St. Clement’s Beginning of Advent Message
Dear People & Friends of St. Clement’s,
Yes – we are into the season of Advent which started last Sunday. Of course, the manufacturers of Advent calendars always believe that Advent begins on 1st December which only happens occasionally. As I was explaining to the Primary School children at Riverside School last Monday when I spoke at their morning assembly, Advent always begins four Sundays before Christmas meaning it can start as early as 27th November (which it will in 2011) or as late as 3rd December.
The word ‘Advent’ literally means ‘coming’. Last Sunday, we very much thought about the promise of Christ’s second advent or coming. This Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent, the Gospel Reading focuses on John the Baptist who prepared the way for the first coming of Jesus. The reading can be found in Matthew 3. 1-12 and, as I frequently suggest, why not read it for yourself in advance of hearing it read publicly on Sunday morning. Therefore…..
Sunday 5th December at 11am – Sung Eucharist for the Second Sunday of Advent
There will be Sunday School led this Sunday by TerriAnne Novak. Following the service there will be a Shared Lunch on the third floor of Klimentská 18. Please bring some finger food that can be easily shared. Hot & cold drinks will be provided. I would welcome a couple of people to volunteer to help with washing up & cleaning up following the lunch as Caroline Studdert, who normally does this nearly every week after Coffee Hour, is a member your Church Council & the Council will be meeting immediately following our lunch on Sunday.
Wednesday 8th December – Meet the Chaplain in Prague City Centre I will, as usual, be available for a chat + coffee or tea & biscuits, between 4pm and 6pm at
Communio Centre Karolíny Svĕtlé 21 (nearly opposite the Rotunda of the Holy Cross) Prague 1
At 6pm, I will say Evening Prayer at the same venue and would welcome others to join me. There is an easy booklet to follow, just as we have on Sunday, and within the service there will be the opportunity for extemporary or silent prayer. The service itself will last no more than thirty minutes.
Then from 6.30pm until 7.30pm, there will be an Informal Bible Study, again at the same venue.
Thursday 9th December at 6pm – ‘A land of unbelievers: does religious faith still have relevance in a secular Czech Republic?’
David Vaughan has asked me to publicise this discussion in English. Panellists include the author of the best-selling “Economics of Good and Evil”, Tomáš Sedláček, and the acclaimed poet, Sylva Fischerová.
Radio Prague, in cooperation with the Czech Literary Portal, takes pleasure in inviting you to a literary discussion in English. With Christmas and Chanukah – the Jewish festival of light – just round the corner, does the Czech Republic’s rich Christian and Jewish legacy still have meaning in today’s secular state? Does and should this legacy continue to define our ethical decisions? What does religion mean to today’s generation of Czech writers and thinkers? Come and join in the discussion, followed by light refreshments. The venue is Shakespeare and Sons, U Lužického semináře 10, Prague 1.
I intend to be there & it would be good if other members of the St. Clement’s congregation could be too. Admission is free.
Sunday 12th December – Third Sunday of Advent
As well as our normal Sung Eucharist at 11am with Sunday School, there will be in the evening, starting at 6pm
A Service of Nine Lessons & Carols
An opportunity to hear again the good news of the birth of Jesus Christ and join in the singing of traditional Christmas carols. A small choir will also sing a number of familiar pieces from ‘Handel’s Messiah’ and seasonal refreshments will be served following the service.
As well as attending yourself, this is also a wonderful opportunity to invite family and friends who do not normally come to Church. Start thinking now, who you are going to invite to come!
Thursday 16th December – Ethics at Lunchtime – a joint event of the British Chamber of Commerce in the ČR and St. Clement’s Anglican Episcopal Church
Our second lunchtime discussion will take place at the Zinc Restaurant, Hilton Prague Old Town, V Celnici 7, 111 21 Prague on Thursday 16th December beginning at 12:30. The very seasonable topic for discussion will be “Is Christmas too commercial?”
Everyone is welcome but each person will be responsible for paying the Zinc Restaurant for their own lunch (390 CZK per person for a two course set menu including tea/coffee and petit fours). There is also the need to register to attend so we can tell the hotel how many to cater for. This should be possible shortly via the BCC in the ČR website but in the meantime, just drop me an email & I’ll add you to the list. This is another opportunity to invite work colleagues to a non-threatening event – a bit of pre-evangelism as someone described it!
A couple of other reminders……
Forum
I’m very pleased to say that our Forum on www.anglican.cz has taken off. My thanks particularly to Gordon Truefit who has started the ball rolling with some interesting discussion around the epistle reading from 2 Thessalonians 3 a couple of weeks ago. Also, thank you to several more members of the congregation who have recently signed up to be part of it. Therefore a reminder once more from our Webmaster Sybille, as to how the Forum works & how to be part of it.
The forum is located at http://susanaj10.sg-host.com//forum/ and consists of two parts. One is the publicly visible one, the one you see when you are not logged in. There is also a members only area available, that is only visible for members of St. Clement’s when they are logged in. The reason for setting it up like this is to a) provide basic information to guests whilst b) avoiding problems with spammers and maintaining a certain level of online security and privacy for everybody. To sign up go to http://susanaj10.sg-host.com//forum/index.php?action=register What happens next is that I will have to activate your account (that is in order to prevent spammers from posting) and then you are good to post. If I or Ricky ‘know’ your email address, you will be also get access to the members only area. If you are using an email during registration that is unknown to us, please drop us a note, in order to achieve the same.
Used postage stamps
As the postman starts delivering Christmas cards into your mail box, please save the used postage stamps on the envelopes as they can be used to raise money for the Intercontinental Church Society (ICS) who financially and prayerfully support St. Clements. Leave the stamp(s) on the envelope & cut or tear off the corner of the envelope where the stamp(s) are located, leaving about a 5mm border around the stamp(s). Then bring them to Church and place them in the collecting envelope pinned to the noticeboard at the back of the Church building. The only stamps which are not wanted are British ones bearing only the Queen’s head as these are worth very little because they are so common.
If you have dropped used stamps into the collecting envelope recently & are wondering why it is now empty it is because those stamps are sitting safely in the Chaplaincy flat, ready to be sent off to ICS, leaving plenty of space for fresh donations in the next few weeks!
Sunday School
As mentioned above, there will be Sunday School this coming Sunday and also on Sunday 12th & Sunday 19th December. There will then be a break with Sunday School resuming on Sunday 9th January 2011. Children will of course, still be welcome at services on the intervening Sundays & the service on Christmas Day at 11am will very much seek to be child & family friendly.
Recorded Service for the BBC ‘On the Feast of Stephen’.
Whilst writing this message, I’ve just received an email from Stephen Shipley to say he has now finished editing the service and that a CD of it is on its way to me. I will find out what the situation is regarding making copies & let everybody know via next week’s message. A reminder that the service will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday 26th December 2010 at 08.10 GMT which is 09.10 CET here in the Czech Republic. You will be able to listen to it over the internet via the BBC website.
That is more than enough from me for this week!
Best wishes
Ricky
