessons, we
were joined by the Peniel Church and the Community Christian
Association of Kingsbury. The Sanctuary was packed to the brim with
adults and children. The service was led by Mrs Esme Simmons and
the Romanian pastor, Mr Adi Barbu. The children were each given a
present by the Romanian church towards the end of the service. The
offertory raised £479.68 which was sent to a Pastor in Romania who
looks after children in need. We continued in fellowship after the
service in the Kingsland Hall with mince pies and mulled wine.
Our Christmas service was led by Mrs Esme Simmons with some of
her family from USA in the congregation. We met with old friends and
visitors alike. We thank Esme for leading the Christmas day service
for many years. We offer grateful thanks to Barbara and all who
helped with the decoration of the church and to Revd Sue for the
Joseph and Mary figurines in the vestibule. A truly remarkable work
of art.
I attended the Watch Night service on December 31st at All Souls
Anglican Church, Langham Place. There was a great atmosphere
with the Sanctuary packed to the rafters. The theme of the hymns,
bible readings, prayers and the sermon was “the Steadfast Love of
God”. At midnight, as the midnight chimes rang out we exchanged
greetings and fellowship with our brothers and sisters from all over
the world. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Our Bible Study Group is gradually working through the ambitious
project to read an overview of the whole Bible. The weekly sessions
are very enjoyable and I encourage newcomers to join us at Andrew
and Heather’s house on Thursday’s from 10:30 – 12 noon.
Our Cameo (come and meet each other) group meets monthly for a
social evening and has just celebrated our second year in December
2018. The following are some of the events we hosted last year: the
Good Companion Musical Group; a talk on Mental Health Awareness;
Ricardo – singer and dancer; The Metropolitan Police Choir; Dr
Heckle and & Mr Hyde. We are growing and need your support to
promote this outreach programme for 2019. Our grateful thanks to all
the volunteers especially Vi Hunt who organises the catering, raffle,
finance, and helps to find entertainers. Details on forthcoming events
are listed in this magazine on page 17.
What will 2019 hold for us? As we set out together in this new year,
I’m reminded of the words of a favourite hymn: “I Know who holds the
future, and He’ll guide me with His hand, With God things don’t just
happen, everything by Him is planned. So as I face tomorrow with its
problems large and small, I’ll trust the God of miracles, give to him
my all.”
I pray that this truth will give you comfort and assurance to entrust
the future to God’s wisdom and to encourage us all in our walk of
faith. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
GOD Bless You All
Pat Tachie-Menson
