Your churchwardens have started an operation clearing out the church. The West porch is now empty and can be used as emergency exit and as we know from previous years brides like to make their entrance this way. We no longer have to shift loads of boxes and other stuff to let them have their big moment.

The mortuary has been cleared of unusable items and junk. Racking has been put up to store items more efficiently and we will use this space to move more items from church to mortuary.

The children’s play area has been cleaned and sorted by Jessie and some more weeding will take place here. The choir vestry looks almost empty and is a much better space for it.

As a result we have a much better idea what we actually have and we have been able to keep items that are in good order in favour of some very tatty second and third versions we did not even know we had!

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Dear all

One of the most interesting but yet possibly controversial facts about the New Testament texts is that the story or accounts of the life of Jesus are told in many different ways. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell a similar story, but often place certain events and happenings in different places. They are known as the Synoptic Gospels. They each tell of the life of Jesus and what it means to be his follower in a different way. Each has its own slant or its own take on Jesus’ life and ministry and it is thought that they all took their material from a written or oral source which scholars have named ‘Q’. ‘Q’ itself has never been found and in some circles this idea can also be controversial too! John’s gospel stands alone as being quite different and is often thought of as being the most ‘spiritual’. There is much in John that does not appear in the Synoptic Gospels and vice versa. So we might think, well how can we know which is the true version of what really happened all those years ago? Does this difference mean that the life and story of Jesus is not true? Does this mean that Jesus did not ever exist and it’s all a load of rubbish? Well the answer to these questions is an emphatic no as you might expect a vicar to say – but for me it makes the events and stories of Jesus life, death and of course the most important point for Christianity – the resurrection, even more authentic and believable!

We cannot know for sure how the gospel writers came about their information but we have to remember that at that time, oral tradition was very strong, although they themselves used written scrolls which were the writings of what we call the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible. The thing is we have four wonderful accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus and although written at different times and places they all agree on the most important things. That Jesus was God’s Son born to come and show us who God is. He came to fulfil the Law of Moses and to spread the knowledge and love of God not only to Israel but to all peoples and nations. He was put to death by those who thought he was a blasphemer and were frightened by who he said he was. He died on a cross on a Friday, outside the walls of Jerusalem, was buried in a tomb the same day with a very heavy stone sealing it, but by the Sunday morning the tomb was empty and the disciples were terrified, even when Jesus appeared to them later that day. Each one of them had to make up their own mind about who Jesus was and what was taking place. We too are invited to make up our minds about who Jesus was and what it meant and still means for our lives, our community, nationally and globally.
At the moment at church we have two study groups running, one in the afternoon at the vicarage and one in the evening meeting at different homes in the village. Currently we are studying John’s gospel and will continue to do so for some weeks yet! If you are interested in finding out more about the Christian faith, John’s gospel is a good place to begin. Do join us if you are interested!

At the end of a very busy week as I write this, I am aware that there are many people in our community, who live or work here, or both, who are concerned about some of our village institutions, namely the future of our school remaining on two bases, Capel and Ockley; and also our village pub. I would like to assure you as one of the governors of Scott Broadwood looking after both bases – we are one school; that Scott Broadwood is thriving academically and pastorally as a Church of England School. Yet we have to make sure our school is going to be financially viable for it to survive for generations to come. Likewise our village pub has at times had a bad press especially on social media. I would like to confirm that this week I had a very enjoyable lunch and met the new chef who is very committed to The Crown as are our Landlord and Lady. Running any business is tough these days and in village life rumours abound. I’m putting my head above the parapet to say ‘Come on everyone, let’s remember what really matters in life. Let’s remember that we all have our own ‘take’ on what we see and observe others doing around us. Let’s do what we can for two of the most important institutions in our community and I include our neighbouring village of Ockley here – the school and the pub! Then of course there’s the church….. oh well, we will talk about that next time! I feel a toast is in order…….

