The monthly e-newsletter from the Team Vicar of All Saints Whitstable, Rev Simon Tillotson
Visit our website for more info - www.allsaintswhitstable.org

Thursday 22 November 2018

December and Christmas Xtra

Dear all

Advent begins on Sunday 2nd December this year. It is the season when the church has traditionally prepared for the return of Christ to the earth. The reality is of course that Advent has now been taken over by Christmas in our culture so that you can expect people to wish you a Happy Christmas as early as the first week of December! And although Christmas itself doesn't officially start till 25th December and runs for 12 days till 6th January, it is not unknown to be asked on Boxing Day "did you have a good Christmas?"! 

We at All Saints do not believe Christmas starts till Christmas Day but as a sign of adapting to our popular culture we  like many churches have many Christmas orientated services and activites in Advent, and even before Advent begins in terms of our Christmas fair.

Let us start with that..!

It is this Saturday 24th November from 10am to 1.30pm at All Saints Church hall

Here is a poster to show what is happening:


The next event I would like to tell you about is Sacred Space on Monday 26th November.




Advent Sunday begins, as I say, on Sunday 2nd December and at 6.30pm we have a special Advent Carol Service at All Saints. Please note Advent carols are not the same as Christmas carols but they are still very special.




Later that evening is the first of four evenings of listening to John's gospel with an optional discussion in the Monument pub opposite the church afterwards.



No need to let us know if you can come to this. 

Our next event in a very busy December is the Christingle Family Service. Please bring your normal donation for All Saints church to this service but also an additional donation to the Children's Society which will be our retiring collection.

Our Christingle Family service is at 10am on Sunday 9th December.





Later that afternoon there is a concert at 3pm by the Oyster Singers at All Saints. I am pleased to say they have asked me to sing a few of my own songs at this concert too. I am not yet sure of the ticket prices but they will I am sure be available on the door. Please check our notices for details nearer the time.


Then the following weekend we have a traditional service of Lessons and Carols at All Saints at 6.30pm on Sunday 16th December. This is the first time we have had such a service for many years. It will follow a similar order of service to the Carols from Kings that we hear on Christmas Eve at 3pm. 




If you are looking for a more relaxed and informal event, suitable for the whole family, then the following Wednesday may be even more suitable for you. It is our famous "Carols under the Yew Tree" with Whitstable Brass

Please note this will be in the church if weather is unsuitable for the musicians to play (ie it is raining or below a certain temperature for instruments to work properly)




By this time we are fast approaching Christmas and sure enough our next Christmas events are on Christmas Eve. Our famous Crib services are at 3pm and 4.15pm. This year they are led by myself, Paula Trewin MBE, and Elena Markova our Children and Families' Minister. Please note the request for children to come as their favourite characters from the crib. 


Then Christmas eventually arrives with our Midnight Communion and services on Christmas Day morning!



That is quite a lot of Christmas services to be getting on with isn't it? No doubt they will make a refreshing change from all the doom and gloom we are hearing about on our TVs and radios these days. Hopefully they will help us to focus on the spiritual truths of Christmas - peace, joy, fellowship, God come to earth in Christ, Immanuel, the sacredness of creation as God has narrowed the gap between heaven and earth - and so many more themes besides. 

My prayers for you and your loved ones for a really blessed Advent and Christmas when it arrives.


MORE NEWS

Outside of All Saints directly, I have been asked to organise a carol singing event at the  Talk of Tankerton's "Fairytale Christmas" event on Saturday December 8th. We will be singing carols on Tankerton High Street between 12 noon and 1pm. It is important please that you kindly let me know if you are intending to sing as I am not yet sure if I have a large enough group of singers to make this viable. Please email me at tillotsons@gmail.com to let me know or call 01227 275947 and leave a message at the office.


  
CHILDREN AND YOUTH ACTIVITIES

Here is the news on our children and youth activities.

Tiny Singers on Wednesdays is going from strength to strength


Holyballoo has over 20 children and their parents/guardians attending (parents and guardians are asked to attend too please)



Sunday Club has one or two new members. Please do consider coming along!
Parents/guardians and children start off in church at 10am

Junior Church continues to take place on Thursdays run by Victoria



Our Children and Families' minister Elena Markova can be contacted at





However,  if you wish to contact our Junior Choir leader direct, Victoria Hall, her email address is 



STILL MORE NEWS!

Cameo continues on Mondays in December from 2 to 3.30pm at the church hall. Cameo stands for "Come And Meet Each Other". You would be most welcome to come along.

