Thursday 3rd December 2020: Beyond Difference Zoom

 

Wednesday 2nd December 2020: Nativity Scene: Susie Moir

 Ian and I were very lucky to visit Rome in December 2018. While there, we visited an exhibition of nativity scenes from around the world at the Vatican. It was incredible to see all the different items used to creat the nativity scene. Who knew wooden coat hangers could be used so beautifully! 

Wednesday 2nd December: Reflection: Rachel Green

 

We learnt about Paradoxes this week in our Year 5 RE lesson. Paradoxes, coming after a discussion about the incarnation is quite a tall order for 9-year olds! Anyway, we looked at paradoxes; a statement or proposition which, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems logically unacceptable or self-contradictory. In other words, the paradox of the King of kings, God’s beloved son, our Saviour Jesus Christ coming to Earth as a poor, vulnerable new-born baby. This paradox, which is so opposed to any common sense, never ceases to put a smile on my face. A smile that I have had now for a very long time!

The Green family had to self-isolate during November. Poor Matthew picked up COVID at school. He only thought he had a headache but locked himself into his bedroom with a packet of paracetamol and a home test kit, whilst life went on as normal for the rest of us. Until day 4 that is, when he got a positive result texted through to him and the whole family had to self-isolate. At that point we all tried to avoid each other, zoomed from different rooms in the house and cleaned continuously for the next 6 days. On day 10 Matthew came out of his bedroom again, thankfully none the worse for ware, whilst the rest of us needed to complete our 14-day sentence before we went back to work. I was overjoyed to finally be going back to school and it was good to be welcomed back by colleagues. Children however often do not know how to respond to teachers and they certainly did not know how to respond to my reappearance. Children see us adults as alien creatures, not realising that we too are human, can make mistakes or can even catch viruses. I got a few, awkward sideways glances in the playground. One or two braver souls said, “It’s Mrs Green!” The paradox was that it was Jimmy, yes Jimmy “the naughty boy”, Jimmy the child who has to be told twice, Jimmy, who if anyone was going to break it, it was going to be Jimmy, yes it was no other than Jimmy who momentarily left his game of tag, came up to me and said, ”It’s nice to have you back Miss!”

And the paradox made me smile for the rest of the day.

Light Up A Life

 

Tuesday 1st December 2020: Nativity Scene: Sara and Michael Autton

Being the son and daughter-in-law of a clergyman, we naturally have several nativity tableaux. 

The tiny Nativity in the jewel box was a gift for Michael and me from his parents in the year of our Silver wedding anniversary.

Tuesday 1st December 2020: The Two Nativity Stories: Reflection by Sue Wale

 

I have just come back from stewarding at the final session of private prayer at church and because Ian spent the hour playing Christmas carols on the organ I decide to read the two nativity stories on my phone while he was playing. This was a very atmospheric and straight forward thing to do, as the story is only in two gospels, with a short version in Matthew and a longer narrative in Luke. What struck me reading them straight through one after the other was just how different they are.

The Matthew narrative is all about men. Joseph, Herod and the wise men - no wise women then! Where is the journey on a donkey to Bethlehem, the actual birth, the angels and the shepherds? The killing of the children is a grim rerun of the Exodus story that Erna’s house group is studying. Can you imagine how the conversation between Mary and Joseph went about Mary being pregnant. “Well dear, I have got something to tell you…………!” Matthew tells us about Mary’s home birth, in Bethlehem, in a house, before they flee to Egypt and then to Nazareth. I had forgotten about that travel schedule which was necessary to escape Herod and his son. Quiz question – how many wise men were there?

So thank goodness we have the Luke story. Here come the girls, with Elizabeth, Mary and Anna centre stage and with a mute Zechariah and an invisible Joseph.  Then there is all that beautiful poetry/songs, the Benedictus (ok that’s Zechariah), the Magnificat, the Nunc Dimittis and the chorus of angels singing to the shepherds. Nativity plays romanticise the journey to Bethlehem, the donkey, the manger, the shepherds and the angels. But why not – I will leave the serious message for Ian and Erna to address. Then Luke has the travel schedule that I do remember, from Nazareth to Bethlehem and back to Nazareth.

So thank goodness for Matthew’s narrative, because that is why we give (and get) Christmas presents and where would the Christmas card designers be without the Luke story. 

Information Leaflet from Bucks Council circulated to all churches