First woman bishop announced

Revd Libby Lane is to be the new Bishop of Stockport, and the first woman bishop in the Church of England. She is currently Vicar of St Peter's, Hale, and St Elizabeth's, Ashley in Cheshire. She will be consecrated as Bishop of Stockport on 26 January 2015 at York Minster and will serve as a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Chester. Follow the links to the announcement on the Church of England website and a background story on the BBC website.

Christmas Services at the Anglican Church

You don't have to be an Anglican to come to church at St Thomas Becket. We welcome everyone. On Christmas Eve we will have a Children’s Christmas Service at 4 pm and Midnight Mass at 11.30 pm. There will be services of Holy Communion at 10.30 am on Christmas Day and New Year's Day in addition to our usual Sunday Services. You can find details of Christmas Services by clicking on the link on the right of this page and of all other services on the services page.

Please support the Bishop's appeal

Bishop Robert's Advent Appeal is raising funds for the Sant’Egidio project in Italy which offers emergency help to migrants who land off the Sicilian coast, raises awareness of their rights as asylum seekers and eventually assists their integration into Italian society. It focuses particularly on young people and children. Full details are available on the Diocese in Europe website. Please give as generously as you can. Donations can be made in church and will be collected and sent to the Diocesan Office.

Wandering from Aumühle after all

The next walk with Church Wanderers this Saturday, 13 December, will start at Aumühle after all. Please meet at Ausmühle S-Bahnhof at 11:36. (From Hamburg Hbf you need to take the S21 to Aumühle at 11:04.) The walk through pretty country, woods and along the Bille river to Reinbek will take no more than two hours, so there'll be plenty of time to get back for the the Carol Service! Please let Nicki Schiller know if you are coming by 10pm on Thursday, 11 December – nicki.schiller [at] gmx.de

What does it mean to be small?

Is bigger always better? Is being small being a failure? What does it mean to be a small church community? On five evenings in January and February we are going to “visit Bethany”, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, the siblings who welcomed Jesus in a simple way. For more information about the Small church Reflection Meetings, please download the PDF.

Carols and hot chocolate on 5 December

Because we can't sing ALL the carols and songs at our traditional carol service, Mothers' Union is inviting us again for sing-along Christmas carols on Friday 5 December at 6pm. As if that weren't enough to give you a lovely warm feeling, there'll be hot chocolate on offer, too. Admission is free, but donations to church funds are welcome.

Bazaar success and raffle winners

A big thank you to everyone who helped make the Church Bazaar on 22 November a success, whether by working behind the scenes, helping on the day or buying what was on offer. This year's event made over EUR 14,000 to support the running expenses of the church, up on last year.

Are you a lucky winner?
Please check your raffle tickets. You could have won a prize. Click on the link to see the list of winning tickets and how to claim a prize if your number's come up.

First woman bishop expected in the New Year

Now that the Church of England has signed the legislation enabling women to be appointed bishops into canon law, an announcement of the first woman bishop is expected in the New Year. Four bishoprics are currently vacant, with a further five appointments of suffragan bishops due. You can read the Church of England's announcement here and a background article on the BBC website here.