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Category: Advent

  • News for 11th December

    The Arrival.

    Part 3.

    Know Him, Love Him and Serve Him

    St. Richard of Chichester (1197-1253) said in a prayer “…May I know you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly, day by day”. 

    We are anxiously waiting for the coming of our saviour Jesus Christ and one of the three things that Jesus expect from us is to Know him, love him and be ready to serve him. When we are expecting a guest in our homes, we try to know the person in order to prepare appropriately for his coming. We purpose in our hearts to show him love and to serve him.

    We can know Jesus through the scriptures by availing ourselves to teachings, prayer and the directions of the Holy Spirit. Through testimonies of the apostles, saints and believers who lived exceptionally good lives and how Jesus used them in the assembly. 

    1 John 4:19 says “We love because he first loved us” 

    Jesus has given us the example of love “greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friend” (John 15:13). 

    In loving Jesus, he expects us to love one another with an unconditional love because he first exhibited that love by laying down His life for us. It is therefore our calling to love our friends as ourselves. 

    We are also called to serve Jesus Christ by being each other’s keeper, being there for people especially in the time of their need. Jesus said in Matthew 20:28 “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…”. 

    Fr. Josiah

    Downloads

    Bulletin for 11th DecemberDownload
    The Message and Readings for Sunday 11th DecemberDownload
    Look Sheet for Sunday 11th DecemberDownload

    Other news

    Thank you to everyone who turned out to support the Ecumenical Carols at the Golden Disk this week. Over 200 leaflets were giving out with an invitation to join us this Advent & Christmas.

    Don’t miss 9 Lessons & Carols next week – a beautiful service of scripture and music.

    We welcome Ally (or organist) back this week – so bring your big singing voices!

    Advent & Christmas Dates:

    • Advent Course, Thursdays after mass (10:30am)
      and online via zoom (7:30pm) – 15/12, 22/12
    • 18th December – 9 Lessons and Carols, 6pm 
    • 24th December – Crib & Carols Service, 3pm
    • 24th December – Midnight Mass, 11:30pm
    • 25th December – Christmas Day Mass, 10am

  • News for Christmas Week

    Ye Lord we greet thee, 

    born this happy morning.

    Peace has arrived. Not just in our homes as the rushing & preparing for Christmas subsides and we rest with feet up – full of turkey and stuffing! But with the arrival of the baby Jesus in us. 

    I’ve talked a great deal about the arrival of Jesus IN US rather than outside us over this Advent and this year I think it’s more important than ever to consider what that means in practice. 

    We will sit this week and say goodbye to 2021. In some cases with great joy… I think we are all praying for a better 2022… but in other ways with sadness – Anthony leaving us is incredibly sad for us, but is the right thing for him (and for his future patients!)

    We must use this time to reflect on the past year and what the arrival of Jesus in us causes to be different in the coming year.

    What practical changes will you make in your life to more closely follow Jesus?

    What practical changes will you make in the pattern of daily living to more closely follow Jesus?

    What practical changes will you make in the way you think about people, Hayes and the world that will help you more closely follow Jesus. 

    These are challenging questions, there are no easy answers. But, as you approach them know you have a home from which to pursue them – St. Anselm.

    Fr. Matthew

    Downloads

    Bulletin for the Christmas OctaveDownload
    The Message & Readings for The Nativity of The LordDownload
    Complete Readings for Midnight Mass & Christmas-DayDownload
    Midnight Mass HymnsDownload
    The Message & Readings for Sunday 26th DecemberDownload
    Christmas-Day-Mass-HymnsDownload
    Children’s Look Sheet for Sunday 26th DecemberDownload
    26th December HymnsDownload
    Mass CardDownload

    Other News

    A very quiet week in the Octave of Christmas as Fr. Matthew spends some time with his family in Wales. Do note a high mass for the solemnity of Mary Mother of God on the 1st January and that the Foodbank is open as usual.

