Welcome to St Mary’s & St Anne’s Moseley
Sunday 8 January 2012 – First Sunday of Epiphany

Welcome

If you are here for the first time, please do introduce yourself to a sidesperson or priest. There is a loop system for the hard of hearing available in the nave at St Mary’s and in any part of the church at St Anne’s.

Receiving Communion

Baptised communicant members of any Church are welcome to receive Communion. If you would like to receive a blessing, please come forward holding your service leaflet.

Your Offering

A collection for the work of the church is usually taken during each service. Please use the Gift Aid envelope if you are a UK taxpayer. There will also be a collection from the parents in the children’s groups

Mobile Phones

Please ensure phones are switched off as they interfere with the hearing loop and the PA system.

Contact details for the Vicar, Wardens & Admin

• Church Office: 25 St Mary’s Row, B13 8HW
• Telephone: 0121 449 2243
• Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Church Office will now open for enquiries at 11:00 a.m. on Mondays. This is to ensure quality time for planning and communication by the Ministry Team and Staff in the first part of the morning.

Parish Hall and Room Bookings

• Contact: Chrissy McAteer
• Telephone: 0121 449 2243
• Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

St Mary’s Junior Church

…recommences on 22nd Jan

St Anne’s Children’s Group

…begins today

Notices

Welcome to Hazel White

New Associate Vicar for Discipleship for St Mary’s and St Anne’s. We’re looking forward to welcoming Hazel with a ‘surprise larder’! Please bring gifts of any bottles and non-perishables goods to show a warm and generous welcome. Please bring items to the Church office before Tuesday 10 January.

St Anne’s Giving

Please collect your 2012 giving envelope from the pigeon holes at the back of Church. If you would like to join the scheme, please see Terry Adams.

Blessing in Light! Bringing our Faith alive!

2012 will hopefully be a year of great celebration; it gives us the opportunity to remember 12 as a Holy number. Throughout the year, we will be creating a ‘collage’ of stories and faith, seeing God’s Blessing through many seasons and events. There will be a monthly theme relating to a particular church festival or celebration and we are inviting every member of the congregation to share their spiritual ‘image’ of what this means to them. This month we celebrate the feast of Epiphany, the time when God reveals the Light of his glory made manifest (revealed) through the life of Jesus Christ. So we’re asking each person to share what Light means to them, perhaps through a person, place or being, or through a song, music, psalm, film, DVD, bible passage, painting, photo, book or drama. Think who or what lightens up your life. What ‘spiritual’ image strengthens you or tells your story and may reveal how God lightens your life. There is a £20 prize for the winning entry each month. We look forward to receiving your entries, in the office by Monday 30 January. Next month the theme will be Blessing in Love.

Tins at St Mary’s

There are a number of tins and pots at the back of church that need collecting. Please take any that belong to you – thank you for the contents!

Thank you from clergy team

For all the cards and well wishes over the Christmas period.

Future Events

St Mary’s PCC meeting

Monday 9 January, 7:30 p.m.
Council Room, St Anne’s Parish Hall. This will be an open meeting. All are welcome.

Prayer Circle

Tuesday 10 January, 7:30 p.m. St Mary’s Courtyard Room. At this prayer circle we will have prayer and a play-reading for the Epiphany season. Please enter through the courtyard (office gate).

Social Events Team meeting

Tuesday 10 January, 7:30 p.m.
Any suggestions for how we celebrate main events this year should be sent to the Office by 12 noon on Tuesday.

Chamber Music Concert

Sunday 15 January, 3.00pm
In aid of “The New Voice for St Mary’s”. Opus 9 will perform works by Schubert , Brahms and Lachner. A retiring collection will be taken.

St Anne’s PCC Meeting

Monday 16 January
Council Room, St Anne’s Parish Hall. This will be an open meeting. All are welcome.

PRAYER & REFLECTION

The Benefice prays for:

• Archie Swinbourne, Emilia Terry & Thomas Charman being baptised today;
• Hazel White moving to Moseley this week;
• Residents of Lenches;
• Moseley C of E School beginning a new term;
• Our PCCs and Social Events Team meeting in the next week;
• The Leonard Kamunga Theological College;
• All mission partners far from home at this time of year.

Prayers are asked for:

Matthew and Hannah & Bethany Davies, Leo Charles, Judith Eden, Vincent Nolan, Sheila Peers, Richard Erskine, Buff & Bernard Madden, Peter Watson

Souls of the departed:

Arthur Dudleston, Rebecca O Neill
We pray for family & friends of Arthur

We celebrate the Birthdays of:

Harry Rawlings, John Townend, Alec Charles-Peers (9th), William Terry (10th), Janet Thorne, Lena Skuriat (13th)

Collect

Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thought for the week by Tammy Round

Both of this week’s readings are apt choices for this time of year. Who can fail to see the theme of fresh beginnings and making changes? God resolved to make the world, and he did! The people were baptized ‘to show that they were changing their hearts and lives’. I ask you, have we all got a New Year’s Resolution? Well, God might have made the world in seven days, but I know it will take me quite a bit longer to see if I can live by my resolutions! Some are ones we can all recognize: lose weight, eat healthily and exercise more. However, some are more difficult and require more sacrifice of time and effort, our most valuable commodities these days. I wish to commit more time to friends and family: visiting them more often; helping them when in need and sharing those special moments in our lives. I realised that this had to be a priority when Christmas pictures from friends revealed a little giggling girl opening presents rather than the little bundle of a wrapped up baby that I remember. It was one of many shocking moments of realization that if things and people matter to me, I need to show them! So I wish you the best for the New Year and any changes you wish to make. You might not be able to make the world in seven days (like someone we know) but you may be able to make those important little changes that will mean the world to you or someone you love.