Worship Sun Dec 13: Advent 3 'Joy'

WELCOME/

Hello and welcome to our online service of worship, on this, the third Sunday in Advent.
We follow the traditional Advent themes this year, and having begun with hope, moved to peace,
we turn our thoughts to joy - and, to John the Baptist. An interesting mix, this, given John's reputation for being the fierce, austere prophet in the wilderness who existed on locusts and honey, and wore camel hair garments. Perhaps what we might discover is that joy goes beyond surface cheerfulness -
it is an anchor for our souls in the hard and the dark times. With hope, comes peace, and with peace, joy. 
I hope you enjoy and are encouraged and refreshed by this time of worship. 
You can access the list by clicking on the WORSHIP LINK HERE.
Don't forget to check out our church notices below.

Several notices to flag up:
Church building -
As mentioned last week, the season of waiting has come to an end in one sense at least:
we will be moving back into the church building for worship as of this coming Sunday, the 20^th of December, at our usual time of 10.30.
Due to COVID-19 regulations, and the need for socially-distanced seating...

If you are minded to come, you will need to book a place – 

To book a seat, contact Janet Telfer on 01864 504265.

And a reminder that, if you’re anxious about coming, or are shielding, we’ll continue to provide worship online for you – please do what you need to do in these tricky times – we understand completely.

Newsletter
Just off the pressed, is a wee Christmas newsletter –  not our usual all-singing, all-dancing magazine, given ... well, there's not been a lot on due to lockdown!!
A small team of people are currently stuffing and addressing envelopes to send out in the post to members and friends.
In the newsletter, you’ll find an insert which gives you the guidelines for attending worship –
your safety is our priority, and we are ensuring that we are COVID-compliant.

Free Christmas lunch
Liz Steele – the local community worker in our area, has managed to source funding for those of you who live within the Duneaton villages in the parish – so, Abington, Roberton, Lamington, and Wiston – for a free Christmas Day lunch for anyone who’ll be on their own on the 25^th of December. A hot, two course lunch from the Elphinstone Hotel will be delivered to your door by a volunteer. This is open to any age group and a way of bringing a little extra Christmas cheer, (not to mention, to save cooking). The deadline for booking is Wednesday the 16^th December.
To find out more and to get in contact with Liz, see details just below....