Singing For Fun and Health takes place in December on Wednesday 19th December from 2.30pm to 4pm. I have been asked to lead it this month and I am really looking forward to it.

Film Club continues throughout much of December. Here are the films for the next few weeks. Membership is £10 from now till the end of 2019 and refreshments are £1 a week.

11.15am to 1.30pm (approx.) Thursdays All Saints Church Hall, Church Street, Whitstable, CT5 1PG

You are encouraged to bring a cushion as these are not cinema seats!
If you have questions best thing is come along at about 11am one Thursday or email the vicar at tillotsons@gmail.com

29th  November      Elizabeth The Golden Age (2007) - "The Golden Age" finds Queen Elizabeth I facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal. Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II--with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada--determined to restore England to Catholicism. Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Sir Walter Raleigh. But he remains forbidden for a queen who has sworn body and soul to her country. 1 hour 55 minutes Certificate 12



6th December   Death on the Nile (1978 version)  Peter Ustinov stars as detective Hercule Poirot in this classic British thriller adapted from the novel by Agatha Christie. Set in the 1930s, the film follows Poirot as he hunts a killer responsible for the murder of a rich heiress aboard a steamship travelling down the Nile. After discovering that a number of the passengers had a reason to kill her, Poirot faces a race against time to solve the case before the ship reaches port. The cast also includes Jane Birkin, Bette Davis and Mia Farrow. Certificate PG 2 hours 20 minutes


OUR TEAM UNITY UPDATE FOR DECEMBER
for the five churches of the Whitstable Team




The Team Boxing Day lunch this year will be held at Seasalter Christian Centre on Wednesday 26 December from 12.30.  Feel free to invite anyone you know who would otherwise be alone at Christmas and please let me know so I can send them an invitation.



We need your help please:



  • Drivers to transport the guests to and from the lunch.  Guests need to be collected between 11.15am – 12 noon and then

taken home from 3.00 pm onwards.



  • Hosts and hostesses for the tables to chat and serve lunches



  • Food  - raw vegetables, Christmas puddings, and other items



(Please note that all food will be cooked on the premises this year.  Items should be brought in by Christmas Eve at the latest.)



Please telephone Chris or Ann Skingley (272508), or email ann.skingley@btinternet.com  with any offers of help. 



Thank you.



NEWS FROM OTHER CHURCHES OR ORGANISATIONS
This 'round-robin' email is just to remind you of the AMOS TRUST Carol Service at St Peter’s Methodist Church, Canterbury (in the High Street, not far from West Gate) on Thursday 6th December at 7.00 pm as part of this year’s series of Amos Trust Carol Services being held in a number of towns throughout the UK. 

We will be welcoming leading peace activists Zoughbi Zoughbi and Lucy Talgieh from Wi’am Reconciliation Centre [click to follow the link] in Bethlehem, also 6 members of the Choir of Bethlehem on their first UK visit.

The service will be followed by refreshments of home-made (at Morrison's !!) mince pies, and tea/coffee.

You can read more, and book your free tickets here (simply to give us an indication of numbers). We do hope you can join us (whether you book a ticket, or not!).

In the meantime, please do let others know about this event. We are attaching a poster which you can email to your friends and networks and/or download and print to display. And, if you use Facebook, then you will find the Canterbury event on the Amos Trust Facebook page, and you can share it on your page or you can access it here.

Thank you for your support.

With our best wishes,

Katie Hagley of Amos Trust;
Richard Llewellin.




All Welcome!  Learning from disability  - It’s not just ramps and large print!

 An  Inclusive Church event at St Stephen’s Canterbury Saturday 16th February 2019  Midday to 5 pm
God welcomes us all, whatever our strengths and weaknesses, our abilities and  limitations and uses them to advance the Kingdom. Churches are not always so good at this, often unwittingly making people feel excluded.  In this study afternoon  the experts in this field –  people  who have various  limitations – will share with us their experiences of being included and excluded in church. In this light we will discuss what we can do practically to make our churches more welcoming to all and how we can all benefit from  the gifts people with disabilities have to offer.    The day will  start by sharing a light lunch and end by sharing the Eucharist.  


No charge but please book a place by emailing petertoon@aol.com for catering purposes

Peter D Toon 

48 Broad Street CT1 2Ls

01227 451 991



That is enough to be getting on with! May I take this opportunity of wishing you and your loved ones a very Blessed Christmas when it arrives and a Holy and Happy Advent in the meantime.

