Services
The Act of Consecration of Man
is celebrated on Sundays at 10am and on Thursdays and Fridays at 9am
There will be no service on the morning of Christmas Eve, 24th December. There will be no service on Friday, 7th January.
(on Thursday, 30th, Friday 31st December, and Thursday, 6th January at 10am)
Die Menschenweihehandlung (Act of Consecration of Man in German) is celebrated on the first Saturday of the month at 9am (not on 1st January)
On Christmas Day, the Act of Consecration of Man will be celebrated at midnight, 8am and 10am
From 25th December until 6th January, the Act of Consecration of Man will be celebrated daily at 10am.
Evening Service for those who have died
On the first Saturday of the month (not 1st January)
The Sunday Service for Children is held fortnightly at 11.15am, followed by a story. Next services: 5th and 19th of December.
On 25th of December, the Christmas Service for Children will be held at 11.15am. This is a special service that is only celebrated once a year.
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Other regular events
The Little Ones’ Gathering for pre-school children with songs, story and prayer, is held monthly at 9.15am on a Sunday. Next Gathering is 5th December.
Tuesdays 10.30am
Discussion Group (the church will be open from 10am and tea and coffee will be served)
Thursdays
fortnightly at 4pm Skylarks Group
7.45pm Gospel Study Group
Fridays, 3.45pm
Confirmation Class
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Diary
Please note that events can be changed and updated as the public health situation changes. Please refer to the latest Update and our online diary, which you can view here.
2nd December, 3.15pm at Tunbridge Wells Crematorium
Funeral of Karin Bittlestone
4pm Skylarks group
Saturday, 4th December 2-4pm
Exhibition Opening
There will always be an empty place at my table
Katherine Small (more details on poster below and in the church)
4.30pm Reading Group for those who have died
6pm Evening Service for those who have died
Wednesday, 8th December, 7.30-9pm
Contemplative evening with artistic contributions
music, poems, reading, singing, listening. Please let Katharina Baiter know by 30th November if you would like to contribute
9th of December, 10.30am
in the Memorial garden
Interment of the ashes for Jean-Laurent Bos. Following the interment, there will be a memorial gathering for Jean-Laurent in the community room.
Friday, 10th December, 11.30am
Council Meeting
Please let any council member or one of the priests know about any issues that you would like us to discuss. You can also email tccinfr@gmail.com
Saturday, 11th December at 9am
Memorial Service for Karin Bittleston
Wednesday, 15th December at 4.30pm
Carol concert with Angela Campbell’s violin pupils
Collection for church funds
Sunday, 19th December at 11.30am (following the Children's Service)
Carol Singing with Katharina Baiter
Friday, 24th December at 3.30pm
Shepherds’ Play – please register at tinyurl.com/CC-Shepherd
Events for Christmas Day
The Act of Consecration of Man is celebrated at midnight, 8am and 10am.
There will be a Christmas Breakfast at 9am.
The Christmas Service for Children is held at 11.15am
Holy Nights Workshop
The New Creation
Talks with artistic activity daily 11.15am-12.45pm
27th December
The Beginning of Worlds
28th December
The Recreation of the Human Being
29th December
The Birth of the New World
30th December
Discovering the New World in the Midst of the Old
31st December, 6pm
‘And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love’ (Romans 8:38)
Evening Service for New Year’s Eve with sermon by Tom Ravetz
1st January, 11.15am
The Dream Song of Olav Åsteson
Sung by Simon Blaxland de Lange with an introduction by Pearl Goodwin
2nd January, 4pm
Violin concert by Daphne Delphas
Daphne will play a programme of unaccompanied Baroque violin music by Bach and Biber, lasting approx. 40 minutes
6th January, 4pm
Three Kings’ Play
Epiphany
9th January at 11.30am
The Light of Christ in Every Day Life
Contributions by Pearl Goodwin and Tom Ravetz
Forthcoming
Sunday, 6th February at 11.30am
Open Congregational Meeting
including discussion of the plans for the Annual Meeting in June, together with Lucienne van Bergenhenegouwen
Sunday, 6th March at 11.30am
Members’ Meeting
10th-12th June, in Forest Row
Annual Meeting of The Christian Community in Great Britain
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Update
The church is open in the mornings Tuesday-Saturday 10am-12pm.