    Sunday 26th December is Anthony’s last day with us, do make a special effort to come and say goodbye to him after mass where we will share some drinks and nibbles.

    Some of you may be aware I was planning drinks & nibbles at the vicarage after the carol service on Christmas Eve – I have decided to postpone this until the new year when we pray things may be a little better and we may relax a little more about mixing in small spaces. 

    Church remains open, clean and daily sanitised with all possible precautions in place. We will never close, we will never abandon those in need, we will always be here praying for and serving the people of Hayes. 

  • News for 19th December

    A very nearly… 

    Happy Christmas.

    This last week of Advent can often feel a little odd, a little silly. This year especially so given where Christmas Day falls. 

    We get nearly a whole week of children off school and crazy Christmas shopping and online ordering. People dashing too and fro and on top of all of this the underlying doom of what COVID may deliver next.

    It’s not exactly the state of peaceful calm and expectation that we’re encouraged to discover before Christ is born in us is it?

    It takes an act of will to set aside the world and to look inward to the coming of Jesus. I say look inward because that is what is going to happen – if you allow it – on Christmas morning. 

    Jesus will once again be born in you. In your heart and in your mind. He once again has an opportunity to come to you afresh. 

    I was reading some of Evelyn Underhill’s Prayer Book this week and discovered this absolutely gem of a prayer that I think very simply brings us to the right place this week:

    “Grant, oh lord, that the birth of Christ in us may be such that Christ’s very spirit may come and take possession of our souls, all our faculties and powers, and be wholly united with us forever – not fleetingly, but abidingly and with a settled peace (in like manner as the soul reposes in the body). Thus let us come to Bethlehem and ask the child Jesus to make His abode in us forever more.”

    Luis de Leon

    I shall be praying this each day this week as we draw closer to the birth of Jesus in each one of us (again) on Saturday.

    Fr. Matthew

    Downloads

    Bulletin for 19th DecemberDownload
    Sunday Message and Readings for 19th DecemberDownload
    Children’s Look Sheet for 19th DecemberDownload
    12th December HymnsDownload

    Other news

    The new giving envelopes are now ready for collection, they’ll be available at the back of church on Sunday for all those who have registered. Thank you so much for your continued giving. 

    Don’t forget we’re singing for the Christmas shoppers this Saturday between 1pm & 3pm. We’re also going to offer a small bric-a-brac stall and offer mince pies and leaflets for our Christmas services – do pop along and join in even if it’s only for a short time. 

    Don’t forget to book a time to make your Advent confession. Fr. Matthew hears confessions after Evening Prayer on Tuesdays or by appointment. 

  • News for 12th December

    Gaudete Sunday. 

    Joy.

    The third Sunday in Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete simply means ‘rejoice’.

    It’s taken from the latin introit for the day’s Mass:

    ‘Gaudete in Domino semper’

    Or in English:

    ‘Rejoice in the Lord always’

    And so today we look at what we have to rejoice about. We have spent the last two weeks examining ourselves ahead of the coming of Jesus Christ. 

    We have received difficult news about COVID restrictions. We have peered into the dark ahead of the coming of The Light – so today – we lift our heads and remind ourselves that the coming of Jesus Christ is something that we rejoice about.

    The introit for the Mass continues:

    ‘Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God’ 

    Today we try to take our anxiety and we hand it over to God and in doing so we find a peace that only He can give us. 

    In that peace we discover the joy of loving God and in that joy – that gift – we should rejoice!

    Sometimes it’s hard to find that peace and when it is difficult we must give God everything in prayer – and in opening ourselves to God in prayer we are changed. 

    That is the power of prayer, not that God changes the world for us, but that we are changed to be more like God.

    Fr. Matthew

    Downloads

    Bulletin for 12th DecemberDownload
    Hymns for 12th DecemberDownload
    The Message & Readings for 12th DecemberDownload
    Look Sheet for Children – 12th DecemberDownload

    Other news

    This is your last chance to re-register for Gift Envelopes – even if you already have one. Sign up on the sheet at the back of church or contact David Couling (number on the front of the pew sheet).

