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North Harrow is an outer London suburb situated on the North West of the metropolis. The church is located on a busy main road adjacent to a major junction at one end of what was, just after the 1939-1945 war, the main shopping centre of the area. The shopping area is still there but has changed a lot over the years.

Methodism organises itself into "Circuits", which is Methodism's term for a local group of Methodist Churches. North Harrow Methodist Church is one of twelve churches in the Harrow Circuit, London North-West district (A district is a group of circuits).

Welcome to the latest edition of the North Harrow Methodist Church newsletter.

By the time you receive this newsletter, we will be into Advent, with Christmas rapidly approaching, and I will be desperately trying to think of fresh things to say in Christmas services!

I think that Christmas is the most difficult of all the Christian festivals to find new ideas for.  Perhaps we have been duped by the commercialism of Christmas, into believing that Christmas is for children!  Yes, it is a very special time of the year for children, but Christmas is not for children, it is about a child.  It is about God (the creator) becoming a child (the created) in order that he might save humanity, past, present and future.

In a very real sense, Christmas is a mystical time of year, because it centres on the greatest mystery of all time.  As we gaze at the newborn, lying in the manger, we gaze into the eyes of God!  Whatever else you do this Christmas, allow yourself time to be overwhelmed by the mystery and wonder of the birth of Christ.

Bonhoeffer quotation…

In my sermon on the morning of the Church Anniversary, I quoted a passage from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Several people have asked for a copy of that passage, so I reproduce it here…

Nothing can make up for the absence of someone, whom we love, and it would be wrong to try to find a substitute; we must simply hold out and see it through.  That sounds very hard at first, but at the same time it is a great consolation, for the gap, as long as it remains unfilled, preserves the bonds between us.  It is nonsense to say that God fills the gap; God doesn't fill it, but on the contrary, keeps it empty and so helps us to keep alive our former communion with each other, even at the cost of pain.  [Dietrich Bonhoeffer[1]]

Christmas Services…

Sunday 21st December

 9.00am    Holy Communion – the Minister
10.30am    3rd Sunday (worship for all ages)
 6.30pm    Carols and Candles – the Choir and friends

Christmas Eve

 4.00pm    Children's Service (all ages welcome) – the Minister
11.30pm    Midnight Communion Service – Revd Keith Reed  

Christmas Day

 10.30am    All Age Worship – the Minister

Please try to support as many of these services as possible.

Covenant Service

We will be holding our Covenant Service on the morning of 11^th January 2004, but we will also be sharing in a joint Anglican/Methodist Covenant Service at St Alban’s on 4^th January 2004 at 6.30pm.  This is an important opportunity to nurture links, and I hope that a large number from North Harrow Methodist Church will be present.

And finally…

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas, and every blessing for the New Year.

Yours in Christ,

Tim