December - Celebrating life in the heart of Henley.
December 2018

From the Rectory - Dear Friends, On a recent day out in London my son and I visited the Harrods Christmas department – just to browse but not to buy. We admired the great variety of baubles, but our favourite was a colourful bauble in the shape of a shish kebab. We were too stunned to laugh. (If you don’t believe me, check out the website.) As their advert says ‘Enter a different world’. Sometimes Christmas time is just that – entering a different world. We save up for it, we plan and we hope. We transform the dark December days with sparkle and glitter. We remember Christmases gone by and we try our best to re-create the dream. ‘Christmas is for children’ we say, and so we all become children again. We hope for miracles and we create magical moments. And why not. We spend so much time dealing with life as it is; what’s the harm of occasionally stirring the imagination and wondering what might be. We think of our own lives and we ask whether we have got it right. ‘Is this as good as it gets’? This is quite a question under normal circumstances. If, however, we are dealing with a deep sadness and loss or if we are finding it all too much, then the question can be very urgent. Can we hope for better days? Can we still dare to dream? The extraordinary power of Christmas is that it nudges even the most reluctant towards positive action. Even broken hearts find the energy to wish others a Happy Christmas. And then it begins to happen – by thinking of others, by doing something good, we find a deep sense of wellbeing. Once more we find the redeeming power of being good and doing good. This could well be the heart of Christmas magic. So let’s all become children again. Avoid being cynical or pessimistic. With childlike imagination let’s see the wonder of what might be. And then with adult experience and ability let’s create magical moments for others. Are you old enough to have learnt the lesson of working with glitter? Use it to make something for others, and you will find a lot of it rubs off on yourself. Wishing you all an Advent & Christmas full of wonder, John Ganjavi Enquiries: Please contact the Rector on 792570 or johnganjavi@btinternet.com for any enquiries about Sunday Club, Church Services, Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, or any other pastoral matters. From the Registers... We welcome through Baptism Harrison Mills. We give thanks for the lives of Alan Bant, Stuart Ross and Nicholas Marlow. |