    We’re singing carols for the Christmas shoppers on Saturday 18th December outside church (and inside there will be mince pies & mulled wine). We hope to encourage people to come to church over Christmas through our welcome and love.

    Don’t forget to book a time to make your Advent confession. Fr. Matthew hears confessions after Evening Prayer on Tuesdays or by appointment. 

  • News for 5th December

    The Bethlehem Candle. 

    On our way.

    In the second week of Advent we light our second candle… the Bethlehem Candle. In lighting it we pray that we may join Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem. 

    Our journey this week is about preparation. 

    Mary and Joseph were preparing for the birth of their son. I imagine they were like any parents… planning and dreaming about their future as a family. Worrying if they’ve got everything ready. 

    I can picture them sat with family – smiling at the pictures in their minds as they dreamt of the future. I can see them as they wonder if they’ve got everything, talking with each other and figuring out if everything is ready for the birth. 

    It’s easy to picture because I’ve been there – as a father to Edmund – sat in the living room with Catheirne planning and worrying about nappies, about cots, about car seats and about hundreds of other things.

    It’s a picture of Christmas in so many ways. We run from A to B worried that we’ve missed something or some one. Worried about having enough food. Worried about COVID. Worried about money. 

    The journey is fraught with worry… but we shouldn’t loose sight of the fact that the journey is also rich with dreams of the future.

    Mary and Joseph were brining Jesus into the world. Our Saviour. It was not the birth they planned, but it was awesome none the less. 

    Perhaps in their journey we can see a path to peace in our own journey.

    Fr. Matthew 

    Downloads

    Bulletin for 5th DecemberDownload
    Hymns for 5th DecemberDownload
    The Message & Readings for 5th DecemberDownload
    Children’s Look Sheet for 5th DecemberDownload

    Other news

    Don’t forget to re-register for Gift Envelopes – even if you already have one. Sign up on the sheet at the back of church or contact David Couling (number on the front of the pew sheet).

    Don’t miss the Advent & Christmas Concert on Sunday afternoon at 3pm with Mince Pies & Mulled Wine!

    High Mass for The Immaculate Conception of the BVM on Wednesday at 10am. No Evening Prayer on Tuesday.

  • 1st Sunday of Advent

    The Advent Candles. 

    Growing light.

    This Sunday we will light the first candle of five on our Advent Wreath. Our children will be making a mini-version of the candle wreath to take home and light with their families. But why do we do this?

    Whilst lighting candles to represent the light of God in the world is a very old Christian tradition, the idea of an Advent Candle Wreath is a relatively modern one. 

    In fact it only goes back to the early 1800s and – no big surprise here – comes from Germany (as indeed most of our modern Christmas traditions).

    In 1839 Johann Hinrich Wichern, a pastor in Germany, built a wreath out of an old cartwheel to help the children in his mission school count the days until Christmas.

    He added small candles to be lit every weekday and Saturday during Advent, and on Sundays, a large white candle was lit.

    There is evidence of this practice going on much earlier in Germany – right the way back to the 16th century, but it wasn’t until the 1800s that we saw what we may recognise as the modern wreath.

    In many ways this was the precursor to both the Advent Calendar (no chocolate then!) and the Advent Candle Wreath that we light each Sunday. 

    We light the first candle for the Prophets which represent the Hope of the world. The second candle is for Faith, the third for Joy and the fourth – Peace. The central white candle is lit at Midnight Mass on Christmas Day.

    Each week I’ll explain a little more about the candles and what they represent at the start of mass as one of the children light it.

    I’m looking forward to travelling with you this Advent and preparing to meet Jesus on Christmas Day.

