When we bless the cup of blessing,
is it not a means of sharing in the blood of Christ?
When we break the bread,
is it not a means of sharing in the body of Christ? I Corinthians 10: 16
Friends,
This Sunday is both the first Sunday of Advent, the season of preparation for the coming of Jesus at Christmas, and the celebration of communion/Lord’s Supper at our 11am service. Pandemic requirements have brought about changes in the way we have shared communion over the last twenty months. During lock down we shared it via the live stream service, with celebrant alone in the sanctuary, and those watching from afar, invited to take the bread and wine (or equivalent) at home. Many have told me that they did and found it sustaining to do so. Once we began to return to the sanctuary, communion was offered in person. However, rather than the pre pandemic serving of communion by the elders to the congregation seated in the pews, those who wished to partake, were invited to come to the front and receive the bread. Up to this point we could not offer the wine, via the common cup, as had been the long pre-pandemic tradition.
This Sunday will see another step in our communion journey. Thanks to the tremendous generosity of one of our church members, we now possess a beautifully crafted set of communion wine trays and glasses. Many of you will be familiar with the practice of these communion trays in parishes around Scotland. On Sunday we will continue to invite people forward to receive – but this week it will not just be the bread, but also the wine. (Be reassured that anyone who feels unable to come forward during the communion, can receive the bread and wine in their seat; just let one of the elders know.)
Earlier in the service, before the communion, we will dedicate the new communion vessels with this prayer:
Almighty God,
receive these vessels
which we have set apart from all common use
and dedicated for the service of your house
in the Sacrament of the Holy Supper of our Lord.
We thank you that Christ
who died upon the Cross for our salvation
gives himself to be our spiritual food.
Grant that whenever your people use these vessels
in the Communion of his body and blood,
they may be made glad by the Saviour’s love,
quickened by his Spirit,
and made partakers of his glorious resurrection to eternal life;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This Sunday, whether we make your communion at home or in the sanctuary, blessed by the generosity of one of our members, comprehending something of the magnitude of bread and wine’s meaning, may we be made glad by the Saviour’s love, quickened by his Spirit, and partakers of his glorious resurrection to eternal life.
I look forward to welcoming you this Advent Sunday, in person or via the live stream, either for communion (11am) or for our evening Service of Readings & Music for Advent (5pm) where our preacher will be the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness. I hope both gatherings will be purposeful and prayerful entries into the Advent season.
Angus
Live Streaming of Worship
Services can be watched via the church website, https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream.
To access the live stream from the homepage (front page) click the Menu button in the top right-hand side of the page and scroll down and click on “Live Stream”. This will bring up the live stream to the church. The act of worship of approximately 60 minutes, includes include prayers, a sermon and music. The words for the hymns will be on the website.
We believe it is really important to continue to live-stream the Morning Service under its current format i.e. for the benefit of those joining worship from afar or those as yet unable to make the journey to Pont Street. For those without internet, the Dial-In facility continues. Many people comment that they do have a sense of worshipping together, even if invisible to each other.
Reminder: If you do not wish to appear on the live-stream please choose a seat in the rear half of the sanctuary.
Dial into Sunday Service
If you are aware of church members or friends who do not have access to internet please inform them that they can now phone in to join the Sunday service. No visuals clearly, but at least they can hear the service. Those interested should follow:
Step 1: At 10.40am call phone number 0203 051 2874.
Step 2: You will be prompted to enter a meeting ID.
Please type (using your telephone keypad) 266 883 5072#
Step 3: You will then be asked for a participant number – simply press the #.
Step 4: Enjoy the service! You will hear the organ music from 10.50am.
Hymns, Music & Readings, 28th November 2021
Hymn 543 Longing for light (Christ be our light) Verse 1 choir only Hymn 273 O come, O come, Emmanuel (Veni Emmanuel)
Hymn 519 Love divine, all loves excelling (Hyfrdol)
Hymn 477 Lo, he comes with clouds descending (Helmsley)
Choir Anthem: Adam lay y bounden (Ord)
Choir Anthem: A spotless rose (Howells)
Organ postlude: Fantasia in G minor (J.S.Bach)
Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Gospel Reading: Luke 21:25-36
Communion Sunday
For those watching via the live stream, you are invited to prepare bread and wine (or equivalent) to join in our celebration of communion, if you wish. Alternatively, you may prefer simply to prayerfully observe what is offered in the sanctuary. Those in church will be invited to come forward to receive the bread and wine. It is Christ’s table, and it is open to anyone whose tradition is to receive the bread and wine.
