Stainglass window
Christmas 2011
3rd Dec Advent Party
12th Dec @ 2pm
Carol Service at Oak tree Court
16th Dec @ 2.30pm
Carol Service at Stratford Court
17th Dec @11am
Carol Singing outside Co-Op
18th Dec Nativity and Christingle Service and Carol Service
24th Dec @ 11pm (Service starts at 11.30pm
United Service at URC Etwall Rd
25th Dec @10am
Christmas Day Service
It seemed at a good idea at the time! A sun rise service on the Lickey Hills, but like the Easter story itself, it contained an element of surprise.
Indeed the Easter story itself is far more surprising as was so graphically shown in the BBC TV series "The Passion". A very believable Jesus who, after his terrible execution on the cross, started to appear again to his disciples. They could hardly recognise him. He looked like a different person and indeed they initially saw a different actor. But gradually, the truth came through and the surprise was extraordinary.
For me, the sunrise service on the Lickey Hills was a surprise. I was there to record parts of it for the BBC WM Sunday Breakfast Programme, but I did not anticipate that this spring morning would be so bitterly cold, the Lickey Hills caught up in a by-golly-that -hurts snow storm nor that my mouth would be so frozen I could hardly speak when I did the interviews.
So part of this year's Easter story that came through clearly for me, as we sang the traditional words of the hymn, "Christ the Lord is risen today", was that you don't get what you expect. The old joke, "How do you mmake God laugh? Tell him your plans!" is something that as individuals and as churches we actually have to take on board, because we start making too many plans of our own, then God interrupts our thinking.
The prayer, "Thy will be done", is not for us to say when we feel like it, but it is the only response we dare to make.
Perhaps like those disciples in the Passion, the surprise will be better than we could imagine. God's ideas are far more creative than our own.
With my kind regards,
Sior (Revd Sior Coleman)