Happy New Year, All Saints!

 This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent and the beginning of the Christian calendar. I am so looking forward to celebrating together the birth of Jesus, God with us, over this coming season. We have finished our Sent series looking at the book of Acts and were challenged by Andy last week around Jesus’s character and the kinds of people Jesus spent time with. Now we move into our Advent series, ‘Preparing the Way’. We have the joy of knowing that Jesus is alive and with us already, but over this next period we choose to practice waiting on God, recognising our need for a Saviour and eagerly awaiting God’s kingdom breaking through when we join in celebrating Christmas with one another and our community.

As many of us are preparing to visit family or have others visit us, it would be great to be considering who we might invite to our All Saints Christmas events. Many people are finding it hard to hold onto hope in the current climate of the world, and Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to share the hope we find in Jesus and the unconditional love of our creator God. Jesus is truly Good News! So pick someone to boldly invite - that neighbour who walks their dog past your house, the person who serves you coffee, the friend you’ve been seeing regularly, the family member who hasn’t been to church for a long time. You may be surprised at their responses.

Finally, over the next month we are joining in with the Advent appeal which is going towards building a chapel in the new City Mission building which will be open 24/7. More info regarding this will come at our gatherings this Sunday but it is an exciting opportunity to provide a much-needed service for those in need across our city. May God bless you this week. Let Andy or me know if you have any extra needs at this time of year, both prayer and practical.

Emily Spence