It’s Looking a Lot Like Christmas

The church is all decorated for Christmas.

The Lessons and Carol Service was a wonderful service lead by      Rev. John Stevenson. Singing carols and listening to the Christmas story read by members of the congregation, was such a great way to enter the Christmas Season reminding us all of the true meaning of Christmas.

It was also a time for us to show our thanks to the people that help us in our worship throughout the year. Small gifts were presented buy David Rose.

ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH LOCKERBIE
Third Sunday in Advent – 16 December 2018
Service of Lessons & Carols

Bidding Prayer – Rev’d John Stevenson.

The lessons & carols will proceed without further announcement.

Carol – No 326. In the bleak mid-winter.

1st Lesson. Christ’s birth and kingdom are foretold by Isaiah

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Carol – No 479. O come, all ye faithful.

2nd Lesson. The angel Gabriel salutes the Blessed Virgin Mary

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshdow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Carol – No 508. O Little Town of Bethlehem.

3rd Lesson. The birth of Jesus

It came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The choir will sing We Celebrate.

4th Lesson. The shepherds go to the manger

There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Carol No 745. While shepherds watched their flocks by night.

5th Lesson. The wise men are led by the Star to Jesus

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Carol No 634. The angel Gabriel from heaven came.

6th Lesson. St John unfolds the great mystery of the incarnation

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Carol No 330. It came upon the midnight clear.

The Collect.

The Blessing.

Thank you to Rev’d Martin Callaghan

To thank Martin for his commitment to the Annandale Group for the past 20 years the congregations of All Saints’ Lockerbie and St John’s Moffat will join together at a special Eucharist service at All Saints’ commencing at 6.30pm on Thursday 20 December. John and Maggie will be joining us and the service will be followed by light refreshments.

Christmas Services

Sunday 23 December. Sung Eucharist at 11.15am
Monday 24 December. Sung Eucharist at 6.00pm followed by refreshments.
Christmas Day Tuesday 25 December. No service at All Saints’ but Rev’d John Stevenson will conduct a Eucharist at St John’s Moffat at 10am.

Shortbread

Don’t wait until tea time to have shortbread – morning coffee is just as good. There is only one way to make shortbread and that’s with butter.  I think it’s a waste of electricity to use anything else.

8oz butter                                                                                                                                4oz caster sugar                                                                                                                8oz  plain flour                                                                                                                       4oz cornflour

Cream butter and caster sugar together until pale and creamy. Add both flours and mix well until you have a smooth dough.  Divide into two and press into 8” round sandwich tins. Crimp the edges with a fork handle and prick all over.  Bake for 1 hour 100ºC. Take out of the oven and allow to cool slightly, cut into 8 triangles with a sharp knife (that’s the hard bit, getting it even). Dust with caster sugar while still warm, then the sugar will stick and not fall off when you lift the shortbread.

You can roll the shortbread out and cut into shapes and bake for about ½ the time (when slightly coloured they will continue to cook while they cool) I make star shapes at Christmas, but rounds are great to serve with fresh fruit or creamy desserts yummy!

Ginger Shortbread is very nice to serve with lemon desserts add about 2 level tsp with the flour.

You can also make this shortbread in a food processor just add all together and wizzzzzzzz until it forms a dough.

ENJOY

Taken from “When its brown done……….”                                                                 by Kath  Leadbeater

Pauline Rose taking shoe boxes to a collection point after they had been blessed in church at our Harvest Service.

St John’s, Moffat and All Saints’, Lockerbie,
a linked charge of Episcopal Churches

in beautiful southwest Scotland, seeks full-time
rector to help our churches reach out to our
communities, evolve to meet the needs of all
age groups, and to develop our faith.
Application form available from: e.mcdonnell@hotmail.co.uk

Profile for All Saints Lockerbie please click link below to open pdf

NEW All Saints Profile 2018

Easter Message 2018

Some of you may listen to a Radio 4 programme called Last Word. In effect it offers appreciations and assessments of interesting people who have died in the week or so before the programme is broadcast. As I write, the cast includes Stephen Hawking and Ken Dodd. But it occurs to me that it’s an odd title for a programme which makes no claim that what is said is to be understood as either authoritative or the last word about anybody.

Odd, simply because we all know that whoever claims to have the last word about anyone or anything is claiming to have very significant power over people or in human affairs generally. And we are all too aware of the destructive potential of such claims in the world as we experience it. But what if the last word need not be like that and what if we are about to celebrate the all-important Last Word, namely the divine exercise of power which raised Jesus from the dead?And what if this Last Word turns out be the very opposite of a destructive exercise of power, but is heard rather as a word of love, a word of life, a word of vindication, a word of triumph over the worst that we humans can perpetrate, because it is uttered by no human claimant to power? And if that is true, and it is our faith that it is true, then here is a Last Word which constantly constitutes our hope and our ground for trying to live what we might callChrist-shaped lives, lives that may seem to meet with little favour in a hard and unforgiving world, but lives that bear the glory of resurrection now and at the end. I suggest that at its best the liturgy of Easter celebrates this hope and strengthens us in living it out. I wish you all a blessed Easter.

