PAR PARISH NEWS:

Representatives from all the Churches in Par gathered outside the Co-op in St Blazey on Christmas Eve, to sing carols which were well received by those doing their last minute shopping. A collection made for The St Petroc’s Society for the Homeless amounted to £219. Thank you to everyone who kindly contributed.

St Blaise Parish kindly invited us to join with them on the First Sunday of Christmas for a service of carols and readings. The service was led by Kate Chisman and we all enjoyed singing the much loved, familiar carols interspersed with meaningful readings with the theme of Love, Joy and Peace. Angeline was the organist. It was good to share with members of St Blaise after the service with a cup of coffee and cake and to look at all the lovely crib scenes amid the Christmas decorations and the beautifully decorated Christmas tree..

There was a large attendance from the churches in the Par Area to celebrate The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The service was led by Jenny Taylor and John Diaper and titled “Do you believe this?” focusing on the Nicene Creed with the readings reflecting this. We heard the story of Martha’s confession of faith in Jesus as narrated in John 11:17-27. We were each faced with Jesus’ provocative question to Martha: “Do you believe this?” We also heard the words from John 20:24-29 when Thomas was challenged by Jesus about believing without seeing.

Kathy Pope, Co-ordinator of Churches Together in Cornwall and well known by us all, spoke about the two readings and the importance of Christians of all denominations working together to learn about each other and the way they worship and to respect each one’s different views of what we believe. She was an excellent speaker.

We all joined together to say the Nicene Creed, committing ourselves with the words each different denomination says weekly beginning with “We believe”. The usual tea and biscuits were served after the service when we could meet and chat with others. A retiring collection for Open Doors (for persecuted Christians) raised £172.70. It was also good to see Songs of Praise featuring Churches Together that day, interviewing the different Ecumenical Leaders.

It was good to see so many at the January Bible Study, the first meeting since Fr Michael left us. It was decided to continue studying the readings for the following Sunday and a lively discussion took place following the reading of the texts. We meet on the third Friday of the month at 2pm in the Biscovey Church Room (next to St Mary’s Church), everyone is welcome to join us 

AW