St. Mary the Virgin Bramford, St. Mary Nettlestead, St Mary the Virgin Little Blakenham, St Peter Baylham
Rector: Revd. Eric Falla
01473 484 676 / 07540 359 993 / email: eric.falla@yahoo.com
Please check the notice boards for any changes
Morning Prayer
St Mary’s Bramford Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday at 8.30am plus fourth and fifth Wednesdays at Bramford.
Sunday, 14 January Epiphany 2
8am Holy Communion (Said) Bramford
10am Holy Communion Nettlestead
Sunday, 21 January Epiphany 3
10am Holy Communion Baylham
Sunday, 28 January Epiphany 4
8am Holy Communion (Said) Bramford
11am Holy Communion Little Blakenham
Dear Friends
The calendar page turns. January is our annual reminder that time keeps on into the future. January is when we look back and reflect on all that has been. All that has been gained. All that has been lost. All that has been missed. All that has been grasped. Faces that used to be right in front of us fade a little more into memory and then we turn and look forward to the year, the life in front of us. We look at the road stretching out in front of us. New challenges. New opportunities. Faces that someday we will not be able to imagine life without linger just beyond our vision. And just for a moment perhaps, we stop. Between what has been and what is to come. And we ask ourselves: What has brought us this far on the way? What do we need for the journey before us? And the answer remains the same. Love. People come into our lives …and people depart. The new becomes familiar …and the familiar grows old and the old makes room for the new And we grieve. And we welcome. And we remember. Regardless of what the road behind us has been regardless of what the road ahead of us holds… God promises us one thing. Love.
God gives Godself to us … in love.
God gives us to each other … in love.
God binds all creation together … in love.
Love is how we can heal from whatever has been in the past. Love is how we can live with whatever challenges exist in the present. Love is how we can face whatever changes are coming in the future. Every Sunday the church gathers around the Eucharistic table and shares the bread … and the cup … and the story. We and God lay our whole lives on that table We give ourselves to God and one another. We remember that God does the same. And then we receive a piece of bread. A sip of wine. A reminder that we are never alone. That we have God. That we have each other. That we are bound together forever. In love. I do not know what the year to come will hold for us. I imagine there will be heartbreaks and goodbyes I imagine there will be happiness and hellos. I imagine there will be changes that will cause some of us to mourn and others to rejoice. I imagine there will be opportunities that we will grasp and others we will miss. We will have crises and we will have blessings We will hurt each other and we will hold each other
And every week, the church community we will come together And receive a piece of bread. A sip of wine. A reminder that we are never alone. That we have God. That we have each other. That we are bound together.
It is January. And just for a moment, we pause. Between what has been and what is to come. And we ask ourselves: What has brought us this far on the way? What do we need for the journey before us? And the answer is simple but will remains true and remains the same. Love. May God be with you all in this New Year.
Rev Eric Rector
Parish notices
Funerals
30 November 2023 Peter Rogers Ipswich Crematorium
4 December 2023 David Hughes Seven Hills Crematorium
May they rest in peace and rise in Glory
Coffee Mornings
Saturday, 20 January 10am–12 Noon Lt Blakenham Village Hall
Saturday, 27 January 10am Bramford Church Room
Rural Coffee Caravan
Monday, 15 January (TBC) 10am–12 noon Lorraine Victory Hall Bramford
The Gathering
Tuesday, 16 January 2pm Bramford Church Room
Floodlighting of the Spire of St. Mary’s Church
17 January In memory of Philip Stewart on his birthday
22 January In memory of Maria Whight on her birthday
If you would like to have the spire floodlit, please ring Stewart on: 01473 462231. The requested donation is £10 per week
Sunday Readings for January
7 January Epiphany 1 White
Ephesians 3.1-12 Matthew 2.1-12
14 January Epiphany 2 White
Revelation 5.1-10 John 1.43-end
21 January Epiphany 3 White
Revelation 19.6-10 John 2.1-11
28 January Epiphany 4 White
Presentation of Christ in the Temple Candlemas
Hebrews 2.14-18 Luke 2.22-40