Join us on Sunday

20 December for the Christmas Eucharist Service, 10h30.

Fr Keith Bretel

Mr Benjamin Prischi will play the organ.

Please wear your mask properly and at all times.

'Primo Fiore'

The kitchen for the needy – Primo Fiore in Sanremo - give grateful
thanks to St. John's for their Harvest Festival donation. Due to the covid-19
restrictions, they are unable to welcome people to eat at table in the canteen, which they normally do, but they continue to serve the meal in containers as take-aways.
These consist of a first course, a second course, bread, fruit/sweet, a bottle of water and cutlery. More than fifty needy people present themselves – locals and foreigners - and numbers are increasing due to the epidemic.
Fortunately Primo Fiore is also supported by the Sanremo Food Bank, Supermarkets, the Fruit and Vegetable Market, churches such as St John's Menton, and private people, as well as a large number of volunteers to do the cooking.

Life at St. James-the-Least The Rectory St. James-the-Least

My dear Nephew Darren,

I was pleased to hear that you enjoyed your first Christmas in your parish, although a little disappointed that you replaced the 'boring' Crib Service with a 'more exciting' alternative. I have yet to understand the theology - or even point - of your 'Bananarama' celebration. I'm sure your bishop would be interested to hear of its biblical authority.

Having said that, our own Crib Service proved to be a little unorthodox and far from boring. Choosing the cast from the Sunday school is always a delicate process. One of the youngsters who wanted to be Joseph was only given the part of the innkeeper. He seemed to accept the disappointment with good grace, but had clearly made his plans.

On the evening of the performance, Joseph knocked on the innkeeper's door and asked if there was any room. This was our innkeeper's great opportunity. He threw open the door and told Joseph and Mary that there was plenty of room and they were both welcome. The cast and audience froze, while the teacher responsible contemplated early retirement.

But Joseph hadn't got the star part for nothing. He pretended to look round inside and then turned to Mary and said, "Nah, it's too crowded in there; we'll use the stable round the back."

And so the nativity was rescued by one nine year-old. There's Episcopal material in that boy.

Christmas would not be the same without carol singing round the village. There is the annual dilemma of deciding just the right moment to go and sing in the pub. Too early, and the customers aren't sufficiently maudlin to give generously; too late and they drown out the choir with their own variations of 'Silent Night'. We are offered mulled wine at most of the houses we visit. Mr Prentice's solo as Balthazar became ever more operatic with his "sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying," as the evening progressed. Perhaps by the time of our last call he was even getting a little too operatic.

And so to the climax of it all, with the midnight Service.  We had a full church lit only by candles, which ruin many a good coat every year. However, Mr Onion's behaviour in putting up his umbrella as he stood under the great nave candelabra on his way to receive Communion was regarded as being a little de trop by most of us.

But a new year is now upon us; after the joys of Christmas, Lent comes hard on its heels. Precisely my philosophy: every silver lining contains a cloud.

Your loving uncle,

Eustace

New Archdeacon of France

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It gives me the greatest pleasure to announce that Canon Dr. Peter Hooper has been appointed to be the next Archdeacon of France.

Peter is currently priest-in-charge of seven rural churches near Melton Mowbray and Area Dean of the Framland Deanery in the Leicester Diocese. He is the Chair of the House of Clergy, is a member of Bishop's Council, sits on various other Diocesan Committees and also serves as the Rural Officer for Leicester Diocese. Much of his time in ministry has been directed to growing Christian communities and presence, both within established settings as well as in start-up situations and secular
organisations. Children and young people have been a particular focus, and he has helped two communities register as Eco-Churches. He is interested in national initiatives on clergy flourishing and has co-ordinated a series of projects looking at reducing the administration burden for clergy. Peter has been Area Dean for two different deaneries, both of which have been re-organised under his leadership, and his ministry has emphasised the need to care for and encourage clergy and parishioners who find change difficult.