    Fr. Matthew

    Downloads

    Bulletin for 28th November, Advent 1Download
    Sunday Message & Readings for 28th NovemberDownload
    Look Sheet for Children for 28th NovemberDownload
    28th November HymnsDownload

    Other news

    Don’t forget to re-register for Gift Envelopes – even if you already have one. Sign up on the sheet at the back of church or contact David Couling (number on the front of the pew sheet).

    Choir rehearsal today, 28th November  (and last one next week) for our Advent & Christmas Carol concert (NEXT SUNDAY!)

    We have an Advent craft for the children this Sunday (28th November) – we will be making mini Advent Wreaths for them to take home – they can make several for friends and family, so get your order in now.

    Fr. Matthew has two days training this week in central London so there are some changes to timings – especially on Wednesday and Thursday so please do check carefully.

  • Christmas & Advent Dates

    It’s almost that time of year… so jot these dates down in your diary for an exciting Advent and Christmas at St. Anselm!

    • 27th November – Christmas Bric-a-brac sale (1-3pm)
    • 5th December – Advent & Christmas Carols (3pm)
    • 18th December – Christmas Shoppers Carols (3pm)
    • Christmas Eve – Carols & Crib Service (3pm), Midnight Mass (11pm)
    • Christmas Day – Parish Mass (10am)

    Remember, the best way to keep in touch and keep up to date about our events and services is to sign-up to our newsletter here.

  • Hayes Town Christmas Lights

    What an amazing afternoon in Hayes Town on Wednesday 17th! The Hayes Community Schools Choir offered a terrific selection of Christmas songs before His Worship the Mayor, Councillor Roy Chamdal, pushed the big plunger with the children to turn on the lights.

    If you missed the concert and big turn on, don’t worry! The whole thing was live-streamed is available to watch-again via the St. Anselm live streaming service.

    Thank you to everyone who took part and made it such a special time as we turn to look at Advent & Christmas. If you’d like to come to other events at St. Anselm over Advent & Christmas there’s a full set of dates and times over here.

  • 5th Septemer

    News

    Thank you to everyone who has indicated to Anthony (in person or via music@parpri1.dreamhosters.com) that they are interested in joining the choir – either for the advent carol concert, the children’s choir or for the Anthem in October. There is now a physical sign up sheet at the front door – please put your details down so we can contact you about rehearsal times. 

    This week our pew sheet is a poster/flyer with all our exciting events between now and Christmas. Please do put it up in your window or share it with your friends and invite them!

    I’m still looking for volunteers to help with the Rosary Mission (keeping the church open, providing tea & coffee etc) 10th – 24th October and to help run the Sunday School and start a new parent and toddler group. Please be in touch. 

    Wednesday is the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary and +Jonathan has invited us all to a mass at St. Andrew’s in Holborn. I’ll be attending and it would be lovely if a little gang of us could go. Let me know if you plan on going. 

    Downloads

    Bulletin for 5th SeptemberDownload
    5th-September-HymnsDownload
    Look Sheet for Children, 5th SeptemberDownload
    The Message & Sunday Readings, 5th SeptemberDownload
    Autumn Dates for your Diary PosterDownload

    Dates for your diary

    Harvest Festival
    (with bring & share lunch)
    3rd October

    Rosary Mission
    10th – 24th October

    Children’s Music Workshop & Show
    16th October 1pm-3pm 

    Adult Choir’s first performance
    24th October
    (rehearsals 26th September & 3rd, 10th & 17th October, 2pm-3pm)

    Bric-a-brac sales
    25th September, 30th October, 27th November & 18th December

    Advent Carol Service
    3pm, 5th December
    (rehearsals 14th, 21st & 28th November, 2pm-3pm)

    Christmas Shoppers Carol Service
    18th December, 3pm
    (Mince pies, mead & much merriment!) 

    Christmas Eve Children’s Choir Carol Service
    24th December, 3pm
    (rehearsals 5th, 12th & 19th December, 2pm-3pm)

    Midnight Mass
    11:30pm Christmas Eve

    Christmas Day Mass
    10am Christmas Day