Rev Simon Tillotson - Team Vicar All Saints and St Peter's Whitstable 


Sunday 28 October 2018

November Xtra newsletter

Dear all, The coming few weeks are important ones for us as a church as we put on a number of important events both social and spiritual in nature. The first of these is the Fireworks this coming Saturday...Here are the details.
FIREWORK NIGHT AT ALL SAINTS  VICARAGE GARDEN Church Street 

Whitstable CT5 1PG
Saturday 3 November 2018
Gates open at 6.15 pm
Refreshments, Bonfire, Fireworks
Tickets:
Adults £6, Child (3 – 15) £3* 
*accompanied by adult in a family group

Tickets available after 10 am Sunday service or from the Church Office on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 10.00 am to 12 noon. 

The church office is round the back of the All Saints church hall, Church Street, CT5 1PG.
Sorry no Facebook, phone or email reservation of tickets possible.
You are strongly advised to purchase tickets early in advance to avoid disappointment as numbers are limited and there are NO TICKETS ON THE GATE.        Sorry no family discount available
No sparklers or personal fireworks are allowed for insurance and safety reasons 300 tickets have already been sold - less than 200 now remaining
The next event is the next day - in fact we have two important events on Sunday 4th November Firstly at 10am we have our All Saints Patronal Festival. "Patronal" means connected to our Patron Saint. All Saints does not have one Patron Saint, it has "All (the) Saints". All Saints Day is actually 1st November so we celebrate our Patronal Festival on the nearest Sunday to 1st November.

If you have any connection with All Saints, present or past, it would be great if you could make a special effort to attend church on Sunday 4th November at 10am. We have a guest preacher, Canon Susanne Carlsson, who is the Spiritual Adviser for the Diocese of Rochester and who served her curacy here in the Whitstable Team.
Canon Susanne Carlsson We will celebrate the day with a glass of wine or soft drink after the service.
Then, later that day we have a special service to remember those who have passed from this life either recently or in past years.
If you would like the name of a loved one or loved ones read out at this service please email me at tillotsons@gmail.com as soon as possible too. Also if you are thinking of attending the service please also let me know so we have enough service sheets. PEACE DAY Then, on Saturday November 10th, we have an important event in the church. We are calling this a "Peace Day". At this service we are doing a number of things: Firstly, we are remembering the soldiers, sailors and members of the airforce who served in the First World War and who paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives in service. It is, of course, the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War on Sunday 11th November. The soldiers, sailors and members of the airforce will be symbolised by a number of silhouettes which will be positioned in the church representing those who gave their lives in service. Floral arrangements in memory of those who gave their lives will be on display in the church. Secondly, we are remembering all those who died fighting in all the conflicts both before and after the First World War. This includes civilian casualties too. In our minds are those who died in the recent Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts but we go back to the Second World War also in our memory and other conflicts too. Thirdly, we know we as Christians should not just remember alone. We are also instructed to pray for our world. Although we applaud the self-sacrifice of those who served our country, we know that war is never good in itself. We know that we should pray for a world where war will not be necessary and where peace will reign. This may sound utopian but it is still important to pray for this, though at the same being willing to defend our own country and the cause of justice throughout the world when it is necessary. Fourthly, I believe as Christians we should also remember in our prayers all those who suffer as a result of war and conflict from any country. In particular we may want to remember the victims of war in Yemen and Syria at the moment, many of whom are civilians, and many of whom are children. However, there are many other victims of war throughout the world. Holding in balance the desire for peace and the need to act justly is a difficult tension for all Christians and it something I will talk about at our Remembrance Sunday service on the 11th. I do hope you can come to the church on the 10th and say a prayer for world peace and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. There will be a Peace Book on the central altar for you to write your own prayers or thoughts.
Then on Remembrance Sunday itself at 10am we have our Remembrance Sunday service. This will not have Holy Communion as part of it. Instead, Holy Communion will follow separately at 11.15am after the service. The service will conclude with two minutes silence outside the church by the war memorial at 11am.
Now we turn to other matters.... I cannot offer you three courses....


But I can offer you three courses....

1) Alpha course - A day time Alpha course will begin at the Vicarage on Thursday 8th November from 11.30am to 1pm
It will run for 12 weeks with a break over the Christmas period and when funerals mean an extra break may be necessary. The course manual is £2.

2) Pilgrim Course - The final part of the Pilgrim course looking at Church and Kingdom will run on Thursday evenings from 15th November, running weekly from 7.45pm to 9.15pm till Thursday 20th December.
You do not need to attended any of the modules beforehand to attend this. The course book costs £6.

