Blog

Friends,

A Very Happy New Year to you. May 2025 be a year of many blessings for all who know and are connected to St Columba’s. To start, or summon us to all that lies ahead, A New Year’s Poem, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)

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Friends,

A popular interpretation of the 4 Sundays of Advent runs thus –

1) The people of God waiting for the Messiah

2) The Prophets foretell his coming

3) John the Baptist prepares the way

4) The Virgin Mary

Now it seems to me that in our Reformed tradition Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Christ, is rarely given the place she deserves. This may be an understandable reaction to the excesses of the medieval church which ascribed to her a place to which she never aspired, but the fact remains that without her simple “Yes” to God, the incarnation would not have been possible. Nazareth was a backwater in a remote province of the Roman Empire; the Jewish people said, “Can any good come out of Nazareth?” and the people there lived in caves on the hillside. And yet, it was to a young girl in Nazareth that the Angel Gabriel appeared and foretold the birth of Jesus. Think how scared and confused she must have been! An unmarried mother might well be the object of gossip and scandal in the village but despite everything Mary said, “let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). So, Mary became the first Christian, the first to accept Christ into her heart and into her life.

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“The Spirit of the Beans” supplied the guardian angel at the recent families’ outing to Jack & the Beanstalk pantomime at Wimbledon Theatre – in contrast to the Giant’s wife – who arrived, on and off stage, to loud boos from a galvanised audience. Panto-land serving us an annual, ancient tale of good and evil – fortunately with a happy ending – in the case of SW19, the villainess played by Sandra Burke (winner of the X-Factor) succumbing to a sudden and complete conversion to “niceness,” sealed/proved by breaking into her iconic version of “Hallelujah.” Very satisfactory! Many of our young people who enjoyed the pantomime, will be up front on Sunday as they lead our worship, via the “It’s a Party” Nativity story. Along with their adult helpers they have been rehearsing over recent Sundays. Do come and encourage them with your presence and appreciation this Sunday. Also, with us on Sunday we will hear from Liz Burrell, Church Engagement and Fundraising Officer for North London, representing Christian Aid. Liz will talk about the situation, and the Christian Aid response, in South Sudan; an important reminder at this time of year of a wider perspective for our shared faith.

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“She loved Paris, and she passed on that love to her family.” Words spoken at a recent St Columba’s funeral. The French capital has been spotlighted recently with the unveiling of the magnificently restored Notre Dame. A thousand French oaks felled and shaped with axes, as they were eight centuries before. Sculptural masons and C21st computer imagery making eroded gargoyles scowl again; 7,982 organ pipes and 13 bells cleaned. That’s some Fabric Committee commitment!

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