Newsletter Sunday 4th January 2015
Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the three wise men to the Christ Child. In the past this feast was celebrated on 6th January, the twelfth night after Christmas, but now it is moved to the nearest Sunday.
At the 9.30 Mass today the children will perform the third and final part of the cycle of mystery plays. After this, the costumes will be carefully put away for another year.
A reminder of the new timetable for weekday Masses – at 10am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 7.30am on Tuesday and Thursday. If possible there will be a Eucharistic Service at 10am on Tuesday.
Also my next Sunday the crib will be dismantled and figures put away in the Sacristy loft. In spite of careful sweeping, there always seem to be pine needles left over from the tree for several weeks.
This is the first newsletter for 2015 so an opportunity to wish you every blessing and success during the coming year. Lots of things to look forward to – in particular the First Communions and the Confirmations in May – so the weeks will be very full.
As far as the calendar of the Church is concerned, the weekdays are of the Christmas season, leading up to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord next Sunday.
Much involved in Local Authority work at present – I am at the Town Hall at Greenwich on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.
In the coming days, you may see some work to the roof of the Church. The main roof was recovered in 1998 but inevitably with strong winds, a few slates have been dislodged and the pointing along the ridge tiles needs attention. Also we are taking the opportunity to improve the lightning conductor with a wire along the top ridge. Some years ago, in a major storm, we were struck by lightning. The conductor prevented major damaged but all the power circuits were cut out.
Travel to and from town is more difficult now that the Charing Cross trains are not stopping at London Bridge. The Thames link trains have disappeared for a while which makes travel to Gatwick more difficult. My days of regular travel to Guernsey have finished and I travel to Spain from city airport so it is not as difficult as it might have been in the past.
A prayer for the New Year:
Lord of creation, in whose power are all times and seasons, bless this year and crown it with your goodness. Keep your Church in peace, grant us every blessing and lead us to your eternal home, where you live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
I expect you make cauliflower cheese from time to time. Here is my recipe. Make a white sauce by blending some margarine with some flour and slowly adding some milk, stirring all the time to make a smooth sauce. Add some grated cheese – a strong such as cheddar is good. In the meantime cook some cauliflower in some boiling water, draining it whilst is still firm and not too soft. Place in a baking, cover with the sauce and add some chopped cheese on top. Bake in the over until it is browned.
The great nephew returns to school again this week. Fine being at home on holiday, as long as his little sister does not interfere with his model railway. Busy learning all sorts of things but he is always pleased if I can find him another book about buses.
Verse and Worse is always enjoyable: do you remember this?
Teach not thy parent’s mother to extract
The embryo juices of the bird by suction.
The good old lady can that feat enact
Quite irrespective of thy kind instruction.
Best wishes to you all
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon