Hello all,  

Merry Christmas.  After all, Christmas is a season, which lasts until the Presentation of our Lord (not the Groundhog) on February 2nd.  So lots of time to get the decorations down.  Within the Christmas season is Epiphany, celebrated on January 6th.  It commemorates the visit of the Magi.  We will be celebrating it this Sunday. Sunday January 11th remembers the Baptism of the Lord..  Quite often Baptisms are conducted  on this Sunday or the renewal of the Baptismal Vows.  In some households all Christmas decorations must be put away by Twelfth Night (Epiphany).  My Mother was very strict on this.  We always had a live tree and with two boys she realized if she didn't set a deadline it would probably be July before everything was put away.  Also, Happy Hogmanay which unfortunately only lasts one day.  

Normally, there isn't an edition of the Midweek News during the Christmas break, however I am going in for eye surgery on January 5th.  This will make working on a computer difficult for a couple of weeks and heaven forbid Management would lift a paw to do some actual work so look for the next edition around January 22nd.

 

Carols in the Courtyard.  Our first attempt and judged a success!  We had over 20 in attendance, made up of Parishioners of all ages, neighbours and a visitor from St. George's.  In addition to melodious carols there was hot chocolate and apple cider and treats.  Thank you to everyone who attended, our conductor Craig Smith and Lisa Bogue for keeping us on pitch.  Fraser Haley is especially grateful for the Twelve Days of Christmas.  He had been practising it for weeks.  Just wait till next year,  

Our Conductor.

Carolers 

of all ages.  On the first day of Christmas...

 

Christmas Decorations.  We are going to follow the tradition of removing the decorations after Twelfth Night.  The Chancel Guild would be happy for any and all assistance on Saturday January 10th at 10:00 am to remove the Christmas tree and pack up the decorations.  

 

The Poinsettias Are Looking For A Good Home.   If you have been admiring one of the Poinsettias over Christmas please feel free to take it home after the 10:00 am Service this Sunday.  The objective is to leave no Poinsettia behind.

 

The Schedule.    Time to get out those 2026 Church Calendars.  What! You didn't get a calendar for Christmas.  Fortunately there are still a few available on the table in the Narthex   

  • Sunday 4 January 2026 - 10:00 am Epiphany
  • Sunday 11 January 2026 -10:00 am The Baptism of Our Lord
  • Monday 19 January 2026 - 7:00 pm Parish Council Meeting
  • Sunday 1 February 2026 - 10:00 am The Presentation of the Lord
  • Sunday 1 February 2026 - 4:00 pm Choral Evensong (Wine &Cheese Reception to follow)
  • Sunday 15 February 2026 - 10:00 am Transfiguration Sunday
  • Sunday 15 February 2026 - Annual Vestry Meeting following the 10:00 am Service

Upcoming events can also be found on the church website at www.stmartinslondon.ca/events.

 

Vestry  Save the date for our annual Vestry meeting, which will take place this year on Sunday, February 15 following the service. Anyone submitting a report for the Vestry book should please do so by emailing Sandra (stmartinslondon@diohuron.org) at your earliest convenience. The deadline for report submissions is Monday, February 2. 

 

Church Office Closed During the Christmas Celebrations, the office will be closed from December 22 to 9 am on January 7. Call Rev’d Sarah in case of pastoral emergency at 289-221-5855.

  St. Martin's, Our History and Our Artifacts.   Look for more tidbits in the next edition.

 

 Keys To The Church.  Do you have a set of keys to the church which you no longer require?  It would be appreciated if you could return them to Sandra.  It will save us the cost of producing additional keys. 

St. Paul's Social Services -Thank you for your generous donations .    This news item never goes away because hunger never goes away.  St. Paul's Social Services is an outreach program, a part of which is the St. Paul's Food Bank.  Your generous donations help support it.   Look for the bin in the cloakroom marked "St. Paul's Food Bank".  Food of all descriptions should be the first priority.   Please give what you can.    In addition to food, toiletries, especially in small sizes are always useful. Monetary donations are also well received as it lets them buy items which are needed but not always donated or they buy in bulk.  Like everyone else they are being hit by the rising price of food.  Please make cheques payable to St. Paul's Social Services.  Tax receipts will be issued directly by St. Paul's Social Services.  For the moment please do not donate containers as they are in discussions with the local Health Inspectors on their use.

 

Church Calendars are now available on the table in the Narthex.  The cost is $7.00. Exact Change is appreciated.  Please call the office if you wish to have one put aside for you. 

 

Let your light shine.  From the archeological treasure trove here are the spotlights from the balcony, which lit the St. Martin window before being replaced this summer. 

All lights work and each light has its own switch. Only two of the lights have bulbs.

The lights are intended for indoor use only.  They can be yours for a free will offering.  Please speak to Larry Chisholm.

 

We Are Collecting Egg Cartons.  Annele Robertson has a friend who can use egg cartons for......eggs!  Drop them off in the cloakroom and Annele will pick them up.  

 

Milk Bag Collection is Back.  The ladies are back to making mats.  Please bring in your milk bags and put them in the marked box in the Cloakroom

 

Email Address  Please check that you have our correct email address in your contacts.  It is stmartinslondon@diohuron.org .  The old email address is no longer supported, and we will be losing access to it soon.  Also, if you change your email address, please let us know so we can update our records.

And of course we still do.  Feb 2nd.


See you soon.
Ian

Ian Haley
Church Warden.