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The next issue of Becket News is due to be published at the end of January/beginning of February. What events are you planning for the next quarter? How are your activities and groups progressing? Is there anything you'd like to promote or share? Your Becket News editor would like to know. Photographs are great, too, preferably accompanied by an informative caption or a longer article.

PLEASE send your articles, event news, reports on activities and information by Friday 16 January at the latest to becketnews (at) aol.com.

On Sunday 8 February, the Sunday after Candlemas, STB's own chamber choir, the Anglican Consort, will be singing choral evensong at 5pm. The music will include Thomas Tallis's beautiful anthem, O nata lux, canticles by Orlando Gibbons, and the anthem Lord now lettest thou by Mendelssohn. You can find details of all four choral evensongs planned for 2015 here.

Due to the storm, the Church Wanderers walk for tomorrow, Saturday 10 January, has been cancelled.

The next walk with Church Wanderers this Saturday, 10 January, will be from Rissen to Wedel, ending with the traditional New Year's lunch in the Dolce Vita restaurant in Wedel at 1.30pm. The walk will begin from Rissen S-Bahn station at about 11 am. (Catch the S1 which leaves Hamburg Hauptbahnhof at 10:19 and gets to Rissen at 10:54.) Please let Nicki Schiller know if you are coming by 4pm on Friday, 9 January – nicki.schiller [at] gmx.de, tel. 04104 695537 or 0176 30 393 063.

Oliver Martinez, alias “Elvis”, is back at St Thomas Becket by popular request on Thursday, 8 January 2015 for a fun evening of songs to celebrate Elvis Presley's 80th birthday. Doors open at 7.30pm and the concert begins at 8pm (no reserved seating). There is no admission charge, but a collection in aid of the church will be taken up during the evening. Download the flier here.

The funeral service for Cicely Hollingsworth, who died on 20 December, will be held on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 at 3pm at St Thomas Becket Anglican Church.

Almighty God, you have given us your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin: grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Collect for Christmas

“At Christmas, when we speak of peace and goodwill, how should we respond to the many atrocities, acts of violence and hardships that we hear about throughout the world? What can we do to make a difference? I think the first, and perhaps the most powerful, is prayer,” writes Father Matthew in his Christmas message. You can find the whole message along with a list of Christmas services at St Thomas Becket and Bishop Robert's Christmas message in the Christmas Flier.

This week's Church of England podcast features an interview with Libby Lane, who is to be the first woman bishop in the Church of England, on her reaction to the news, dissenting views, her hopes and the challenges ahead. You can find the podcast on the CofE website front page or follow this link.

This Sunday's Family Service with Holy Communion at 10.30 will include a dramatised Gospel with assistance from Junior Church. Also, the flame of the Peace Light of Bethlehem will be brought to us from the Church of the Nativity. If you want to share the light and take it home, please bring some way of carrying it (a lantern, for example). Members of the Scout and Guide Movement distribute the light, brought from Bethlehem to Austria, throughout 30 European countries and beyond. You can read more about the Peace Light here in English and in German.