Hazelwell Church

Hazelwell Weekly Contact

1 Dec 2022 • Weekly Notices

Hazelwell Weekly Contact

4th December 2022

Hazelwell Christingle and Parade Service

In Church at 10.00am (and on Zoom)

Led by Revd Rob Morris

  • All currently awaiting or recovering from surgery for cancer, we pray for successful outcomes and for their speedy recovery.
    • The Hazelwell Christmas post boxes will be open from Sunday 11th December to send cards to friends in church.
    • It has been great to see the renovated church floor looking so good.
    • The current total proceeds from the Christmas fair stand at £1,455
    • The funeral for Merdella King, (who passed away on November 6th) will take place at Cambridge Road Methodist Church on Friday 9th December at 11am this will be followed by burial at Kings Norton cemetery.

    • B30 Foodbank (Updated 27th November 2022)

    Urgent needs

    Tinned rice pudding, long-life fruit juice (not needing refrigeration), tinned/carton ready made custard (not powder), jam/honey, porridge (not greater than 500g), instant coffee (not decaffeinated), cereal (not greater than 500g), liquid/bar soap, strong carrier bags, gender neutral shower gel, laundry powder/liquid (not family sized)

    Low in stock

    Rice (500g), tinned tomatoes, tinned spaghetti, pasta sauce, baked beans, tinned/packet soup, tinned fish (tuna, mackerel, sardines, salmon), squash, tinned fruit in juice (not prunes or grapefruit), UHT semi-skimmed milk, dog food, instant hot-chocolate (not cocoa powder), UHT whole milk, tinned/packet vegetarian meals, sweet biscuits (not multi-packs), tinned meat (ham, corned beef, pork sandwich, pulled pork, chicken), sugar (500g), chocolate and snack bars, gender neutral shampoo, toothpaste, single or duo wrapped toothbrushes, toilet rolls, washing up liquid, nappies sizes 4,5 & 6

    Christmas needs

    Tinned ham, tinned salmon; tinned carrots, peas, sprouts; tinned peaches or tinned fruit cocktail; ready made custard (carton/tinned); alcohol-free Christmas puddings; selection boxes; gender neutral shower gel; liquid/bar soap

    Well stocked
    Pasta shapes, dry spaghetti, cereal (not greater than 500g), tinned vegetables, noodles, nappies size 1-3, baby food and baby care items, gender neutral roll-on deodorants, razors, sanitary pads, baby wipes, cat food.

    Not needed at all

    Tinned potatoes, teabags (40’s or 80’s), crisps, decaffeinated drinks or fruit infusions, bottled water, large bottles of lemonade or coke, any food or toiletries containing alcohol, cooking ingredient or sauces, instant potato, tinned macaroni cheese, fresh products (including vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs and bread), non-dairy items, gluten-free items, coffee beans, loose tea, large boxes of teabags (120’s or more), very large bags or boxes of porridge and cereal, cocoa power, tampons, make up hair accessories, perfume or aftershave.

    Reflection on Advent – A Time For Practicing Hope

    The thing about the Christian year is that it keeps coming around. Over and over again, we get to try our hearts and minds and hands at Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and Ordinary Time. We get to dust off the liturgies and speak or sing them again. We get to try old prayers in new ways—or try new prayers on old themes. We get to pick up our symbols and phrases and turn them slowly and look at them and listen to them repeatedly and allow their many layers and nuances to speak to us.

    This is called spiritual practice. So, yes, it’s Advent again. But that is how it should be. We have a season ahead of us in which to rehearse and re-enact the sacred story of God Is on the Way! God Will Soon Be with Us in the Most Extraordinary Way! Hope is coming; love is coming.

    We have a season in which to give our faith a workout, in which to exercise our hope muscles. Some years make that exercise more difficult than others. But it’s Advent now, and, as people of faith, we are called upon to exercise our hope.

    If hope isn’t created for times such as these—when countries are divided, when civil war annihilates whole communities and sends refugees fleeing, when hungry children are ignored because their interests are of no interest to powerful entities, when human beings are trafficked by the thousands to be used for sex or cheap labour, when industry and wealth win over the health of the planet and all its creatures and the global community—if hope isn’t created for times such as these, then why have hope at all?

    The message of the Christmas season is one of hope – hope for each and every one of us through the promise of Jesus. Advent is a time to once again focus on Him and make Him the centre of our lives.

    So let’s try Advent once again. Let’s practice a hopeful way of being in the world.