December Service Rota in the Six Parishes

Badger Beckbury

Ryton Kemberton

Stockton

Sutton Maddock

November 30th

10.30am Advent CHOIR

(KH)

2.00pm Christmas

Fair

December 7th

9.30am Communion

trad

(KH)

9.30am Morning Worship

(LT)

11.00am Communion

new (KH)

11.00am Matins

(LT)

14th 9.30am Communion

New (KH)

9.30am Matins

(TD)

4.00pm Carol Service

(KH)

21st 5.00pm

Carol Service

(KH)

Sat 20th5.00pm Carols in the

Stable (KH)

3.30pm

Carol Service (KH)

24th 11.00pm Communion

(CM)

11.00pm Communion

(KH)

25th 9.30am Communion

(KH)

10.00am Communion

(KH)

11.00am Communion

(KH)

28th

Abbreviations: KH=Revd Keith Hodson; CM=Revd Christine Mason; TD=Tina Dalton; LT=Local Team

FLOWERS FOR THE LORD’S TABLE

December 28th Mrs Joyce Wilkins

ST.MARY’S SUTTON MADDOCK CHURCH LOTTERY

“Congratulations”

The two lucky winners of cash prizes in October were: 1st Prize of £20.00 – Number 69 and 2nd Prize of £10 – Number 73

********Just for £12 a year you can support your local church ********* The next draw on Sunday 14th at 5.15pm in Church

Contacts: Angela Chatham 01952730216 or Chris Walker 01952730666

SHROPDOC 08444 06 8888

Note: If you have anything to put in the next Newsletter, please let Angela Chatham have it in writing by the 14th of this month-Brockton Grange, Shifnal, TF11 9LZ - email – angiechatham@hotmail.com or The Rev’d Keith Hodson: 01952750774 - email: keithhodson@talk21.com Thank you

SUTTON MADDOCK GOOD NEWSLETTER SIX PARISHES

Badger,Beckbury,Kemberton,Ryton,Stockton,SuttonMaddock

DIARY DATES for December 2014 OUT & ABOUT Every Monday to Friday Oasis Christian Shop in Shifnal open 11am - 3.00 pm. Every Saturday Oasis Christian Shop open in Shifnal open 11 am to 1 pm Every Wednesday Norton Nippers Family Group in Norton Village Hall 9.30-11.00am **Every Thursday Credit Union at Oasis, 1 Shopping Centre, Shifnal 2.30-4.30pm**

****NEW - Six Parishes Youth Club – contact Karen Williams 07747560875**** Fri 5th10.30am Informal Prayers, Oasis, Shifnal Shopping Centre Thur 4th 12noon Norton Over 60’s Club Christmas Lunch,Hundred House

Tues 91h 12noon Six Parishes Friendship Club, Beckbury Village Hall

Tues 16th 6.30 for 7.00pm Churches Together in Shifnal District Carols at Hatton

Thur 18th 2.30pm Norton Over 60’s Club, Norton Village Hall Fri 19th 7.30pm Ryton Christmas Carol Concert, Ryton Church

IN SHIFNAL DISTRICT - Date for your Diary

CAROLS AT HATTON on Tuesday 16th December at Hatton Grange, Shifnal - 6.30 for 7.00pm

***music,carols , readings, wine, sodt drinks, festive nibbles***

We are grateful once again for the generous invitation and support of Rupert and Christina Kenyon-Slaney

Tickets (limited)£10 Available from Shirley, Zena, Angela, or Oasis

Monthly informal prayers will be on Friday 5

th at 10.30am in Oasis.

Contacts: Chairman - Shirley 01952433213, Treasurer – Zena 01952460943,

Rota – Jacky 01952730500, Stock – Angela 01952730216,

Created stock– Katharine 01952463637, Knitting – Maureen 01952210655

CREDIT UNION - FAIRSHARE – Thursday 2.30pm-4.30pm

Visit www.fairshare.uk.com to find out more or call 01952 282528

NO SERVICES THIS SUNDAY

A HAPPY

CHRISTMAS

TO

ALL OUR

READERS

CHURCH NEWS

.....Thanks to everyone who took part in the Remembrance Sunday services at Beckbury, Stockton, Kemberton and Sutton Maddock. Beckbury School observed the 2 minutes silence on 11th November using the BBC 'tower of London' coverage. .....The annual Christmas Fair takes place at Norton Village Hall at 2pm

Sunday 30th November .....Ryton Church have a Christmas Carol concert at 7.30pm Friday 19th

December; with the Darby Singers who sang at the last Ryton concert on 10th May - Tickets are £7.50 and include refreshments ....Christmas services can be found in the service rota for all six churches.