With my love and prayers as ever.
Revd Liz

The post Thoughts for February appeared first on St John the Baptist Church.

Dear all

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat, please put a penny in the old man’s hat. If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do, if you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you!

The words of this old Christmas rhyme come to mind as I write this letter to you all. First off, ‘Christmas is coming’ – rather fast now – and we have much to offer everyone in the way of our Christmas services and events this December. There are all the usual favourites and I do hope you will join us in one or more of our services. Please do note that the title ‘midnight communion’ is a bit misleading and that due to your vicar needing some sleep we begin at 11 and that by midnight communion has taken place and we will be ready to wish one another a happy Christmas as we sing Silent Night by candlelight. Of course Father Christmas would rather you were all tucked up in bed early too!!

Next, ‘the geese are getting fat’ – I do feel a bit sorry for all poultry at this time of the year but I am afraid my sorrow hasn’t made me into a vegetarian yet although if I worked at a turkey farm…. but I don’t intend to! This line though evokes thoughts of this season of plenty, of tables groaning with festive food, but of course there are many who struggle at this time of the year, trying to put festive food on the table, not to mention buying Christmas presents. With this in mind, we do our usual trip to Christ Church Brixton with presents kindly donated by many in our community for any adults or children who are in need. See our Church diary page for more details of when and how to be involved. Many thanks to Phil Partridge for being our Christmas delivery man. We also as a church help BESOM put together some special Christmas hampers for those in our community who they as an organisation have assisted this year. BESOM is a Dorking based project which offers practical help and support to those who need it. If you would like to contribute something to the Christmas hampers pop into church and there will be a list for you to put a tick against and more details. BESOM also collect and distribute much needed items of furniture and homeware so pick up a leaflet about them in church if you think you might have something to pass on.

Then ‘please put a penny in the old man’s hat’. Christmas is a key time for charities to ask for money isn’t it and in the last few weeks and months we have been asking for money for our rebuilding and repointing of the church boundary walls. We have been doing a lot of fundraising events and we thank you so much for your kind and very generous contributions. Work will once again be underway when the building conditions are right and we look forward to seeing more boundary wall completed. Our art group St John’s Artists, following on from our successful Art Exhibition in October have also now printed some Christmas cards for sale. They are all individually designed and painted by our members. They will be on sale at all Christmas services and events so do have a look at them. There is a lovely one of the Christmas tree lights against the backdrop of our church in snowy conditions! Any proceeds will go to the wall fund again and we have many creative and entertaining ideas for fundraising next year too! We have not just been raising money for the wall though. Suzanne Cole our local Children’s Society representative recently held her annual coffee morning and raised funds for this wonderful cause. The big one will be our annual Christingle service which returns to its end of January slot, when the children will have saved their pennies in their special Christingle collecting pot, and this along with our Christingle collection will help towards the work of The Children’s Society. We also collected over £300 for the work of CMS (Church Mission Society) at the last Capel teas of the year. Teas will begin again on Mothering Sunday 2017 so don’t forget to collect your free Capel Church Diary for 2017 which is now available in church too.

‘If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do’ – suggests we give as we can afford. In February next year we will distributing a leaflet to every household in our parish asking for your help in maintaining our church. The costs of running our church are £152 per day! We can only afford to pay our bills and maintenance costs by the generous giving of so many of you. However we have a daily shortfall of £37.72 which we manage to cover partially from income gained from investments, but £10.35 is left outstanding every day. If all could give a ha’penny (if there is such a thing these days!) but in other words a very small amount it would really help to keep providing a warm, dry, welcoming church for everyone.

Finally ‘if you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you’ – the gift of money is just one way of giving and we wish you God’s richest blessings for the year ahead and beyond. God’s gift to us is his blessing always and never more so than in the gift of his son Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus was born to show us who God is – a God who wanted to come alongside us – a God who is present with us through dark times and light. A God who never leaves us. May God bless you this Christmas time + Happy Christmas to you all.

With my love and prayers

Revd Liz

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