Newsletter 23rd December 2018
Today is the Fourth, the final Sunday of Advent.
Here are details of the Christmas services.
The procession through the Village will leave from outside the Church at 4.30pm.
The first Mass of Christmas will be at 6.30pm on Christmas Eve.
The Church will open at 11pm and there will be a service of readings and Carols starting at 11.30pm.
This will be followed by the first Mass of Christmas at 12 midnight.
On Christmas morning there will be a Mass at 9.30 pm at which the children will perform the second part of the cycle of mystery plays.
The costumes will be laid out in the big hall. Children, please arrive in good time to collect your costumes and when you are ready, go to your places in the Church. After Mass please take the costumes back to the big hall and leave them tidily on the chairs.
The solemn Mass of Christmas day will be at 11am.
On Boxing Day, Wednesday, the feast of St Stephen, there will be a Mass at 10am.
I am not sure if there will be a 7.30 Mass on Thursday as possibly I may be away attending to my alternative job on the steam railway.
A word of thanks to all who have helped with the decoration preparation of the Church for our celebrations. The crib has appeared once again in its usual form – each year we think that we are going to renew if but somehow it appears once again.
I hope to be able to spend part of my Christmas day with my family. The children are becoming old enough to join in our mad games of charades, though it is sometimes difficult to work out the solutions. The quiz always leads to several arguments and I am faced with alternative versions with impossible questions. Before the food, a chance to inspect and polish the various cars and words of frustration when the turkey is ready to be carved and we have set off on a test drive round the lanes.
In the days after Christmas, quite a few things to do. The year is coming to an end and I have to tidy up the accounts to make sure everything will balance on 31st December. The petty cash should balance – now did I pay the milkman? Also the students from the College in Spain are out on placements during January and I have to make sure that they all receive a grant. Lots of good intentions about sorting out various cupboards, but somehow I do not get round to it.
So what to look forward to next year? The First Holy Communions in May and the Confirmations in January. Ever two years, we visit Sanlucar de Barrameda in the South of Spain to see the old English Chapel of which I am the Trustee. We are due to make a visit at the end of January. As always several visits to the College to help with the administration. The next visit is in February. Already a few people may be thinking about coming with me in October. I hope to be able to provide a water slide in the garden this summer to attend to the attractions. I will need to attend to the external decoration of the house and possibly renew a further heating boiler. Also the proposed works to the hall are still outstanding. Generally everything is in good order but regular maintenance is important.
I hope that you all have a very enjoyable Christmas celebration.
Chula, Dobra, Chouette, Schon, Bello …or whatever.
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon