St. Paul's Church, Chippenham

As we look to 2012 I am reminded of the Methodist Covenant Prayer.  It is traditionally used as people re-commit themselves to Christ and his Church for the coming year.

I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
Rank me with whom you will;
Put me to doing, put me to suffering;
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
Exalted for you or brought low for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty,
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine and I am yours.
So be it.
And the covenant made on earth,
Let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

I am aware that it is a very demanding and daunting prayer – and I am a great believer that we should be honest in what we say to God (in prayer)!  But we also need to have something to aim at – a  faith that is worth living (& dying) for!  In this prayer we offer our whole lives to God – we have that sense of being totally reliant on him – we come to him with hands open that he might fill us and equip us.

Christians acknowledge that we belong to Christ.  It is his choice how we are to live – clearly we can affect some of the things that happen to us – we make choices day by day.  But ultimately we know that our times are in his hands.  We offer the God who gives us the gift of life – and in whose image we are made (Psalm 139) – the gift of our lives.  We want to be obedient to him and what he wants for us in this world.  And this is to be our free choice.  God breathes his life into us – we choose to live that life for him and in his power and strength.

And the promised outcome is …..that God is ours and we are his – there is complete oneness between our God and those he creates who respond to his will.  You are mine and I am yours.  What a wonderful promise that our Creator God seeks unity of life and purpose with us.  This is a lovely way to start the New Year – enfolded in the love of God and wanting to be one with his will for us.  May this prayer be REAL to us all as we start out on another year with God and each other – whatever it may bring!

 SIMON & ANN DUNN  -  I am so pleased to have our new Team Vicar in post and working alongside me.  Simon (with his wife Ann and 2 great children) is a super addition to our life and ministry.  His main focus is on Community & Growth and the things that help us become the people and churches Jesus would have us be! 
Contact details:
Telephone – 01249 445816 
Email –

ALPHA COURSE  -  we are starting this introduction course to the Christian faith in January.  It will be on Wednesday evenings.  Please contact Simon Dunn for more details.

JOHN MONCRIEFF  -  congratulations to John who has been selected to become an LLM (Reader) and he will be licensed on Saturday 18^th February at Bristol Cathedral at 10.30am.  All welcome!

FLAME OF HOPE  -  we have launched our Deanery of Chippenham mission for 2012 which will take place from 12-27 May 2012 and will mostly focus on the rural churches and communities. Please keep Flame of Hope in your prayers and also think of what you can offer in 2012 and also as we look to follow this up with a similar time of mission in 2013 in Chippenham and Corsham.

‘LOVE WINS’ by ROB BELL  -  I have found this (controversial) book to be a really interesting read and one to help us think through the issues of God’s love and judgement.  Why not get hold of a copy….and let it challenge or encourage your thinking about how our God cares for us and all his world!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR RESPONSE  -  to the recent series of sermons on our financial giving at St Pauls.  I don’t know anything about who or what or how much but…I am told that various people have offered to increase the amount they give to the work of the church each week.  Thank you for your gift to God’s work!  It’s the income we rely on as a church…..we get nothing from the national church or diocese.  St Pauls depends almost entirely upon what we put into it!

A NEW STYLE OF SERVICE  -  Simon Dunn led us in a Cafe Style service in early December at the 7pm service and we are going to repeat this on Sunday 5^th February.  It gave us a chance to sit round enjoying refreshments and sharing together in this informal style of worship.  I am looking forward to what it will bring in the future!  Why not come and try it!

 CHRISTMAS SERVICES @ ST PAULS  -  do come and join us in worship!
Sunday December 18th    10.00am    Nativity                        7.00pm   Carol Service
Wednesday Dec 21st         10.00am   Holy Communion
Thursday Dec 22nd           4.30pm   Christingle
Christmas Eve                     4.30pm   Christingle                        11.30pm    Midnight Communion
Christmas Day                    8.30am    Holy Communion        10.00am   Christmas Communion
Wednesday Dec 28th      10.00am   Holy Communion
New Year’s Day               8.30am   Holy Communion           10.00am   New Year Worship

AND I LOVE THIS SEASONAL PRAYER (from Uganda)
Blessed are you, O Christ child,
That your cradle was so low
That shepherds, poorest & simplest of earthly people,
Could yet kneel beside you,
And look, level-eyed, into the face of God.
Amen.

DIOCESAN NEWS  -  can now be found on the internet with interesting news from around the Diocese of Bristol on  www.bristol.anglican.org/news/local

GROUP OFFICE  CLAIRE BETTLEY  -  Claire continues to do an important role in the church office and it is lovely to work alongside her.
If you want to contact her please ring 01249 444771 or email

THEMES & READINGS - will be as follows at the morning services during January.
You will see that we are starting a series on THE SERVANT OF THE LORD.
These are the 4 amazing servant songs in Isaiah which seem to point to Jesus coming to our world and the ministry he will have for us.

We are using the same readings for our midweek service at 10am on Wednesdays.

 AND I WILL FINISH WITH THIS - it’s the famous quotation from George VI’s 1939 Christmas broadcast  (written by Minnie Louise Haskins)

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied,
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!”
So I went forth and finding the Hand of God,
Trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day
In the lone East.

May the Lord God bless you in this New Year and may he lead us and guide us through 2012!

Simon Tyndall