Seven Churches in South Oxfordshire

From the Rector: Tuesday 29th November 2022

In Christ Alone

Dear friends,

It has been a year when we have seen the government implode, not once but twice. We are faced with the bill, a figure beyond most of us, and to meet it we will likely as not have to sell our children. Please, don’t think I am being partisan. I am not. I am old enough to remember the messes that earlier Governments of all persuasion have made. This is a crisis that has been a lifetime in the making, with the slow erosion of moral standards in public life, the unquestioning adoption of questionable values, and a singular failure of imagination across every sphere of political life. In that I belong to the national church, a body tasked with, amongst other things, the inspiration of goodness and truth in public as well as private discourse, I must hold up I my hand, and confess that I, too, am culpable. Happily, the Advent season reminds us that hope is not something that can be conjured by magic, or the media, or a protest vote. Hope is God’s gift, to which we look, for which we pray and on which we wait. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

We enjoyed a song by Keith and Kristyn Getty in our worship at Checkendon last Sunday. Keith Getty is a author of the popular hymn “In Christ Alone” which is highly apposite just now. Here it is on Youtube for you to enjoy.

Worship Services for Sunday  4th December

9.30am Family Service at St John’s, Stoke Row with Mr Peter Ferguson

11am Morning Prayer at St Peter and Paul, Checkendon with Revd Romey Poston

Midweek zoom service: Wednesday Evensong at 5.00pm  410 935 129

Other service options for elsewhere in the Team can be found on the Langtree Team Ministry Churches website. Do join us for worship either in person, or online, or both. Don’t forget that you now can support both Checkendon  and  Stoke Row churches via dedicated and secure online card donation pages. Just click on the link. It is very easy! Thank you for your support.

Looking ahead

A full listing of Christmas Services is now available on the Team Ministry website. Do put these in your diary, and please, please, bring your family and friends with you if you plan to have guests. There are going to be some terrific services across the Team this Christmas, as long as you are there!

Don’t forget the Coffee and Mince Pie morning at Checkendon Village Hall on Sat 4th from 10am. A wonderful opportunity to meet up and catch up with friends old and new.

Please remember in your prayers the family of Barbara Spokes, whose funeral is at Checkendon Church on Monday 5th, and also Amelia Thorton and Qasim Afzal, whose marriage blessing is on December 10th.

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.” Psalm 62:1-2

Your Rector, Canon Kevin

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