3) St John by Candlelight
St John's gospel will be read on four consecutive nights from Sunday 2nd December to Sunday 23rd December from 8pm to 8.40pm. The church will be just lit by candlelight so please bring a torch.
Following each reading a discussion will be held for those who wish at the Monument pub across the road.

Do email me at tillotsons@gmail.com if you are interested in any of these 



Our Christmas Fayre will take place on Saturday 24th November - please check our noticesheet for details of this in the next couple of weeks. It usually runs from 10am to 2pm in the Church hall at All Saints but please check our website for info nearer the time. OUR CHILDREN'S GROUPS HAVE BEEN GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH IN RECENT WEEKS....Do contact Elena or Victoria for more information




FOR MORE INFOMATION CONTACT
ELENA MARKOVA
Children and Family Minister
Church Street, Whitstable CT5 1PG


(01227) 275 947
E-mail: 



However,  if you wish to contact our Junior Choir leader direct, Victoria Hall, her email address is 




The UNITY UPDATE for the Whitstable Team is as follows for November:




Please pray for Paulette as she is licensed as Team Vicar for St Alphege Seasalter this coming Wednesday 31st October. A very fruitful ministry lies ahead - that is for sure


HERE is some other info you may find useful.....
In the meantime may I wish you a very blessed November and hope to see you soon

Rev Simon Tillotson



SINGING FOR FUN AND HEALTH
This takes place on the third Wednesday of each month at 2.30pm to 4pm at All Saints Church hall. This is great fun - a chance to singalong to a mixture of all sorts of songs in a relaxed setting in the hall with tea, coffee and cake.




CAMEO



A group that meets every Monday in the Church hall from 2pm to 3.30pm, apart from Bank Holidays. Cameo stands for Come And Meet Each Other. It is a friendly group where you can come and chat and make new friends.




FILM CLUB

The Film club meets on Thursdays from 11.15am to about 1.30pm nearly every week. It runs a mixture of films. Membership is £10 till the end of 2018 but we also ask for a contribution of £1 per person per week towards refreshments and heating costs.

The programme for the film club can be found by clicking HERE Send me an email for any of these groups and I will forward it to the group organiser. 
tillotsons@gmail.com
Alternatively please feel welcome to call me on 01227 272308



SCOUTS JUMBLE SALES
3rd Whitstable (All Saints) Scout Group will be holding a Jumble Sale in All Saints Church Hall, Church Street, Whitstable , CT5 1PG on Saturday 17th November .  Doors open at 2pm and the admission fee is 20p each. Jumble may be brought to the hall between 9am and 11am on the morning of the sale.
Many thanks,
Paul Maley.
3rd Whitstable Scouts Fundraising.









 An  Inclusive Church event at St Stephen’s Canterbury Saturday 16th February 2019  Midday to 5 pm
God welcomes us all, whatever our strengths and weaknesses, our abilities and  limitations and uses them to advance the Kingdom. Churches are not always so good at this, often unwittingly making people feel excluded.  In this study afternoon  the experts in this field –  people  who have various  limitations – will share with us their experiences of being included and excluded in church. In this light we will discuss what we can do practically to make our churches more welcoming to all and how we can all benefit from  the gifts people with disabilities have to offer.    The day will  start by sharing a light lunch and end by sharing the Eucharist.  


No charge but please book a place by emailing petertoon@aol.com for catering purposes






Location of Church - Click on picture!

All Saints Whitstable

All Saints Whitstable is a Church of England church in the Church Street area of Whitstable, between the railway station and the Thanet Way.
It has been in existence since at least the 12th century.
It is one of six churches that make up the Whitstable Team Ministry.
Church service times are 8am Holy Communion (BCP) and 10am Sung Communion on Sundays, with a Sunday Club for children.
A Family Communion takes place at 10am on the Second Sunday of each month where the children stay in church.
For more information on other services and general information please visit our main website which is www.allsaintswhitstable.com or email the Vicar Rev Simon Tillotson at tillotsons@gmail.com

The Holy Trinity by Andrei Rublev

The Holy Trinity by Andrei Rublev

MONTHLY REMINDERS

If you do not receive a monthly reminder about this e-letter yet why not email the Vicar at tillotsons@gmail.com and he will add your email address to the database. Then you will receive an email once a month, with the occasional one mid month, to keep you informed of things going on in the life of the church and the wider community.

All Saints Church Monthly Newsletter

All Saints Church Monthly Newsletter

Location of church

Location of church
Click on map for further details