Today/Crèche at St Martin’s. For the 0-4 age group, with trained childcare leaders, takes place in the Austen Williams Room every Sunday. Please ask a steward to show you where to go.

Today/Christmas Flowers. At the end of the 10am service today there will be a collection for the flowers to decorate the church for Christmas.

Today/C-Club Malawi Stall. Come and support the annual C-Club stall of cakes, crafts and last-minute Christmas gifts. All funds for St Luke’s Hospital, Malawi.

Today/Advent Meditations. A booklet to guide our meditations through the Advent season will be available from the Stewards or from the Vergers during the week for a suggested donation of £3. This year’s Advent theme of ‘Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell’ can feel uncomfortable and uncompromising. Please use the booklet to allow God to speak to you by the Spirit as we prepare to celebrate the coming of the Christ-child.

Today/Christmas Appeal. If you’d like to make a donation to the 2018 BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal, please visit: www.smitfc.org/donate. Throughout December, we would also welcome help opening post, processing donations and sending thank you cards. If you can spare a few hours to help us this year please sign up: www.smitfc.org/volunteer2018.

Today/Inspired to Follow Advent Course/Continuing Sunday 16 December, 12-1pm, Austen Williams Room. This course explores life’s big questions: Death, Judgement, Heaven & Hell. Like earlier Inspired to Follow sessions, these use fine art paintings from the National Gallery, along with Biblical story, theological reflection and conversation, to explore big questions that we all wrestle with. All are welcome.

This Week/Archers Turkish Christmas Supper/Wednesday 19 December, 7.00pm. Please give your names to Michael Moran if you would like to join us for an Archers Christmas Party at his favourite Turkish Restaurant near his home in Edmonton: mtj_moran@yahoo.co.uk; 07776271064 (£25 including drinks.)

Advent and Christmas Services. The full list of Advent & Christmas services is available on our website and in our whole site brochure. During Advent there will be no Evening Prayer, Monday Choral Evensong or Bread for the World. There will be no ticketing for capacity Christmas services: Nine Lessons and Carols, Community Carols and Parish Carols. Doors open 45 mins before the services start and as the church is often full we encourage you to arrive in plenty of time to be certain of a seat. We look forward to welcoming all of our visitors over this Advent and Christmas season.

Next Week/Christmas Day. Our 10.30am Eucharist will be a joint service with our English and Chinese speaking congregations.

Next Week/Come and Sing: World’s Greatest Christmas Choruses, Saturday 29 December, 10.00am–1.00pm. Join Andrew Earis and members of St Martin’s Voices for a morning workshop on the World’s Greatest Christmas Choruses. Doors open at 10.00am, Short performance at 12.30pm, free for audience members. Tickets £12 available online at www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/whatson-event/come-and-sing-the-worlds-greatest-christmas-choruses/, on the phone 020 7766 1100 or at the Box Office.

Revd Katherine Hedderly – As announced last week Katherine is to be leaving us to take up a new post this spring as Incumbent of All Hallows-by-the-Tower and Area Dean of the City. We are delighted for Katherine and congratulate her on her appointment. At the same time we will find it hard to imagine St Martin’s without her. She has given her heart and soul to this community for the last nine years and her immense kindness, love and attention to detail have permeated her whole ministry. Her best legacy will be the people she has encouraged, inspired and befriended, and the ways we have become deeper, gentler and wiser through her presence. We shall also miss her husband Loren and are so grateful for what he has brought into our community. Katherine’s final service at St Martin’s will be at 10am on Sunday 10 March. I’m sure you will join me in thanking her for the immense contribution she has made to our life together.

On Christmas Night. St Martin’s Voices have released a new CD for Christmas. Available for £9.99 from the Shop at St Martin’s, the CD features carols including ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ and ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ as well as lesser well known carols including ‘Glory, glory, glory to the Newborn King’ and ‘Follow that Star’ and a new setting of ‘Love came down at Christmas’ by Nils Greenhow.

Coming Up/Epiphany Carols, Sunday 6 January, 5.00pm. Join us for our evening celebrations featuring readings and music for this wonderful season of light, discovery, miracle and revelation. With reflections by Revd Dr Sam Wells and music by the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Coming Up/Joint Event with our Chinese Community/Thursday 17 January, 6.30pm, St Martin’s Hall. The talk (in English) will be followed by a drinks reception. Rosemary Scott will speak on the meaning of decoration on Chinese Ceramics. Free tickets from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-meaning-of-decoration-on-chinese-ceramics-tickets-51544286348 or phone Jonathan Evens on 020 7766 1127 and leave your name and phone number.

Coming Up/Theology Away Day/ Saturday 9 February, 9.30am-4.00pm. Led by Revd Dr Sam Wells. The theme is ‘How Does Jesus Save Us?’ No theological training necessary. The Away Day will be held at the Royal Foundation of St Katherine’s, London E14 8DS, at the subsidised price of £25 with lunch and all refreshments included. Flyers will be available shortly, but to register your place, email georgina.illingworth@smitf.org.

Remembering Dorothy Cone and Sybil Allen. We have recently lost two dear members of our community and we are exploring ways to remember them. We are considering the replacement of our hymnbooks and making a new stand for the St John’s Bible when it is read in worship. Before we make specific plans we would be grateful to hear from those who would like to make a contribution. Please pass donations to the vergers or email pledges to one of the clergy. The likely overall cost would be £4000 for the hymnbooks and £3500 for the bible stand. For more information, please speak to katherine.hedderly@smitf.org / 020 7766 1102.