Dear Friends,

One of the things that tends to jog our memories are the photographs that we take. In a digital age, many people have hundreds of photos stored on their mobile phones. If we are at an event or meeting up with friends, if there are family landmarks or occasions, out come the phones to record the moment.

Sometimes we like to print off the photos and make a book or an album as something concrete and physical people can flick through. This can be particularly helpful for people whose memory is diminishing and seeing familiar faces in a photograph can trigger many special memories that might not otherwise be reached.

There’s a joyful side to remembering and also a poignant or more painful aspect. We love to look back on those happy holidays or gatherings with friends or family but at the same time we feel sadness when we think how many of the special people who were assembled are no longer with us. In the church we try to capture the totality of this in some special services and events in November.

On the first Sunday of the month, at the evening service, we host our annual Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance for the lives of those connected with the parish who have died in the previous year. We use photographs and white flowers to focus our thoughts on these special people and all they have brought to our lives and the life of the parish over the years of their earthly life. We also reflect on the distinctively Christian approach to death which reminds us that this life is not all there is and we frame our hope in that eternal context.

On the second Sunday in November at our morning service, we remember those who have perished in times of war and conflict. We think of those who made that ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of freedom for their country and its people. We think too of those who continue to pay that price as they live with injury, disability and mental scars. We also take the opportunity on that Sunday in remembering to pray for parts of our world that continue to be affected by the awfulness of war.

November is a month when the Finance Committee and the Select Vestry, working on all our behalf, seek to allocate 10% of our income in obedience to that Biblical principle to the work of mission and local and international charities. We recall with gratitude how God has met our needs and provided for us and we seek to invest in His work and resource it both locally and internationally. There are a number of organisations with whom we have partnered for many years as we see the very real benefits of their work and how it impacts and affects the lives of people in great need and vulnerability. November marks the beginning of the season of Advent.

Advent is that Holy season of 4 weeks or so which invites our hearts to prepare to welcome the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ at Christmas time.

The Advent Carol Service on the evening of Sunday 27th November is a powerful liturgical way to begin that journey. It can be a conscious effort to pause to remember Him as the range of activities on offer tends to escalate at this time of year.

There are often Christmas concerts and parties, there are seasonal lunches and advertising campaigns reminding us of whatever happens to be this season’s ‘must have’ gadgets and accessories. The pressures to respond to this are not insignificant particularly in a time of spiralling energy costs and the effects of a cost of living crisis that make the poor and most marginalised feel even more isolated. There is a certain level of anxiety as we try to process all the demands on our time and our resources and we don’t always handle that so well. With this in mind, we would like to flag up a special evening put together by Dr. Stephen Rodgers, a GP and Pastor of King’s Way Church in Dunmurry. On Tuesday 6th December, Stephen will be addressing an open meeting in the church hall at 7.30pm on the subject of ‘Coping with stress from a medical and pastoral perspective’. We are very grateful to Stephen for coming to speak on such an important subject, his own medical and pastoral experience give him a real insight that we are privileged to learn from.

We thank the Church of Ireland’s Mind Matters Project for funding this important evening and we hope it will be well supported and parishioners will feel free to invite friends and neighbours. It’s a date to note in the diary.

In this magazine you will find an article about the work of Christians Against Poverty and how they are trying to alleviate the distress and pressure felt by some in the local community at this time. If that’s an area of interest to you and you are in a position to help, please avail of that opportunity. Sometimes remembering is very painful. It can remind us of painful realities in our world like the suffering and struggle of others, it can trigger feelings of guilt or feeling overwhelmed. When there are so many needs we wonder how we can best respond? Many of us feel quite stretched in terms of our energy, our time, our financial resources as things are.

During this Advent we will be taking the opportunity to reflect on and remember God’s generosity towards us and considering how we can
respond practically and thoughtfully and prayerfully over the season. We will be using a resource prepared by our Diocese called The Generosity Project and what I find helpful about it is that it looks at different aspects and resources of our lives holistically.

Sometimes the church serves to make overburdened people feel worse about themselves and we would want to do what we can to correct that as we journey forward in faith together.

If anyone who is unable to make it out to church over the Advent season would like to receive Holy Communion at home, please let one of the clergy know. We would be glad to come and share with you in that way.

With very best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan Pierce (Rector)

Telephone 02890 793822