Happy new year!

I've been a member of Holy Trinity for around 12 years and went to an Anglican church in Walsall for 12 years before that.  So you'd think that I'd have picked up something about the Church Calendar and the way it all works in that time.  But no.  Other than being clear about when it was Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, I have to confess that I'm beginning to realise how little I understood about the church year until I started to work here!

People have very different views about the importance of the more subtle changes that take place in the church calendar and the way they affect what we say and do in services as the weeks go on but, as we start the new church year with the beginning of Advent, I'm finding it more and more fascinating to learn about how and why the changes take place.  Last week was Christ the King, the official end of the church year and also known as "Stir-up Sunday".  It has taken me working in a church to understand that the Stir up bit isn't just about making your Christmas pudding!  It comes from an ancient collect for Christ the King, which starts "Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people....".

A bit like the sense of privilege I've been feeling for the last nearly 8 months about working in a place with a 1000 years of history, I have found myself enjoying learning about the traditions we maintain to a lesser or greater degree in our different services. 

Whether we personally choose to use older liturgy or not and whether we take any notice of whether it's the 10th or 11th Sunday after Trinity or not, there is something reassuring about sharing a structure, and sometimes words, with communities who have gone before us over hundreds and hundreds of years.

And it impacts on what we do in the office too.  It's the beginning of the new church year, which means that our financial year is drawing to a close and a new one begins in January. Which, in turn, means that lots of people have been working hard to get budgets agreed for 2012.  I've been fortunate enough to be involved in the process, helping with the practicalities, and whilst it's been a busy time, it has been very rewarding to work on something so important to the church. Please pray for the PCC on Monday night, as they decide on the best course of action to take, following recommendations from the Finance and Standing Committees.

So happy new (church) year! Let's hope it's a good one, full of blessings!