Evening Service of Readings & Music for Advent, Sunday 28th November 2021,
This year’s Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, The Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness, will join us for our Service of Readings & Music for Advent, at 5pm on Sunday 28th November. This will be the Moderator’s final stop in the traditional Moderator’s London Week. We hope many of you will be able to attend and take the opportunity to meet with the Moderator at the refreshments served after service. The service can also be viewed via the live stream www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream The Moderator will preach at Crown Court in the morning at 11.15am, assisted on this occasion by our own Associate Minister, Revd William McLaren.
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 5pm, Sunday 28th November
The Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC (Jim Wallace) is Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2021-22. Ordained an elder in Stockbridge: St Bernard’s, Edinburgh in 1981, and inducted to the eldership of Kirkwall St. Magnus Cathedral, Orkney in 1990, Lord Wallace is the second elder in modern times to serve in the role. A trained Advocate and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Moderator was leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992-2005 and Deputy First Minister in the Scottish Executive from 1999-2005 (serving as Acting First Minister in 2000 and 2001). Having taken up his seat in the House of Lords in 2007, Lord Wallace served as the Advocate General for Scotland in the coalition UK Government from 2010-2015. A working peer, with many years’ experience in public life as an MP for Orkney and Shetland then as MSP for Orkney, he has moved to the non-affiliated benches in the House of Lords during his time as Moderator.
Lord Wallace seeks to use the role to promote the theme of justice – social, economic and climate – and hopes that his year in office will be a source of encouragement to other elders and members of congregations who already play a very full part in the life of their church and communities. Married to Rosie, the couple have two grown up daughters and two granddaughters.
St Columba’s member, John Dawson meets the Moderator (right of picture) and the Principal Clerk of the Church of Scotland (left of picture) after this week’s Parliamentary Service for St Andrewstide at St Margaret’s, Westminster.
Advent Appeal 2021
Glass Door – Sox and Boxers. We will be collecting the following items during Advent for the Glass Door charity. Items are: boxer shorts, thermal hats, thermal socks (for both men and women), thermal tights, thermal gloves (or very thick ones). Collection point will be the Upper Vestibule, starting Sunday 28 November and each Sunday up to Christmas.
As an alternative for anyone not able to come to church, you may wish to consider Borderline for a financial donation. Details are:
Borderline
22 City Road
London EC1Y 2AJ
Tel. 0845 456 2190
Cheques payable to ‘New Borderline’ and post to above address. https://www.borderline-uk.org/
Please see the below link to the Borderline donation portal:
New Borderline – Donate now (cafonline.org)
Thank you in advance. Mission Committee.
The Annual Office Hours
Contact details; Tel: 020 7584 2321
E-mail: office@stcolumbas.org.uk
Website: www.stcolumbas.org.uk
Facebook: @stcolumbaschurchpontstreet. Twitter: @LondonKirk
Pastoral Emergency Number (out of office hours): 07591926271
Please note that the Church Office will be closed on the 2nd and 3rd of December.
Sunday School Christingles and Carols by Candlelight
Please join us on Sunday 12th December at 3pm for Christingle-making, followed by a family tea, before we join the service of Carols by Candlelight (Lessons & Carols) at 5pm. All ages welcome. Please RSVP to gary@thewallis.com by 5th December for catering purposes.
Sunday Lunch Dates
A reminder that due to the reduced number of available lunch teams (9 down to 5), lunches will only be served on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month, and on the 5th Sunday where there are 5 Sundays in any month.
The dates for lunch until the end of 2021 are as follows – 5th December / 19th December in the Lower Hall unless circumstances change.
Coffee will continue to be served every Sunday as usual in the Upper Hall.
These Hospitality Services are much valued in supporting Fellowship.
Advent Study
This year we are offering an advent study on the book “The Whole Christmas Story: An advent adventure through Genesis, Revelation, and points in between” by Jo Swinney. You can order the book through the Bible Reading Fellowship here https://www.brfonline.org.uk/collections/new-titles/products/thewholechristmasstory. William will lead the group on Wednesday evenings from 7pm (via Zoom) from the 24th November to the 15th December. Angus will lead the Thursday morning group from 10.30am on the 25th November to the 16th December. If you would like to take part please email the office to book a place (office@stcolumbas.org.uk).
Maintaining Community and Supporting Each Other
Everybody can play a part in maintaining contact with others via telephone, e-mail or letter, especially those who are particularly vulnerable. Our Elders are encouraged to make contact with those in their districts, and church members are welcome to contact the church office to request a contact from their elder or the Minister.
Congregational Offerings
Details on the many ways you can support St Columba’s can be found here https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/giving/supporting-st-columbas
Would anyone wishing to contribute to St Andrew’s, Newcastle please contact the Session Clerk on standrewssessionclerk@gmail.com for bank details or other means of donating.
