News from St Margaret’s
Music at St Margaret’s
Advent Concerts in Church
Friday 10th December at 1930
Ovingdean Choral Society Christmas Concert
Finzi – ‘In terra pax’; Holst – ‘Christmas Day’;
Vaughan-Williams – ‘Fantasia on Christmas Carols’.
Tickets £12 available from Dawn Davidson, Ann-Marie Newman
or on the door.
Sunday 12th December at 1430
‘Shepherds Arise’
Nearly thirty enthusiastic local singers, musicians and mummers present a selection of beautiful old West Gallery carols from Sussex villages accompanied by flute, fiddle, bassoon, clarinet and concertinas. Between the carols are readings about Christmas in Sussex in the past, and the musicians play lively dance tunes from old Sussex manuscripts. As always, there will be some old favourites & some new additions. This is a lovely celebration of Christmas from earlier centuries, still full of the joy and delight it gave then.
Free entry. Retiring collection towards St Margaret’s Church.
Saturday 18th December at 1500
Massimo Redaelli (violin)
Violinist Massimo Redaelli will perform a solo programme including the first of Bach’s solo Violin Sonatas (BWV 1001) and the Second Partita (BWV 1004). Massimo performs on a violin by Thomas Urquhart, instrument maker to the English Court, from around 1680, in its original set-up. This violin is close in construction to contemporary northern European models and thus particularly suited to Bach. Tickets £7.50, raising funds for St Margaret’s Church.
Tuesday 21st December at 1930 (live and live-stream)
The Brightones
The acappella trio with local musicians Ellie Edmonds, Emma Stannard and Georgia Bishop will perform a selection of jazz standards, traditional folk songs and Christmas songs. The concert will also be available to live stream. Tickets £5.
Christmas Services 2021
Sunday 19th December at 1500
Festival of 9 Lessons & Carols
Friday 24th December at 1700
Family Crib Service
Friday 24th December at 2300
Midnight Mass
Saturday 25th December at 1000
Sung Parish Eucharist of Christmas Day
Sunday 26th December at 1000
Eucharist of St Stephen (said)
Preparing for Christmas – The Gospel of John Study Course
Continuing on Saturday mornings at 1100 on 11th and 18th December.
Knit & Natter
The group meets on Wednesdays at 1900 in church. New members always welcome. We knit and we natter. Just come along!
Sue Leaney – 07803 179 617
Help required
To take pressure off the Churchwardens who do so much for us behind the scenes, we are looking for volunteers to organize and serve refreshments at the four concerts this month. Please do help if you can and let Dawn or Heather know your availability.
Christmas Flowers
Please consider making a donation to an arrangement of flowers for our Christmas services. We’ll keep it simple but beautiful!
Christmas Cards
We’re having church Christmas cards produced using images of the stained glass windows which depict the Annunciation and Nativity. They will be available for sale next week. Many thanks to Sarah Lawrence for designing them for us. Also, the PCC suggests that rather than sending cards to each other in church, there will be one large card for all to sign and members are encouraged to donate the money they would have otherwise spent to our Christmas charities.
Christmas Mission Giving
At its meeting on Thursday, the Parochial Church Council agreed that our Christmas collections would be divided equally between Off the Fence (restoring the lives and hopes of the homeless, women at risk and vulnerable school children in Brighton & Hove) and Voices in Exile (supporting refugees, asylum seekers and those with no recourse to public funds). Please give generously.
Visit to Brighton by John Bell
John Bell, founder of the Iona community, is coming to St Nicholas’ Church, Dyke Road, Brighton on Thursday 9th December at 1930. Hosted by the Gender & Sexuality group, John will speak on ‘In solidarity with outsiders… how Christians deal with difference’. There will also be Iona inspired worship. Admission free, all very welcome. Refreshments afterwards. John Bell (born 1949) is a Scottish hymn-writer and Church of Scotland minister. He is the founding member of the Iona Community, a broadcaster, and former student activist. He works throughout the world, lecturing in theological colleges in the UK, Canada and the United States, but is primarily concerned with the renewal of congregational worship at the grass roots level.
