 Sundays Best - A Pick of the Readings First Reading: 1 Samuel 26:2. 7-9. 12-13. 22-23 A reading from the first book of Samuel. Saul set off and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand men chosen from Israel to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph. So in the dark David and Abishai made their way towards the force, where they found Saul asleep inside the camp, his spear stuck in the ground beside his head, with Abner and the troops lying round him. Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has put your enemy in your power; so now let me pin him to the ground with his own spear. Just one stroke! I will not need to strike him twice.” David answered Abishai, “Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt?” David took the spear and the pitcher of water from beside Saul’s head, and they made off. No one saw, no one knew, no one woke up; they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them. David crossed to the other side and halted on the top of the mountain a long way off; there was a wide space between them. David then called out, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the soldiers come across and take it. The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty. Today the Lord put you in my power, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.” | Diary Dates Coffee Mornings: From 10.00am every Tuesday throughout February ) Services: Thu 28th Feb 9.30am Feria Sun 3rd Mar 9.30am (last before Lent) Parish Mass Wed 6th Mar 9.30am Imposition of Ashes - (Ash Wednesday) 10th Mar 9.30am Parish Mass (1st Sunday in Lent) Meetings: Parochial Church Council Mon 11th March Future Events Bishops Visit Wednesday 27th March Bishop Pete is visiting the Deanery between 10.30am & 2.30pm. The event will be hosted by Penistone St Johns but there will be an opportunity for all Parishes to make presentation of their work. Concerts WW2 Brass: Thur 5th September. Themed Concert to coincide with the start of the Second World War. Will also include a pictorial presentation. More details to follow. Xmas Brass: Thur 12th December. Usual mix of seasonal and contemporary music. Both concerts will feature Worsbrough Brass.  |
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 On the evening of 24 December the Church’s celebration of Christmas begins. We have Midnight Mass at St Andrew’s at 11.30 pm and the following morning the Christmas Day Mass at St Peter’s at 10 am. For the Church, the season of Christmastide continues up to 13 January this year and ends on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The most special days of this time are from Christmas Eve through to New Year’s Day, also called the Octave (eighth) day of Christmas. Just as with Easter, there are eight special days, simply because these times of year are so meaningful in the Church’s calendar.
Christmas celebrates the human birth of the Son of God, who was named Jesus. This fulfils God’s promise to be with his people and not to be distant from them or indifferent to their needs. God is with us and cares for us. For this reason the Christian faith always holds out hope for a new and better future. Even in our struggles we can become aware of the ways in which God is with us to inspire us and strengthen us and to fill our lives with his love. This does not bring the promise of an easy life, but it does hold out the prospect of countless blessings and the living hope of eternal life. We hope that you will have a joyful and peaceful Christmas and find time to be with family and friends as well as to get some well-earned rest. You are invited to come and join us too as we worship the God who is always with us.  An Advent Message from Fr Richard Not long to Christmas now! We are currently around the mid-point of Advent. There is much more to this time of year than just a countdown to Christmas. Advent is a season of its own in the Church’s year and is symbolised by the colour purple and by the coloured candles which are used for each Sunday during this time (three purple, one rose and a central white one for the coming of Christmas). During this time we can think about what it means to live in the expectation, not only of Christmas, but of the coming of Jesus Christ whose birth we are preparing to celebrate. The Advent candles represent: the Patriarchs who first led the people of Israel; the Prophets, who announced the coming of a Saviour; John the Baptist, who pointed Jesus out for other people and called them to prepare a way for him; and the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to the Son of God. So we can see that the birth of a Messiah was expected long before Jesus was born. When he came, not everyone was prepared for him and many did not accept him. Yet his life, death and resurrection brought change to the lives of so many and still does today. Those who live in the hope and expectation of knowing Jesus and the life he brings will not be disappointed. We need to prepare a way for him in our own lives though. This means turning away from the darkness of selfishness and cynicism. It means being prepared to grow in faith and in love for others. Christmas is an exciting time of year, but it can be a sad time also for many people. The Advent hope is that even in our sadness we can find our lives lit up by the presence of the Christ who was born in Bethlehem and who promised to be with us now and always. It is my own hope that many more people will find this special joy and the peace of knowing that we are loved unconditionally by the God who is always with us. Calendar for remainder of December Coffee Mornings: From 10.00am every Tuesday throughout December (except Christmas Day!) Services: Wed 19th Dec 12.00 noon Feria Thur 20th Dec 12.00 noon Feria Sun 23rd Dec 9.30am Parish Mass Christmas Eve Midnight Mass 11.30pm The Christmas Day Benefice Mass will be at St Peters at 10.00am Benefice Mass on 30th December will be at St Andrews at 10.00am. Social Activities: The Christmas Dinner was held this year at the Crown Inn on Monday 10th December. It included a raffle and quiz - great meal and great company. Thanks to Cath, Michael and the team for their hard work in helping make this an enjoyable evening. Worsbrough Brass once again gave a super performance in church on Thursday 13th December. The programme really put us in the Christmas spirit - thanks to all who supported this event. We look forward to our next concert hopefully in September next year.
View the slideshow below to catch up with our various projects and events to support and maintain the church. As I write this, we are already in that point of the Church’s year which is known as “Holy Week”. Although Christmas tends to be a bigger event in our country, for Christians this week is right at the heart of our faith. The main days are: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. On the Thursday we remember the way in which Jesus gives us the example of loving service in the washing of his disciples’ feet. Even the Son of God did not consider himself too high and mighty to attend to people’s needs in a caring way. He also gave his disciples a “New Commandment” by which Christians promise to live by putting love at the centre of everything they do. Good Friday recalls the sacrifice Jesus made for the sake of truth and justice in the face of all opposition. If it were not for Easter and its message of new life, this Friday would be the bleakest of days.The first Easter began with an empty tomb and some very perplexed disciples. It was only later that they began to experience that Jesus was alive and that this was no mere figment of imagination. God is the giver of life and our human story does not end in death. Many who were sceptical about the message of the Resurrection came to believe as they experienced for themselves the life which could not be contained in a tomb. The stone was rolled away from the tomb not just for them but for us also. If we are open to the Easter message then it becomes a new beginning for us too; a source of hope and joy. So Happy Easter! Father Richard.
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Saint AndrewI am a rather old Saint. Archives
June 2019
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