Prior to ordination Peter worked in agriculture, eventually becoming managing director of a large agricultural seeds subsidiary of DuPont, based in Toulouse, and represented the industry up to national level in France. As a business leader he nurtured discipleship through a 'faith in the workplace' course and continues to tutor on various Diocesan Discipleship programmes. A major part of Peter's ordination training took place at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse, though more as a result of geography than tradition, as Peter has a very broad churchmanship. Whilst living in
Toulouse he served as Chaplaincy Warden in the Anglican Chaplaincy, so
understands well the realities of chaplaincy life in the Archdeaconry from a lay officer perspective, particularly as related to financial issues.
Peter was widowed in 2019 and has two grown-up children, William who is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Catherine, a Human Nutritionist, who works in the Food Industry. Whilst they will not be returning with him to live in France, they are excited about the opportunities to visit.

Peter has lived and worked in France for over a decade and looks forward very much to returning to a country that he regards as his home.
Peter will begin work with us on 15 February 2021. He will be licensed initially as Acting Archdeacon, continuing to live in Leicestershire. A move to Francer will be organised as quickly as possible in these difficult times, when Peter will be licensed as Archdeacon in full title.

The new St John's English Library is now open until 20 December*.

Mrs Julia Wigart and Mrs Joanna Longhorne have done a marvellous job organising hundreds of books.

Please come to the church on Wednesday afternoon, 14h30-17h30 and Saturday morning, 09h30-12h30 to look through the Fiction and Non-Fiction books. To view the library online, please click HERE.

*Library will re-open on 07 January 2021

St. Lucy - (281-304)

Lucy was born of a wealthy noble family in Syracuse, Sicily. She was a virgin denounced as a Christian by a rejected suitor, and martyred under the persecution of Diocletian.

Her Feast Day is celebrated on 13 December and coincides with the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year before the reform of the Julian calendar.
Falling in the season of Advent the day of St. Lucy is seen as an event which marks the arrival of Christmas Time, which culminates with the arrival of the Light of Christ on Christmas Day.
Santa Lucia is celebrated in Italy, in particular in Syracuse, and in Scandinavian countries where the winters are long and dark. In Scandinavia it is represented by a girl dressed in white (colour of the purity of baptism) with a red sash (colour of the blood of her martyrism) and with a crown of candles on her head.

In Norway, Sweden and in the region of the Swedish language in Finland, they sing songs and the girls dress as St. Lucy and carry biscuits and safron buns, as metaphorically carrying the light of Christianity through the darkness of the world.

God in Music

'Glorious the song when God's the theme'
Morten Lauridsen, American composer

In the Middle Ages, at the end of the Christian Midnight Mass, the clergy would often tell the animals' version of the Nativity story and imitate the sound of each animal. The cock would crow 'Christus natus est.' (Christ is born). The cows would moo 'Ubi?' Where). The sheep would bleat 'In Bethlehem.' And the donkey would cry 'Eamus' (Let us go there). It was a way of expressing something of the joy and fun of the Christmas celebration.

Commercialism with its trappings has sadly made that fun and festivity the be all and end all of Christmas. We need to capture again the heart of the Incarnation, which is a mystery rooted in silence and wonder. The book of Wisdom reads 'For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, the all powerful Word leapt from heaven , from the royal throne.'

Those words remind us that at Bethlehem there is that silence and wonder. The animals may rejoice to tell the Good News of the Incarnation at the Midnight Mass, but at the crib they gather with the Holy Family and the shepherds. We are given no words of Mary and Joseph and the shepherds around the crib. The mystery of what was happening seems to have intensified their silence. They did not know what the
future held for this new-born child, but they did know that God was acting in a special way. They were like people standing in the faint light of the dawn, and their response was an expectant and wondering worship.

It is the heart of this month's beautiful and moving setting of some words from the matins of Christmas morning. 'O magnum mysterium.' 'O great mystery and wondrous sacramant, that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in the manger. Blessed Virgin, whose womb was found worthy to bear Christ the Lord.

