Hot off the press (well, warmish) is our parish quarterly newsletter (WHAM). In this issue is a brief reflection by Lynnette Lightfoot on what Easter means for us today when the most obvious thing about it is the conspicuous consumption of chocolate… Continue reading
Category Archives: Liturgy
Time to get stirring?
No, it’s not yet Stir Up Sunday (but that must be soon?), when we include a Christmas-cake mixing liturgy in our Sunday worship. That’s always fun, although not so much the part where we cream the butter and sugar! But this is a reminder to those who are offering a cake—or cakes—for sale at our ‘From the Church Gate’ Christmas stall at the Amberley A & P Show: the Show will be on Saturday 1st November, so it may be wise to start making them soon. Get in touch with our parish administrator or vestry members if you need help sourcing ingredients or subsidising the costs.
Last Spring, we took it in turns to look after the church stall for the day. Not only did we sell all but one of the cakes, but people enjoyed their time on ‘duty’ and had great conversations and laughs with locals and visitors alike. It felt really good just to be ‘our there’ and visible. Many older people living alone bought one of the smaller cakes—perfect for enjoying a slice with visitors over the festive season. And busy working families bought our largest cakes; they just don’t have time to spend hours in the kitchen, but they still want the homemade taste.
Jams, marmalades and cordials also sold very well last year, and will be gratefully received again.
‘From the church gate’
Habit# 6 – Well-formed leadership
Click here to read the 6th instalment in a thought-provoking series of posts by Rev. Bosco Peters on his blogsite liturgy.co.nz We have been re-blogging the series from the beginning. This one is about well-formed leadership. It would be wonderful to see some comments from followers here.
Father Jim Cotter, RIP
On liturgy.co.nz you can read this tribute by Rev. Bosco Peters to Jim Cotter and the liturgical treasures he has left us. We are blessed that some of these are in our own A New Zealand Prayer Book (He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa).
The angels of God guard us through the night
and quieten the powers of darkness.
The Spirit of God be our guide
to lead us to peace and to glory.
[And guide you, Father Jim, on your way.]
Palm Sunday liturgy
Palm Sunday Procession
The palms may NOT have been palms exactly (mostly cuttings of NZ native shrubs, in fact) but this Sunday a hardy band of people, young and old, braved the cool, damp autumn morning to gather for the Liturgy of the Palms, marking the beginning of Continue reading
Habit # 4: Quality Music
Here is #4 in the series by Rev’d Bosco Peters, from his site liturgy.co.nz. So far he has advocated these habits: Focus on God; Be Welcoming; and Help Others. In this latest, Bosco looks at the role of music in the life of the church, and I don’t mean just the singing of hymns. When was the last time we sang any of our liturgy in the Amberley parish, or chanted a psalm? Click here to read more.
Cartoon comment
This CartoonChurch.com cartoon by Dave Walker originally appeared in the Church Times. It is one of his ‘Dave Walker Guide to the Church’ series. To see more, click here.
Seven habits… #2
Followers will know that this blog is following a series of articles by Rev. Bosco Peters on liturgy.co.nz. The latest one, ‘Habit 2 – Be Welcoming,’ is most timely. On 15 February [update: now 22nd], our Welcomers, Readers, Intercessors, & Worship Leaders will attend a workshop to refresh our skills in being welcoming, and in making our readings, prayers and liturgical patterns audible and meaningful to all.
Click on the link to read: Habit 2 – Be welcoming.
Seven Habits… #1
A new series of articles by Rev. Bosco Peters on his site liturgy.co.nz is well worth a look. Here is the first article— about our focus on God—and there is much for us to reflect on. Happy reading (and commenting). Click on the link: Seven Habits of Highly Effective Churches 1.
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