Dear Friends,

We begin this month with our wonderful Christingle Service at church. This annual event is held each year at Candlemas. Although Christingle services are often celebrated at Christmas, we like to mark ours at Candlemas—a special day which brings the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany to an end.

Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Presentation, recalls how the infant Jesus, revealed to the Magi at his birth, is now recognised in the Temple in Jerusalem by Simeon and Anna. These two faithful people have waited in the Temple for many years and rejoice that at last they have seen both “a light to lighten the Gentiles” and “the glory of God’s people Israel.” I think Candlemas is also a very good way to say goodbye to another January!

Yet alongside the joy of this occasion comes a solemn warning. Jesus’ parents are told that the redemption he will bring must be won through suffering. The story of his birth is already pointing towards the Passion, and so our focus gently moves away from the celebrations of Christmas and towards the mysteries of Easter.

At our Christingle service, everyone receives an orange with a candle fixed into the top, cocktail sticks with sweets, and a red ribbon tied around it. As we light the candles, dim the lights, and sing a gentle song, the church is filled with warmth and hope. Our collection that day goes to The Children’s Society, making this a very special service indeed. We hope to be joined by our school families and uniformed groups as we celebrate this joyful occasion together.

February also sees the start of our Alpha Course, which we are very much looking forward to. The first session will be on Tuesday 10th February at 7.00pm. Please do contact me or Revd Gill if you would like to join us. I once heard someone describe Alpha as not so much about religion as about discovering God—and to that I say, Amen!

There is even more to look forward to at the end of the month with a new fundraising event on Saturday 28th February—our first Organ Recital, to be held at St Margaret’s Church, Ockley. Organist Benjamin Morrell will give a full and varied recital, along with a short talk on the rare and remarkable Holdich Organ at St Margaret’s. Wine and refreshments will be served during the interval. Benjamin is Organ Scholar Emeritus of Trinity College, Oxford, so we are in for a real treat. Please do support this event, which is the first of our parish fundraisers for the year. A separate advertisement appears elsewhere in this magazine.

So, as we begin the month with candlelight and a celebration of Jesus as the light of the world through our Candlemas Christingle service, we also have the opportunity to explore what that means more deeply through Alpha, as we move towards Lent, March, and Mothering Sunday. More about that next month.

In the meantime, I pray that God may be for you ‘the spring of everlasting light’ in all that this month brings.

With my love and prayers
Liz
Revd.Liz Richardson
liz@hostmyserver.co.uk