'Alleluia.' The words were set by the American composer, Morten Lauridsen in 1994 and first performed a few days before Christmas in Los Angeles. Since then, the setting has been sung by choirs, both professional and amateur, around the world. Morten Lauridsen has composed many works for the human voice, and all of them are sensitive and heartfelt responses to the words chosen. No more so than in 'O magnum mysterium.' After the opening chord, the altos introduce us to a motif that pervades the work: D to a rising 4th and a falling 3rd that lights on A. It is like the movement of the heart, rising in praise and resting in hope at the mystery of the Incarnation. The joy is inner and deep and suffuses the music as it reaches a climax with Alleluia. The final words are that all this glory lies in a manger, where the animals gather.

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2020

In one of our best-loved carols, Christina Rossetti situates the birth of Jesus 'in the bleak midwinter'. She paints a severe and freezing manger scene, with howling wind and deep snow. She represents the frosted earth and water with iron and stone.

From the biblical narrative, it seems unlikely that Jesus was born in the bleak mid-winter, as the shepherds would not be putting their sheep out to pasture in freezing conditions. But that does not stop us gladly enjoying Rossetti's romantic poetic licence and reminding ourselves that the conditions of the first Christmas were hard, extraordinarily hard by modern standards.

Mary was a young girl giving birth a long way from home. The town of Bethlehem was crowded with strangers registering with the tax authorities of the occupying powers. Mary laid her new-born baby in an animal's stone feeding trough. And the first visitors were not close family but rough men from the fields.

It is extremely difficult to recover this first Christmas. The festival has become overlaid with medieval nativity scenes and Romantic or Dickensian winter scenes.

In the twentieth century, Christmas became the setting of the perfect family gathering. Most significantly, the run up to the commercial Christmas – the 'golden quarter' – is now a vital part of the retail industry's overall wellbeing so that vast sums are expended on advertising to persuade us to acquire more goods and more debt.

But not in 2020. This year it will be very different. Travel bans, lockdowns and quarantines mean it will be harder and perhaps impossible to get together with our loved ones. People are poorer. High streets, at least at the time of writing, are closed in many countries. And even when they re-open, shopping isn't quite the same when you have to physically distance and wear a mask. Christmas will be simpler this year. And for many it will be sadder. As Covid-19 has progressed more and more families have been affected by the virus and its frightening and sometimes long-term symptoms. Some of us have a relative who has been in intensive care, struggling to breathe. Many of us know someone who has
very sadly lost their life, and some of us face the first Christmas without someone close to us. This year, perhaps we more intuitively sense the harshness of the manger scene, the cruelty of death, the pain of a bleak mid-winter.

Another well-known – and much older – carol speaks to us about 'tidings of comfort and joy'. In 2020 we need to hear these tidings. For Christmas is at heart the story of a God who draws near to us in Jesus, sharing the sorrows and joys of human experience. In the mystery of the incarnation, the eternal God wonderfully condescends to be born as a human baby, in the roughest conditions. He is 'Immanuel' – the God who is with us.

Whatever conditions you face this Christmas, I hope you will be able to reach out and find the God who is with us. I hope you will take comfort from the presence of God with you, and perhaps also find opportunity to comfort others.
'God rest you merry' in modern English means 'may God grant you peace and happiness'. The unknown author continued:
'Let nothing you dismay for Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas Day to save us all from Satan's power when we had gone astray which brings tidings of comfort and joy'.

I wish each of you and your families comfort and joy as we approach this Christmas
season.
+ Robert Gibraltar in Europe