St Andrew’s Day & St Andrew’s, Newcastle
The 30th of November marks St Andrew’s Day, Patron Saint of Scotland. In advance of Tuesday (30th November) we wish everyone at St Andrew’s, Newcastle a festive St Andrew’s Day. The Church of Scotland collect/prayer for St Andrew is: Almighty God, you gave such grace to your apostle Saint Andrew
that he readily obeyed the calling of your Son Jesus Christ
and followed him without delay,
bringing his brother with him.
Grant us the same spirit of cheerful obedience,
that we may give ourselves willingly
to share in the witness of your Church
to the whole world;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns,
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
St Columba’s Coffee Mornings – Future Dates
The last Coffee Morning of 2021 will be on the 15th December (10.30am). Revd Dr John McCulloch, Minister St Andrews, Jerusalem & Tiberias will discuss Christmas in the Holy Land.
If you missed October or Novembers Coffee Mornings here
https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/community-life/coffee-mornings
St Columba’s Book Club
The next online meeting of the St Columba’s Book Club is the 29th November at 7pm. The book this month will be 419 by Will Ferguson. The joy of the St Columba’s book club is that is all on Zoom so you can join from anywhere in the world in the comfort of your own home.
Happy Hour
Our last Happy Hour session of 2021 will take place in the library at St Columba’s on Wednesday 8 December at 6.30pm for a social evening with pizzas, wine and soft drinks, for a modest financial contribution. We’ll share ideas for next year’s programme which we hope will include visiting speakers, outings and interesting topics. Please join us and share your ideas.
Sounds of St Columba’s
The ‘Sounds of St Columba’s’ concert series will restart on Sunday 16th January 2022 at 1:15pm. Recitals will continue throughout the year on the third Sunday of the month (excluding April, August & December). Full details of the performers and repertoire will follow a little later this year. These recitals are free to attend, with a retiring offering. For more information contact Ben Lewis-Smith music@stcolumbas.org.uk
Stamps
If you would like to leave stamps for Crossreach, please pop them into the Church Office on Sundays.
NIGHT SHELTER 2021-22 UPDATE
Glass Door night shelter were due to start in two boroughs this week, providing dinner and accommodation for 25 guests a night at each. Preparations for Sunday evenings at St Columbus were well underway with the first night due to be Sunday 28th November. Unfortunately, Glass Door made contact on Friday 19 November to say that they had taken the difficult decision to postpone opening the shelters. Despite the charity’s best efforts, local authorities are not supportive of them reopening and are looking at other arrangements, where people are able to have their own rooms. The Glass Door hostel has opened, offering 55 bed spaces, and they are working with guests who had already registered for the shelter to try to find them somewhere to stay.
RESTART’s sleepout challenge!
Congratulations to St Columba’s elder Robbie Mills who joined with some 50 others spending the night on the pavement outside St Columba’s Church last Friday. They did it to raise much-needed funds for Restart Lives, the small homelessness charity that operates a drop-in dinner service from St Columba’s every Friday night, serving 4,000 meals per year. As those taking part reflected, one thing they definitely weren’t doing is “sleeping rough”. Although this challenge does help people to understand some of the choices that lead to sleeping on the street, there are many, many factors that contribute to the complexity of homelessness – and Robbie and the others were sleeping out to fight against it, not to experience it. You can still support the sleepout campaign and donate here: www.justgiving.com/campaign/restartsleepout2021
SCRIPTURE & SILENT PRAYER
WAITING & WATCHING
ST COLUMBA’S, PONT STREET
For Sunday 28th November 2021, ADVENT I
CONSIDER BEFORE WE PRAY
- Silence – a meeting place where I am looking for God’s love
and God is looking for mine. - If we really want to pray we must first learn to listen,
for in the silence of the heart God speaks. (Mother Teresa of Calcutta) - Silence nourishes and feeds silence: the concentrated periods spill over into,
and feed, the short times we manage to salvage from our day.
But to create times of silent prayer and reflection each day calls for a sense of its importance and for a discipline.
(Kenneth Leech, Spirituality & Pastoral Care)
OPENING PRAYER (said together slowly)
As we gather in the harbour of your safety
we thank you for faith and friendship.
Still us now and strengthen us;
restore and inspire.
Let our souls catch the wind of your spirit
that we might take your promises to the ends of the earth. Fill us with your peace.
Amen.
SCRIPTURE – Psalm 25:1-10
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
Do not let those who wait for you
be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD,
and of your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love
remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD
are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
TIME OF QUIET
COLLECT FOR ADVENT SUNDAY (said together)
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.