Welcome!
On behalf of Wesley Road Chapel
we offer you a warm welcome.
Perhaps you are curious about
what goes on in this building.
Maybe you are looking for
friendship and a place to belong.
It could be that you would like
someone to pray for you.
You may be here because you are
part of one of the groups which use the building or because you are here
for a wedding or baptism or funeral.
Whatever the reason we are glad
you are here and would like to offer you some information about what
goes on here.
Please do not hesitate to pick
up a phone and find out more,
Every blessing
Rev Paul Allen and Rev Darren
Garfield
Tel: 0113 279 4816
-o0o-
MINISTER’S
LETTER
December 2011
Dear Friends,
I remember as a child learning the poem by John Betjeman,
'Christmas', and nervously
reciting it in church one
Christmas time. It evokes a
time gone by, when it talks
about lamp oils lighting
across the night, holly in
the hedge, paper decorations
and bunting in the Town
Hall. Some of us may recall
the days of tramcars.
Betjeman is also wonderful
at describing how the
'marbled clouds go scudding
by/the many-steepled London
sky.' And he pokes fun at
gifts that are given with
love but received
reluctantly, such as the
'hideous tie so kindly
meant.' But he also notices
something much 'deeper' than
the things we see on the
surface.
It is no longer surprising that Christmas gets earlier each
year; businesses are under
pressure to sell the latest
Christmas must-haves and the
shops are already brimming
with Christmas cards,
wrapping and tinsel. Still
I love Christmas! I love
the atmosphere, the carol
singing in the streets, the
Christingle service, the
midnight Communion service
and the celebrations on
Christmas Day. I love
seeing people opening
presents, and I quite like
opening presents as well!
There's nothing wrong with that, and it draws us closer
together. But there is a
message that must never be
lost. It is a message of a
baby in an ox's stall, a
message of the creator of
the universe becoming a
child on earth for us all;
how God became a human
being, who lived and
breathed and walked the
streets of Palestine and yet
is also with us today by his
Spirit, offering peace and
joy and love.
All best wishes, a happy Christmas and peaceful New Year,
 Darren
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
