Pregnancy is a journey that lasts 9 months. We can be grateful we’re not elephants (whose gestation period is 95 weeks, more than double ours!) Most of us don’t like journeys that take more than a few hours, but this journey involves many ups and downs.

A human pregnancy is usually divided into 3 trimesters, roughly 3 months each. Often, a woman will feel sick and tired during the first trimester as hormone levels fluctuate and her body prepares for the arrival of a child. The second trimester (weeks 13-27) is the most comfortable period of time for the majority of pregnant women, with renewed energy levels and less sickness. This is when a woman begins to ‘look’ pregnant and may find out through scans the sex of the baby. The third trimester may well be more uncomfortable as the baby grows and it can be hard to sleep well. Women often feel as though the end will never come!

Life can be likened to a journey too, as Alison spoke about last night at the ‘Churches Together’ carol service. It’s less definite than pregnancy (we often don’t know how long we have!) and often involves uncertainty and change, but through it all, there is a sense of progression and also the growing realisation, if we are believers, that God is with us and is in control. I often wonder if Mary had any other angelic encounters during her pregnancy, but suspect, like us, she had to live by faith rather than by sight. (2 Cor 5:7) Our challenge is to keep on believing and journeying towards ‘the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’ (Heb 11:10) Just as Mary journeyed literally to be with Elizabeth and then to Bethlehem, just as the shepherds had to journey from the fields to the stable, just as the Magi journeyed from afar to worship the new-born king, so we too keep on journeying towards our loving God.

Despite a very cold evening, the ‘Churches Together’ community carol service took place tonight at the parish church in Goldthorpe. It was lovely to be able to sing of the hope we have in Christ through the many carols and to hear traditional readings reminding us of the first coming of Jesus as a baby born in Bethlehem.

Garry reading Isaiah’s prophecy foretelling the birth of Jesus:

Alison spoke (with visual aids!) of the journey to Bethlehem by different characters in the Christmas journey and how so often we journey through life feeling weighed down and burdened, but how Jesus (who made the greatest journey of all from heaven to earth) can lift those burdens and help us through life. Mary and Joseph travelled and found nowhere to sleep except among the animals. The shepherds and wise men had to negotiate Roman rule and Herod’s antipathy to find Jesus. Journeying is not always easy, but God is with us (‘Immanuel’) to help us negotiate every stumbling-block and difficulty in life.

Our thanks to Father Schaefer and all his helpers for hosting the carol service, especially those who provided refreshments afterwards.

Nelson Mandela said, ‘There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children.’ This has always been the case.

Many like to view the Christmas story in a saccharine way: a sweet little baby boy who never cried, a beautifully slim Madonna looking glamorous in a stable, angels singing in the heavens and gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The problem we have is that we take elements of the Christmas story and add our own embellishments to them or we ignore other parts of the story because we don’t like them. Herod’s Slaughter of the Innocents (Matt 2:16-18) is a case in point. This massacre of children under 2 is an integral part of the Christmas story, but if we talk about it (as the very funny scene in ‘Nativity’ shows!), people are outraged. Such things offend them and are seen as not being ‘relevant’ to Christmas, when in actual fact, the behaviour of Herod is a vital part of the narrative and demonstrates Satan’s desire to thwart God’s salvation plan at the very start.

How we treat children – whether before they are born or afterwards – is hugely important. Jesus welcomed children (Luke 18:15-17) and urged us to have child-like faith. (Matt 18:3) The sorrow and desperation of exile (when children were eaten in a bid to stay alive, see Jer 19:9, Lam 4:10) is recalled by Matthew as he quotes Jer 31:15, and we do well to ponder on the injustices and desperation in many parts of our world today as we prepare for Christmas.

Our consumerism and materialism are as nothing if we do not treat children with respect and love. Why not use this time to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves? Charities like Samaritan’s Purse with their Christmas shoebox appeal offer practical ways we can support children who have nothing. It’s also good to teach our children to help others and to think of those who are in need. We can never start too young in caring for others.

Today was the Parent & Toddler Christmas Party, with the toddlers coming in their different Christmas outfits (as did some adults!)

We had some lovely food to eat, thanks to Diane and Bev!

 Mark organised a variety of party games.

We also had a visitor with presents for all the children:

The party is part-funded by members’ generosity in donating raffle prizes and buying raffle tickets, so the adults enjoy getting presents too!

Our thanks to all who helped with the party,especially to Diane whose organisation and skill make this an annual event to be remembered!

Life is a charity whose mission is ‘to create a just society which has the utmost respect for all human life from fertilisation.’  It works in many different areas, offering counselling and support to those who are pregnant, education about life before birth, advice on many issues concerning fertility, abortion and euthanasia, as well as running hospices for children with disabilities (Zoe’s Place, in Coventry, Middlesbrough and Liverpool) because it recognises that it’s not enough to campaign on pro-life issues without offering practical help to those who face extremely difficult times if they choose to continue a pregnancy which others would end. The testimonials given on their website from women and families who have found alternatives to abortion remind us vividly that whilst we cannot help everyone, the practical help we can offer to individuals makes a huge difference.

Often, we feel overwhelmed by statistics. 2017 has seen the 50^th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act, which legalised abortion in the UK. The statistics about abortion in the UK are almost too much to take in. [1]

• In 2015, 185,824 abortions were carried out on women and girls in England and Wales. That was 1,253 (0.7%) more than the 184,571 performed in 2014, and the largest number since the 189,931 carried out in 2011.
• Only 3,213 abortions were approved because the foetus had a medical condition. In almost half of these cases it was a congenital malformation, for example of the nervous or cardiovascular system, and in 689 cases the foetus was found to have Down’s syndrome.
• 70% of the women who had abortions in 2015 were married or with a partner.
• 40% of the abortions were on women who have had at least one abortion previously.
• 50 women in 2015 had each had 8 abortions.
• In 2015, 1,853 under-16s had an abortion, including 509 who were under 15 and 79 who were under 14.

The challenge for us is to see beyond the statistics to the individuals involved and to work with those who offer practical help, advice and support. At the very least (and I happen to believe this is not ‘least’), we can pray for people: for nurses and doctors, for counsellors, and most of all for the people who feel overwhelmed, rather than overjoyed, by the idea of new life. God takes human life seriously. So should we.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/17/abortion-rate-england-and-wales-five-year-high

The framework for psalms of lament is a form involving a direct address to God, a description of the situation in which help is needed, a confession of trust, a petition for help and a vow of praise (with sometimes a curse on the enemies perceived to be causing the suffering). This form provides a structure for suffering which so often is needed: these times of bewilderment leave us reeling, disoriented and afraid because of the uncertainty engendered in us, and having some structured form to guide us in prayer can be very helpful.

Communal psalms of lament remind us also that suffering is not simply individual: it is part of the human condition and part of the life of a community of faith. Perspective and hope can be restored as God’s faithfulness is realised (Ps 44:4-8, Ps 60:6-8), and there is a need for the journey through the staging posts of grief, denial, anxiety and acceptance. These psalms walk us through every stage of the journey and allow us to remain whole, even when we are broken by tragedy and grief. Each of these psalms may shout out with loss and grief, but there are ‘echoes of mercy, whispers of love’ (‘Blessed Assurance’) in each one. Lament is a vital part of life (as the book of Lamentations, with its tightly controlled acrostic framework, makes plain), but it is only one part of life. Paul urges us to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.’ (Rom 12:15) May the Psalms frame our ability to rejoice and mourn in Biblical ways, never losing hope, always trusting God to be with us, no matter what our situations.