Letter from November 2022 Parish Magazine
Dear Everyone,
Moving on. Moving in. There must be many people on the move in or out of Staplehurst. There seem to be many requests on The Staplehurst Helping Page for large boxes.
Welcome to all who are joining us in our village and goodbye and good wishes to those leaving us.
Moving on is not just about homes. We are doing it all through our lives. Children and we reading this were once children, grow and change schools, leave home and go their own way. Parents adapt to being needed, or not, by their adult children. At work, as we progress we get more responsibility or change jobs as we see fit. As we get older things move again and we start to turn to younger people for help or advice. Members of our family and also our friends either move away or die, and are missed hugely. The circle of our life turns. It Was ever thus. We move into this world and move through it until we go to live with God our Heavenly Father.
In our Church calendar, we are moving on towards the end of our Church year. On November 1st it is the celebration of All Saints Church Patronal Festival. We will be remembering not only the well-known saints but also ordinary people who have made our world a better place and are also saints. On November 2nd it is All Souls’ Day when we especially remember all who have died. November 13th is Remembrance Sunday, remembering but also praying for peace where there is war in our present time.
Sunday, November 27th we start the Church’s New Year. This is the time called Advent when leading up to Christmas, we prepare our hearts and minds to welcome Jesus as we celebrate the memory of His Birth.
It is when we should quietly set aside time during all the preparations to think about the real meaning of Christ’s Birth and how this affects our lives. How blessed we are through Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection and ascension.
May God be with you always and in all ways.
Audrey