LET US PRAY together through December............
We pray to you Heavenly Father, in thanksgiving, and for ......
1. Lord may we see you more clearly, follow you more nearly and love you more dearly day by day in Advent
2. all who are suffering in body, mind or spirit, in the coronavirus pandemic..........
3. ....... and those who are putting their lives at risk to care for them ......
4...... give thanks for the scientific advances in treating the coronavirus ......
5. ... and pray that a valid vaccine will be available for all who need it ....
6. Praise God, that the church is open for all to meet and worship Him together
7. Be glad of life because it gives us the chance to love, to work, to play
8. may those who feel lonely or isolated from their family have sustaining
relationships with friends, and awareness of God's love for them
9. for the Prayer Circle
10. Lord, we cherish the gift of Human Rights and pray for all who do not enjoy
them in the measure afforded us
11. may we value and respect each person we meet today
12. for our locums and those who prepare the services each Sunday
13. 'The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad indeed' Psalm 126
14. for God's blessings on our neighbouring churches in France
15. may we always be willing to encourage and support those who are learning a new skill, and respect the results
16. all politicians & diplomats involved in the complexities of international relations
17. for those whose lives feel out of balance through lack of meaningful activity
18. for whom the celebration of Christmas is difficult, those who are ill, or bereaved
19 Guide me by your Spirit, Lord, to show me how to serve you here and now
20. 'My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour' Luke 1.47
21. Lord, open my mind to hear you speak through music, worship and prayer
22. Reflect on your favourite colours today - give thanks for the pleasure they give
23. carers who spend their Christmas in nursing or residential homes
24. for God's blessings on the church of the Holy Ghost in Genova, and their work with refugees
25. CHRISTMAS DAY. May the wonder of the nativity give us hope and peace.
26. for foster parents
27. 'Praise, O praise the name of the Lord' Psalm 148
28. for those who have responsibilities in running St. John's
29. for all European countries as a new future is beginning for them
30. Lord, bless family and friendships that we have - help us to be a blessing to them
31. Thank God for his faithfulnes through the joys and challenges of this past year;
and look forward with hope and trust to all that lies ahead.

Lord, thank you for talking to us in our prayers,
may we listen and put what you say into practice.
Amen

Church of the Holy Ghost, Genova – Mission to Migrants
There have been places of Anglican worship for British people in Bordighera, Ospedaletti, San Remo, Diano Marina, Alassio, Spotorno, Genova, Rapallo e Levanto. They came in great numbers to Liguria during the winter months of the 1860s until the end of the Second World War. By the end of the 20th century, mainly for financial and numerical reasons, all but the Church of the Holy Ghost, Genova
and the Anglican Chapel in Bordighera had closed.
Genova, being a very important port on the Mediterranean coast, welcomes people from many nations and continents to work and study. “The Church of the Holy Ghost has survived, despite some very difficult times”, writes Canon Tony Dickinson, their Chaplain “because of its ministry to a much wider community. It is not just a church for “ex-pat” Brits. The church greets those who prefer to worship
in English or for whom English is their first European language and the resident congregation at present includes people from Canada, Germany, Ghana, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Romania, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

In recent years the church has established a distinctive ministry to refugees and other migrants, particularly those who have made the dangerous journey from West Africa across the Sahara to Libya, and then risked their lives in overcrowded inflatables crossing to Lampedusa. Some were persuaded to embark on the journey by the
narrative of “El Dorado” peddled by the traffickers and their agents, or were sent by their families to “make their fortune”. Many in the initial wave of migrants came because they were trapped in Libya by the overthrow of the Ghaddafi regime and the attendant chaos. Others came to escape gang violence. Some of the young women travelled to Italy in order to escape abuse at home.
Ministry to the migrants demands a lot of energy and commitment from the core members of the congregation, who have been unstintingly generous with their time,
money and pastoral care, this has been shown in the following ways:
• supporting those who are going through Italy's immigration process
• bailing out (in extremis prison visiting) the few who get into trouble with the law or with the institutions which offer accommodation for migrants
• providing rent deposits for those who are moving on into private
accommodation and are awaiting their first pay packet
• guiding them round the intricacies of Italian bureaucracy
• sorting out health-care
• helping with CVs
• writing references for prospective employers or for immigration
commissions (and appeals against negative commission decisions)
• preparing people for job interviews
• running a small-scale food-and-clothing-bank, including bedding for those who need it, and children's clothes (the food bank serves about a dozen people each Sunday)
• keeping their eyes and ears open for any job opportunities that may be going and might be suitable for one or other of the people on our books
• encouraging them along the way of Jesus Christ