+Gregor

Simnel Cake

This is super cake and not just for Easter its a great all year round cake.  You could always not add the almond paste to the top, but instead sprinkle flaked almonds on the top before cooking. Not sure where I got this recipe from or who gave me it but is worth trying.

HAPPY BAKING

Cake
6oz (175g) soft margarine
6oz (175g) light soft brown sugar
3 eggs
6oz (175g) plain flour
3 level teaspoons mixed spice
1 level teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons milk
12oz (225g) mixed died fruit
2oz (50g) glacé cherries
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2oz (50g) ground almonds
8oz (225g) readymade almond paste

Topping — Optional
8oz (225g) readymade almond paste
1tablespoon apricot jam

Heat the oven to 160ºC Grease and line with greaseproof paper a 7 inch (17.5cm) deep round cake tin.
Put all the cake ingredients except for the fruit and cherries in a mixing bowl and beat well for about 2 minutes until well blended, now add the fruit and cherries and stir well.
Place half the mixture in the cake tin. Take the almond paste and roll out to a circle to fit the cake tin. Place the almond paste on the cake mixture and add the remaining mixture on top. Smooth the top.
Bake in the oven for about 2¼hors or until a skewer comes out clean when pierced into the Centre of the cake.
When cooked turn out on to a cooling rack. When cold remove the paper.
Topping brush the top of the cake with apricot jam. Roll out the almond paste, the best way I have found for cutting a circle of almond paste is to use the cake tin as a template. Using the left over almond paste to make 11 equal pieces, and shape into balls. Crimp the edge of the almond paste and place the balls round the edge.
Gill for a few minutes to brown.

Enjoy!!

To freeze—freeze cake without topping pack in container seal and label use within 3 months. Freeze the almond paste topping separately—open freeze when frozen wrap label and use within 3 months.

A few weeks ago Elizabeth McDonnell sent me the following story, I was intrigued…..so I went to Google (as one does) and did a search, this what I came up with. Please click on the wikipedia link to read more.

‘Helen Roseveare, Missionary to Africa
Helen Roseveare a doctor missionary from England to Zaire , Africa, told this as it had happened to her in Africa’.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Roseveare

‘Before they call, I will answer.’ (Isaiah 65:24)

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labour ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).

We also had no special feeding facilities.
Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates).
‘And it is our last hot water bottle!’ she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles.
They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
‘All right,’ I said, ‘put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.’
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. ‘Please, God’ she prayed, ‘Send us a hot water bottle today. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.’

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, ‘And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?’
As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say ‘Amen?’ I just did not believe that God could do this.
Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the veranda was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly-coloured, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas – that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.
Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the…..could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried.
I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, ‘If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!’
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked, ‘Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?’
‘Of course,’ I replied!
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator.
And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child – five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it ‘that afternoon.’

‘Before they call, I will answer.’ (Isaiah 65:24)

When you receive this, say the prayer. That’s all I ask. No strings attached. Just send it on to whomever you want – but do send it on.

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards. Let’s continue praying for one another.

This awesome prayer takes less than a minute.

Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this. I ask You to minister to their spirit. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubting, release a renewed confidence to work through them. Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You to give them understanding, guidance, and strength. Where there is fear, reveal Your love and release to them Your courage… Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage them.. I ask You to do these things in Jesus’ name. Amen

P. S. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both. Passing this on to one not considered a friend is something Christ would do

Another successful event enriching the life of our Church and enabling us to share the amenity with the wider community. Although the audience was rather reduced due to earlier snowfall and icy conditions those who did attend enjoyed the Sing a Long ,many items from our youths, together with some less well known songs and individual performances – by  John Wade

male Soloist and the Fiddler Charlie Carr

A raffle was held and refreshments served in the  interval.

We are most grateful to Hilary Carmichael for masterminding the proceedings ( acting on John Macleod’s suggestion) and to the Dryfe Singers ably assisted by some ladies from the ‘Lochmaben Sing for Fun’  group turning out in force on a winter’s night and for providing such an excellent and entertaining evening.

The Mingulay Boat Song
Westering Home
Charlie Carr on fiddle
The Peat Fire Flame
Mairi’s Wedding
John Wade – Solo
Ho-ro my Nut – Brown Maiden
The Uist Tramping Song
The Road to the Isles
John Wade – Solo
The Jura Harvesting Lilt
Coorie Doon
Follow the Heron
Charlie Carr – Fiddle

Interval

The Carnival is Over
I’ll Never Find Another You
John Wade – Solo
Ye Banks and Braes
Loch Lomond
John Wade – Solo
Dumbarton Drums
The 4 Marys
Charlie Carr – Fiddle
Galway Bay
The Old Camarthen Oak
I Love a Lassie
Roamin’ in the Gloamin’
I Belong to Glasgow
John Wade – Solo
The Song of the Clyde
Keep You in Peace