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THIS MONTH'S LETTER FROM THE CLERGY:
Merry Christmas!
And I say that deliberately, as Christmas carries on being
celebrated in the Church until Candlemas on February 2.
It’s quite sad that every year we celebrate Christmas for months before, when we really should be watching and waiting, and then forget all about it as soon as it’s over. New Year resolutions,
diets, and “drink free Januaries” kick in. January can become a miserable month and psychologists suggest that everything builds up to the most miserable day of the year: January 25.
Which is a real pity for St Paul’s, because January 25 is our big day: it’s the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul. We’re celebrating it by having a big service and inviting all the other churches round to celebrate with us.
As we welcome all the other churches to our service, we have the chance to show what a warm family we are. A community of the sort you so rarely get any more in London – one where people actually know their neighbours and care if people haven’t made it to church one Sunday.
Being a part of the family is what it’s all about at Christmas. Jesus is born – as real flesh and blood – into a family; to be loved and cared for by his mother and his adopted father. And it’s our own families that often mean so much to us at Christmas.
But Jesus, of course, talked about a second family – his friends; his disciples. And, in a very real way, the Church is called to be our second family, especially when the chips are down; when our own family is far away or gone forever. It’s then that the Church - the whole body of Christian pilgrims - gathered here in Winchmore Hill is called to rally round; to pray, to visit, to break bread with.
So let’s have a great January and make our brothers and sisters from across Winchmore Hill see the warmth and love of the Church.
From all the team at St Paul’s, I wish you a very enjoyable rest of Christmas and a prosperous new year!
Marcus Walker
Magazine Editor: Susan Chambers Email: magazinespwh@yahoo.co.uk