Please wait to return to church if you have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last ten days or have new symptoms. As there are now more cases in our local area, we would ask you to be aware of our ‘pinch points’ in the foyer and entrance lobby, which are not large enough to allow for circulation with a lot of space. The request to wear face-coverings does not include churches and we do not see a need for this yet; however, if you wish to wear a face-covering, particularly in the entrance and foyer, please feel free to do so.
The Funeral Service for Karin Bittleston will be held at the Crematorium at Tunbridge Wells at 3.15pm on Thursday, 2nd December. There will be a memorial gathering in the Long Room in Michael Hall from 5pm.
Jean-Laurent Bos’ ashes will be interred in the Memorial Garden, to which he devoted so much love and care, on 9th December at 10.30am. A memorial gathering will follow in the community room.
We are looking for someone to take over managing the Bookstall from Vincent Gordon, who has been doing this for many years. Please let us know if you are interested in taking this on.
We are also looking for some temporary help with the ironing of the vestments from January to June 2022. This needs to be done on a Friday or Saturday, and we need someone who could do this approx. once a month. To find out more please contact Linda Hammond on 07952 491035 or linda@trivy.co.uk
Tom will be in County Clare in Ireland, 3rd-5th December.
Nataliia will be in Canterbury for services on Sunday, 12th December.
With best wishes,
Nataliia and Tom
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‘Become’
The Advent prayer in the Act of Consecration of Man tells us that if we grow quiet enough, we will hear the word that has been resounding since Creation’s beginning: Become!
It is strange to hear this instruction, which is so open-ended: not ‘become a better person’, or ‘become a good friend’; just: ‘Become’.
The strangeness takes us to an inner threshold. Everything that we have already become might be called into question. ‘Become!’ asks us to decide: will I embrace the new and continue to become, or will I hold on to the familiar, to what seems safe?
In an event that took place at Emerson College last week, Beyond Polarity, we explored the difference between debate and dialogue. The successful outcome of a debate is that one party wins, and the other concedes. If we listen to our debating partner, it is only so that we can refute their arguments all the better when it is our turn to speak.
The successful outcome of a dialogue is that I have been changed by the experience. Now, I listen so that I can enter into the world of thought and feeling that I encounter in my dialogue partner. How wonderful it is when we abandon all our assumptions and even our conclusions, and enter lovingly into another world of experience! Then, we honour the fact that every true encounter can be a threshold: then we have aligned ourselves to the voice of Creation: ‘Become!’
- Tom Ravetz
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New Tree for our Carpark
Following the felling of the Copper Beech, we need to plant a new tree. Wealden County Council have a policy on planting that means we have three choices: Common Beech, Pedunculate Oak, or a disease-resistant Elm.
We are interested to hear insights and questions about which tree we might choose. We thought that the verses below, written by Johannes Hemleben, a biologist who became a priest in 1924, might be of help.
MERCURY
Thus speaks the mercurial planet
Through the living growth of
The Elm,
And through her winged seeds
“O Man, be stir yourself,
Be active, lively and quick.”
MARS
Thus speaks the knotty oak,
The servant of iron Mars,
“O Man, take root in the depths
and reach for the heights,
Be mighty and strong
Be warrior, knight and protector.”
SATURN
Thus speaks leaden Saturn
Through the trees of
of shaded forests
The pines, the beeches and
cypresses,
“O man, feel the responsibility
for the need of your time
and of all mankind.
With inner devotion take hold
of the work that life puts
before you.”
- Johannes Hemleben
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For more information and to register, please visit the camp website.
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Gospel readings
Advent
Sunday, November 28 and
the following 3 Sundays … Luke 21:25-36
Christmas
Friday, December 25
Midnight … Matthew 1:1-25
Dawn … Luke 2:1-20
Morning … John 21:15-25
Epiphany
Wednesday, January 6 … Matthew 2:1-12
Sunday, January 10 … Matthew 2:1-12
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Some useful resources
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Landline |
Mobile |
Email |
| Church |
01342 825 436 |
n/a |
tccinfr@gmail.com |
| Tom Ravetz |
01342 458132 |
07749 662717 |
lenker@tcc-mrr.co.uk |
| Nataliia Shatna |
01342 895 901 |
07763746175 |
nataliia@tcc-mrr.co.uk |
- You can download a shortened, printable version of this email here.
- See previous issues of our Updates here.
- If you are not on our mailing list, you can subscribe here.
- Reply to this email direct or by clicking this link.
- Gospel readings for the Act of Consecration of Man are listed here.
- Our Facebook page.
- Perspectives, quarterly journal of The Christian Community.
Header picture by Deborah Ravetz
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