As I sit to write this article it with a touch of sadness, by the time the this magazine is distributed our chaplain, Ian Nicholson and his wife Carol, will have left the parish and be home with family and friends in New Zealand. For the past three years they have nurtured and guided us, led us in worship, fed both our souls and (thanks to Carol) our stomachs. We are grateful for all they did during the three years they spent here and will forever be grateful for the calm and generous way they led us through both good and bad times. We must now look forward to the future and pray that we are blessed with a new chaplain who can continue to build on the good foundations that have been laid.
We are delighted with the response for gifts to be donated to seafarers for Christmas. We will be handing over 60 gift boxes to Rev John Attenborough after they have been blessed at at our service on 3rd December, and they will be distributed over the festive period. Many thanks to everyone who supported this very worthwhile project, hopefully we will have given a lot of joy to the crews who spend Christmas away from their homes and families for months on end.
December 3rd is the first day of Advent, the beginning of the Church Year. It is a time of anticipation, a time of preparation, and a time of remembrance which leads up to Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. At church, you will find a different atmosphere and once we have left behind the smell of pine and the celebration of Christmas we enter into a world of Old Testament Prophets, John the Baptist, and powerful angels announcing future events. Advent’s tone and focus, however, is subdued for an important reason. Each major festal celebration (Christmas and Easter) is prefixed with a season of preparation. The movement of the Church Year assumes that we will better understand and experience these feasts if we spend time in reflection and meditation upon why we need them in the first place. We delve into the prophets and John the Baptist because they tell us of a time when the Messiah had not yet come. They take us as if back to the times of anticipation and longing. They remind us of how dramatic and powerful the Gospel story of God becoming a man really is. They prepare our minds and hearts for the joy of the Incarnation. And so, Advent is necessarily a reflective, anticipatory season.
The next Tabletop Sale will be on Saturday 2nd December. Please contact Nora 99356451 or email [email protected] if you would like to reserve a pitch.
The third Sunday of each month is BIRTHDAY SUNDAY so whatever day during the month your birthday is, join us in the church hall after the Sunday service and we will all celebrate together, of course there will be cake. This month we will be celebrating on 16th December.
Achord Choir will be singing in the church on Friday 8th December at 7.00pm. The choir have performed in our church on several occasions and always give us an evening to remember. Tickets €10. [email protected]
Our service of Nine Lessons and Carols will be held on 17th December at 6.00pm and will be led by Rev John Attenborough, other services over the Christmas period can be found in our weekly news sheet, on the notice board by the porch or on our website. Please come and join us when you can.
During our interregnum we are blessed to have chaplains from other parishes on the island coming to St Barnabas’ and St Lazarus’ to lead our services, some have travelled may miles to be with us at 10.00am on a Sunday morning and we are very grateful for their commitment. We pray that a new Chaplain will soon be coming to Limassol Parish to take us forward and guide us in our worship. In the meantime our church family will work together, pray together and look after one another.
May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Joyous and Peaceful Christmas and may the Lord guide us through the New Year with friendship, fellowship and good health.
Regular Events at St Barnabas Church Limassol
Tuesday Prayer Meeting 9.30am
Wednesday Communion 9.30am
Ladies Wednesday Craft Group 10-12 noon
Sunday Eucharist 10.00am – also available via Zoom
Sunday Eucharist at St Lazarus’ in Pissouri
The second Sunday of each month only (until further notice) at 6.00pm, The next services will be: – 10th December. Please contact Stanley Hooper, 25 221956 to confirm details of where services will be held as the Amphitheatre is not available for the foreseeable future.
If you are visiting us at St Barnabas’ Church for the first time, please make yourself known to us Refreshments will be available in the church hall after the service.
For further information please contact: Christine Taylor, [email protected]
www.stbarnabas-cyprus.com
www.facebook.com/StBarnabasAnglicanChurchLimassol/
Rev John Attenborough MTS – 99 539144
Regional Director, Middle East, and South Asia & Chaplain to the Cyprus Ports