In July 2019 the church presented seven adult candidates from the Nigerian community for baptism and/or confirmation. A similar number had been presented in 2017. Many of the migrants first came to the church because they had heard from friends about the food-bank but stayed because of the warmth of fellowship which they encountered and have made the commitment to follow Jesus Christ.
Most of the work I have described is down to the personal generosity of established church members and their openness to newcomers. As one of our churchwardens has said, 'We don't have a congregation at Holy Ghost. We have a family.' The church's electoral roll currently stands at just under 30. Our average Sunday congregation is in the region of 30-40, about two-thirds of whom are “migrants” in the popular sense of the word. We are aware of 50-60 “on our books”. All but two or three of us (the native Italian members of the congregation) are in fact migrants of one kind or another, here to work, or to study, or because they fell in love. Our weekly income in recent months has normally been between €100 and €150, but if earners in the congregation are away on holiday and cruise ships aren't sending any passengers in our direction, it can be as low as half that. That income is supposed to cover our utilities' bills, the rent on the chaplain's flat, the chaplain's expenses, the maintenance of our worship amd our contribution to the running costs of the Diocese in Europe. There is a “Neighbours in Need” fund from which grants and loans are given to people in need of immediate cash help. This has been made possible largely through the generosity of the people of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Rock Creek, Washington DC.
A favourite saying among the congregation is “God sees and provides”, and what is being done here by way of pastoral care and nurturing people in Christian faith is little short of miraculous. However, the work that was done to bring the building back into use 70 years ago is showing its age, and we are very much aware that another major storm of the ferocity of last October's could lead to the church being closed as unsafe – and we couldn't afford the cost of repairs. We have only just paid off the very patient contractor who carried out the most recent refurbishment of the building seven years ago and to do that required us to run our scanty reserves down to a worryingly low level. We are also very much aware that we could do a great deal more if the building were brought up to scratch in terms of its facilities – but that also requires money that we do not have. We are also facing the likelihood of new demands in the New Year as the “camps” where many of the African migrants have been settled are due to be closed. Members of the congregation are already involved in a process of giving advice on saving and guidance on flat-sharing.

Every day we give thanks for the church building of St. John, built by 'The United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel', and pray for its complete restoration, that we may be able to open its doors once more to all who seek to worship God our heavenly Father therein, and to carry forward His mission for us in this place.

Heavenly Father,
We praise you and give you thanks and pray for ......
1. In honour of St. David's Day, pray for the church and anyone you know who lives in Wales
2. Pray for the opportunity of a closer walk with God during Lent
3. for those suffering from mental disorders that leave them afraid and lonely
4. Father, fill us all with Your love that it will illuminate our lives
5. for all those who are attending or following Lent courses
6. pray for Zimbabwe and those taking part in the World Day of Prayer
7. pray for children and young people in the towns where we live
8. 'My help comes for the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth' Psalm 121.2
9. pray for those who find their work stressful..........
10. ........ and for those who are seeking employment
11. for any couples you know who are preparing for marriage
12. give thanks for the commitment of St. John's Church Work Group
13. give thanks for the longer brighter days and the warmth of the sun
14. pray for the migrants who arrive on our border and their future life with us
15. 'O that today you would harken to his voice! Harden not your hearts.' Psalm 95
16. Lord, slow me down if I'm going too fast. May my life be inspired by You.
17. On this St. Patrick's Day pray for anyone you know who lives in Ireland
18. for the sick – their comfort and healing
19. Give thanks for your family, the love and happiness you share
20. pray for the staff in the hospitals where you live........
21. ........ and for the patients in their care
22. 'Surely your goodness shall follow me all the days of my life.' Psalm 23
23. pray for those who work in the emergency services
24. Bishop Robert's Lent Appeal – Classroom Building Diocese of Mumias, Kenya
25. Ask God's guidance to reach Carbon Reduction targets year-on-year
26. for those who work for an end to injustice in the world
27. give thanks for the peace and tranquillity of the parks in our towns
28. give thanks for those who volunteer to help with sporting activities
29. 'there is forgiveness with you; therefore you shall be feared.' Psalm 130
30. for God's healing and wholeness in your own life
31. Give thanks for all the good things this month has brought.
Lord, thank you for talking to me in my prayers,
may I listen and put what I hear into practice

Amen