From the Vicar
Are you good at waiting?
For most of us, I suspect, waiting for anything is not something we enjoy doing. Whether it’s a holiday, a new baby, test results or Christmas, we want the waiting to be over. But waiting can be a time of focussing and positive anticipation. Particularly at Christmas time there are so many preparations to make that the waiting passes all too quickly.
Christians use Advent, the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas - this year actually starting on 1st December - to focus on waiting. We’re not just waiting for Christmas, but for Jesus to come back to earth as he promised he would at the end of time. And as we wait for that (admittedly rather scary prospect) we can learn to look out for him coming to us by his Holy Spirit in the everyday moments of life. We prepare our hearts and our lives for Jesus to come, just as we prepare our homes for extra visitors at Christmas time.
We’ll be preparing our church for extra visitors too, on 14th December from 10am-12noon. You’re welcome to come and help, and we hope you’ll come along to other events over the Christmas period too, either at St Andrew’s, Tadpole Farm Academy or the Jovial Monk Pub in St Andrew’s Ridge.
Look forward to seeing you to celebrate Christmas soon!
Sally
Around the Parish
School Governors
“School governors can transform the lives of children and young people by improving education standards. Working as a team, governors support and challenge senior school leadership. Their professional skills and expertise are harnessed to make strategic decisions that improve the learning environment and future prospects for children in schools.”
This is how the charity ‘Governors for School’ describes the role of a school governor and it’s a good description of a role which can be adapted to fit your time and experience.
Tadpole Farm CE Primary Academy is in need of a couple more Foundation Governors, which means people who will help improve the school as all governors do, and do so from the perspective of their Christian faith.
The time to attend meetings (early Monday evening once every month or two) and the ability to ask questions and listen to answers are the basic requirements. Being able to pop into school during the day, every so often, to learn about the pupils, staff and running of the school and personal or professional skills that you can share within the governing body would be an added bonus.
If you are interested in finding out more about being a Governor at Tadpole Farm please contact the Clerk to the Governors Suzanna Miles or Revd Sally Robertson.
We would love to see your contributions!
Please help with contributions to the online news. You could write about your faith, the church building and history, community events - anything of interest to the parish. Please email contributions to Brian: brian@brianclegg.net
Wider World
Diocese of Bristol Synod Declares a Climate Emergency
The Diocese of Bristol had just declared a climate emergency and become the first in the UK to commit to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030 (20 years earlier than the aim of the national church). This ground-breaking announcement comes as the wider world seems to be waking up to the severity of the climate crisis.
This is not about jumping on a band wagon, or being the first past the post. As Revd David Stephenson, vicar of St Paul's and Cotham Parish Church, who brought the motion to debate at the Synod, puts it: 'Declaring Climate Crisis challenges our own priorities and commits us as churches to work with others to respond to an emergency with global reach. Declaration is calling to others; it is also commitment to ourselves and to the gospel.' - Read more on the Diocese website.
A carol for Christmas
A beautiful carol by Peter Warlock to wish you a contemplative Advent and a joyous Christmas.