Note the start times. There are no local services on 28th December ; Shifnal and Albrighton will have services.

RYTON CHURCH C H R I S T M A S C A R O L C O N C E R T with the

Darby Singers 7.30pm Friday 19th December

Tickets £7.50 Christmas Refreshments

Contact - Kate Amey 01952750884

CONDOLENCES

We extend our sympathies to the family of the late John Shorthouse age 63 whose service was held at Telford crematorium on 24th October

NORTON OVER 60’s CLUB

We have had two good meetings it was nice to see Ruth and Mal back after being poorly we took the orders for the Christmas Lunch and had our usual game of bingo we were getting short of Bingo tickets but Sid has kindly got some for us which he generously donated to the club . Our Christmas dinner is on Thursday 4th of December 12 for12.30pm and our last meeting is on Thursday 18th December 2.30pm in Norton Village Hall when the Ladies are giving us a tea and we will have Carols, We break up then until the New Year and would like to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Christmas and New Year Rene

Contact Rene Davies 01952279171

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.…………………………………………………………………………….........FROM the RECTORY

Dear Friends, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas . . . .". sang Bing Crosby in the bestselling single of all time. After recent outline weather forecasts some people are not just dreaming but reckoning on a 'white Christmas'. Last year was one of the wettest and mildest winters, but 2014-2015 may be very different, if some meteorologists are believed.

One of their main 'tools' for such a long range forecast is the OPI. This stands for the October Pattern Index which is a numerical summary of northern hemisphere conditions. These include such things as Siberian snow cover; volcanic emissions in Iceland ; the jet stream and even solar sunspot activity. From such information and data it has been seen that there is a pattern and correlation between all these readings in October and a cold winter beginning in December. While the Met Office is not committing itself to such a forecast, others meteorologists are predicting a "winter with below average temperatures", and some of you may have seen reports in some newspapers about an "arctic winter".

In the bleak mid-winter, frosty wind made moan; earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow in the bleak mid-winter long ago

That carol by Christina Rosetti sets the Christmas story in an harsh English winter. It is more likely that Jesus was actually born in spring or summer, because, according to St Luke "there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night", or, as we sing, "While shepherds watched their flock by night . . ." . Bethlehem shepherds did not keep their sheep out at night in the winter, but we should not let a detail like that ruin our Christmas picture. . . . . .

There are other features of our westernised Christmas story which are not historically true and not properly represented in our nativity plays and on our Christmas cards. But tradition outweighs veracity. This is true not only in our version of the Christmas story, but even in other countries where Mary, baby Jesus and the shepherds are portrayed as African or Asian. They are trying to say

that "Jesus became one of us"; "Jesus lived a life on earth like us" - not a white man in a stable in the winter, nor even a Jew in Bethlehem, but "one of us".

Whatever the climate in the northern hemisphere or in the southern hemisphere, be it hot and humid or cold and frosty, Christians across the world will celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day. There will be a service in a church near you.

With seasonal greetings Keith Hodson

PRAYER OF THE MONTH (from the carol Away in a manger) Be near me Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay close by me for ever and love me, I pray; Bless all the dear children in thy tender care and fit us for heaven to live with thee there. AMEN

Rector-Six Parishes, The Rev’d Keith Hodson: 01952750774 Email: keithhodson@talk21.com

Church wardens : Allan Chatham 01952730216,Jacky Butlin 01952730500 in Sutton Maddock

SIX PARISHES FRIENDSHIP CLUB

Question Master John Whitham was fiendishly clever (I think that’s what they meant) with his questions during this latest quiz afternoon, the hardest questions surprisingly the cookery round, with the highest score 3 out of 10. As many remarked afterwards, it was nice to get the grey cells working hard again, the winning team eventually being Vera George, Anne Hodgins, Brenda Onions, and Roger and Phyllis Wilson who were greeted with great acclaim, and just a few catcalls – all in jest of course! It was nice to have two visitors during the afternoon, who joined us for tea. During the afternoon a certificate and notelet were handed round thanking the club for their efforts in the shoe box appeal for children in Swaziland. Our next meeting on Tuesday 9th December will be our Christmas Party, when members bring enough food to share and also invite a friend to join us, starting at 12 noon. May we remind everyone that all raffle

prizes should be wrapped and marked male or female. Visitors are always welcome to join us for a relaxing and sometimes noisy afternoon. Contact: David and Beryl Tooth 01952750324