Author: Jo Dawes

So the Christmas Markets are upon us again. This is a great time of year to meet up with friends for glühwein and chat.

It is also a time when the city is pretty full and you may desire to escape the crowds and find a space for a bit of peace and quiet.

We offer just such a space in STB church. A team of enthusiatic carpenters and model builders have built a real life sized stable where we invite you to enter and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, inspired by this month's Pause for Thought.

We are now in the season of Advent. Advent marks the start of the Church calendar and traces the preparation of God's people for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

To mark this season, the Church of England offers a series of daily reflections available as a podcast which can be accessed here.

Wanderers and would be Wanderers are asked to note the following:

Saturday, 8 December We shall take the train to Lüneburg to have a walk around the town and enjoy the Weilnachtsmarkt.

Saturday, 12 January New Year's walk and annual lunch. Route and restaurant to be decided. (Suggestions welcome.)

Please note that in 2013 walks will take place on second Saturday each month.

For those who did not stock up on quite enough stuff at the Church Bazaar there is another opportunity to purchase produce and handicrafts at the Victorian Christmas Market this weekend 1-2 Decmeber at the Basler Hof 12:00-18:00.

At the Feast of Christ the King, STB400 – the project running the 400th anniversary came to end and now we will build on the legacy helped by a new mission statement forged with much engagement and now commissioned by Bishop David.

Bishop David's Sermon is available here

STB's mission is to be 'An active and inclusive church, growing in our relationship with God and the wider community'.

This weekend we welcoem Bishop David who is here to be with us for the end of the celebratory 400th anniversary year (project stb400), and to commission us for our future journey together. A new mission statement will be revealed!

At the Service for Christ the King, 10:30 25 November, Bishop David will also be confirming a number of candidates. He will be joined at the service by Archdeacon Jonathan who has kindly come down from Copenhagen.

So expect a joyful, action packed service!

A big thank you to Mark Lyndon for a fantastic evening on 'How to be a Hamberger', performed in front of a packed church. Mark generously donated his fee which meant the evening raised a substantial amount for the STB400 fund.
Thanks too to Pat Pledger, Business English Training, who sponsored the evening with her time in organising the event, a very successful result of many months of work.

This was a great culmination to the STB400 project which finishes on Sunday. Anyone who has been involevd is welcome to join members of the church for drinks and finger food with Bishop david on Friday evening from 19:30.

Today, 20 November, the vote was taken at the General Synod of the Church of England on the Measure to provide the legislation to permit women bishops in the Church of England.

It was passed 44 for, 3 against and 2 absentions in the House of Bishops; passed 148 for, 45 against in the House of Clergy, but failed to secure the necessary two thirds majority in the House of Laity with 132 for, and 74 against.

The project which began 24 April 2010 to develop and coordinate events in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the 'English Church' in Hamburg is now coming to an end.

The last non-service event will be a performance by Mark Lyndon of his 'How to be a Hamburger' on Wednesday 21 November. This event is a complete sell out, so please note there are no tickets available on the door.

On Friday 23 November at 19:30 there is a party in church to which members of STB and outsiders who have helped with events during this anniversary year are very welcome to come and enjoy a drink and conversation with each other and with Bishop David.

On Sunday 25 November at 10:30, the Feast of Christ the King, Bishop David will preside at the Eucharist/confirmation, and commission STB for our future mission and ensure a good legacy for all that was achieved in 2012.

As if the recent US Presidential election was not cliff hanger enough, we now have the vote in General Synod on the matter of Women Bishops.

42 out of 44 Dioceses have voted in favour of permitting women to become bishops. The debate left is only how to handle those who in good conscience can't accept this while at the sametime not making women second class bishops. This issue led to the postponement of the vote at the last meeting of the Church of England's General Synod in July

Both the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of Canterbury designate, Dr Justin Welby have made strong public statements asking Synod to vote through the motion as it now stands, so that the church can move on.

Supporters of this measure may be interested to register that support through the website set up by the Church Mouse Blog
Yes 2 Women Bishops.