From the Vicarage - December 2021

Christmas future

Here is one thoughtful reflection upon the timeless gift given by our God and Father at Christmas time. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The words to be still and steadfast surely connect with us during these busy, anxious days. The pandemic once again is slowing down our walk as communities and churches. We pray for ourselves and all once again disrupted and disturbed by the new virulent variant.

May we also be invigorated by that sense that Mary Oliver captures well with her words “love deeply and without patience.” The spirit of God is not hindered by any restrictions and can create within us and those for whom we pray gratitude for the gift that has been given.

I am so grateful to be sharing my first Christmas with you at All Saints. I pray we may all find steadfastness during this unprecedented season to “give thanks to God for his indescribable gift.” Jesus, the word made flesh.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9: 15

The Gift

Be still, my soul, and steadfast.
Earth and heaven both are still watching
though time is draining from the clock
and your walk, that was confident and quick,
has become slow.

So, be slow if you must, but let
the heart still play its true part.
Love still as once you loved, deeply
and without patience. Let God and the world
know you are grateful.
That the gift has been given.

By Mary Oliver

We have all heard of Christmas past but what to do when Christmas is over and the New Year beckons ?

Here are some thoughts with some actions for you if you feel so inclined and prompted by the Lord to respond.

1. At the heart of Christmas – these simple but attractive booklets will be offered at many of our Christmas gatherings. Do avail yourself of one and use them for your own reflection everyday over Christmas and more importantly as the days roll over into the new year. They are also good gifts for those who might value some Christian reflection and prayer in a neighbourly way. Christmas sees many visitors despite Covid anxieties and this simple tool which I commend is a low key but important way that God’s people can witness to Christ’s birth on into the New Year.

2. A Rule of Life – I hope you have booked the date! We have had one good meeting and we are looking forward to a repeat showing on Tuesday 25th January at 7:30pm with Hannah Sandoval. I shall be opening our doors to other churches so they can share in the blessing. Something to look forward to and if it is done well as many would want it to be, the impulse to grow spiritually will extend beyond Christmas into the future. If you would like to attend then please sign up here.

3. Watch this space – “New Year New Teams” – look out for news of these and sign up with any capacity and willingness that you have once we have enjoyed Christmas celebrations and resolved to make the most of all that the New Year will bring. (News to follow in our 2nd January news sheet).

I wish you a happy, healthy and Merry Christmas.

The Revd Canon Mark Brown

From the Churchwardens

Here we are, half way through the wonderful season of Advent and hasn’t it been wonderful to see more people back in church?  Even before Advent, we had some wonderful occasions, with baptisms, confirmations, even being joined by the Bishop for one service!  We also had the Memorial Service and a very special Remembrance Sunday’s service, joined by young people from the Scouts and Guides. 

We are looking forward to the Christmas services and to once again filling the church with singing, with joyful children and celebrating this very special time of year. 

We look forward to 2022 when new members of staff will be joining the team, when Mark, our Vicar, will have been with us for a whole year and we can move forward with confidence in our walk with God at All Saints.

Dave, Alison, Richard and Sue

From the Children's Minister

If you have been in our church building in the last week I hope you have enjoyed the beautiful advent banners made by some of our church family children.  The Advent and Christmas season is such a special time and often a very busy one so it is wonderful to take a moment to look at them, to pause and reflect.  

There are plenty of child friendly services to invite people to over the coming weeks, beginning with our Christmas Messy Church this Sunday at 4pm. 

The following Sunday (12th) is our Christingle service at 11am and the week after we have our carol services.  Children are welcome to attend our carol services but, at 4pm, there is also an opportunity to watch a fun film about the true meaning of Christmas instead, whilst parents/carers attend the service in church.  After that will be our fantastic nativity services on Christmas Eve and finally our Christmas Day All Age service.  Do have a think about who you could personally invite to one or all of these and pray for those who will come and may hear Jesus’ personal call for the first time.  

Please also pray for those who attend our Baby group and Toddlers as the children receive a copy of the Christmas story from a special visitor.

For me, there is also the wonderful privilege of leading Clifford All Saints’ carol service on the evening of Wednesday 8th December and jointly leading a Christingle service for the school with St Andrew’s Psalter Lane. I am also thrilled that the Y3 children from Ecclesall Primary are coming to church to record a Christingle service for the rest of the school and their family and friends. 

It truly is a busy but wonderful time of year and that’s without mentioning things like the angels who are starting to appear…. 

Rosie Blackett
Children’s Minister

Christians Against Poverty

On Sunday 5th December we are delighted to have Clare Hague from Christians Against Poverty (CAP) with us at our 9:15am, 11am and 6pm services.

Clare has detailed below the work that she does with CAP.

CAP partners with over 300 churches across the UK to bring freedom from unmanageable debt to the poorest in our communities and to bring hope for the future.  It’s a fantastic charity, CAP has now been running over 25 years and during that time we have seen tens of thousands of people go debt free and lives transformed.  Our services are free and available to all.  As an organisation, we are unashamedly Christian (the clue is in our name and we only work through the church) and we are upfront about that in everything we do and from the moment someone makes an appointment with us.  As part of our service, we offer to pray with people, look to share the love of Jesus with them and invite them to church - we find many people are open and respond positively - and many have found Christ through working with CAP, as well as becoming free from debt.  With CAP there’s ‘Always Hope’ and it’s ‘Always through the Church’.

Here in Sheffield, the CAP debt centre is run out of St Thomas Philadelphia church, but we are a team of 5 debt coaches from different churches across the city (e.g. from Crookes, Hillsborough) supported by further volunteers from the churches who we call ‘befrienders’.  We currently have over 50 clients and bookings up to a couple of months ahead.

As you can imagine, the need for our services is great and has increased massively since the pandemic and we are always looking to grow our team of supporters.  I’d like to ask if you would be willing to get involved as a befriender?  A befriender is someone who ‘becomes a friend’ of one or more of our clients and supports them on their CAP journey.  For example, by coming on appointment visits with a debt coach (when we see people in their homes, we always go in pairs),  regularly phoning a client to make sure they are ok or meeting them for a coffee, lending a listening ear, encouraging them and offering prayer as they go through their challenging journey to becoming debt free, perhaps inviting them to church or a church event, doing an emergency food shop for someone.   It could be for a couple of hours a month or half an hour/an hour a week, whatever you feel would be right for you.  

You won’t be thrown in at the deep end, there is a bit of training.  The most important thing is to have a caring heart, a willingness to help and to share the love of Christ here in our community with those who really need it.

To find out more information about the work that CAP does please watch the below video.

CAP Changing the nation together with the Church

If you would like more information then Clare Hague would love to speak to you after our 9:15am, 11am or 6pm services on Sunday 5th December. If you would like to get in touch with Clare directly please get in touch with the church office and we can put you in touch. For more information about CAP and it’s work you can see here