WHAT’S ON
🎇 Happy New Year 🎇
I just discovered that 'Parable of the Sower', the speculative fiction by Octavia E. Butler, and the iconic sci fi novel turned film 'Metropolis', are both set in 2026. That doesn't really bode well for us but let's not dwell on such things! After all, it's the year of the Horse in the Chinese calendar, which is all about forward momentum, so onwards and upwards for us!
SUNDAY
Morning worship : Ascension : 12nn (prayer @ 11:15)
MONDAY
Bear cubs : Leander Centre : 9:30-11:30am
TUESDAY
Women's Bible Study : The Albany : 1:30pm
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
Bear cubs : outdoor play / Leander centre : 10-11:30am / 1-3pm
FRIDAY
Bear cubs : Leander Centre : 9:30-11:30am
SATURDAY
THROUGH-OUT THE WEEK
Early morning prayer : zoom : 7am Mon-Fri
COMING UP
Evening service returns next Sunday 11 January
IN OUR COMMUNITY
This Sunday is the first of 2026 and this means a new verse of the year and a new theme. I won't spoil the surprise and we aren't really saying goodbye to Sabbath: the learning continues and the practise needs practising!
Speaking of newness, this time of year we can be inundated with the pressure to reinvent ourselves overnight, as the clock ticks over to the 1st of January. But at times when I feel overwhelmed, I find comfort in the poem from Ecclesiastes and the reminder it provides of the seasonal nature of life and how it doesn't adhere to any calendar.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
CLASSIFIEDS
Street Trees for Living: a community tree planting with roots in Lewisham, they are looking for an experienced, proactive and creative Community Engagement Coordinator to strengthen and deepen relationships in Lewisham. They are looking for someone to help advance community stewardship and raise awareness about the benefits of street trees. To find out more and download the job pack, go here. Apply by Sunday 11 January.
ESSENTIAL RECOMMENDS…
🙈 to see : Fare Well (Part One, Two and Three) by Underbelly - three short films that were made for Hogmanay 2021
🙉 to hear : Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds
🙊 to read : What Went Right in 2025: the top 25 good news stories of the year by Positive.News