“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

(Matthew 24:42)

This week, the sections of the email are:

• Opening reflection: Advent
• This Sunday: Advent Sunday (Matthew 25:1-13)
• Key notices: Christmas Publicity, Pre-service prayer and prayer ministry, Generous Giving Sunday response, Christmas Unwrapped, Carol Singing at Care Homes, Decorating St. Luke’s for Christmas,
• Coming Up: Let there be light, Meal and Magic Evening, Sunday Club Christmas Party, Christmas Tree Festival, Christmas Baroque, Christmas Services at St. Luke’s
• From the Wider Church: Dick and Caroline Seed Angola update, Safe Families Events
• Interesting Blogs: Resources for Advent
• Weekly Calendar
• Online Forms: Event application, Submit a notice, maintenance report, access Safeguarding training

Scroll on…

Opening Reflection

The Christmas decorations are already going up. Some have been up for weeks already and it is not December until Monday! However, Sunday marks the beginning of the church’s season that leads up to Christmas: Advent.

Advent is meant to be in part a season to prepare for celebrating Christmas, the festival that marks the Son of God coming among us as a baby. Yet, it is also a time to remember that Jesus will come again, not as a baby, but as the one who will judge, rescue and restore the world, so that God’s kingdom is fully realised and there will be a new heaven and new earth.

As such Advent is meant to be a time of reflection and repentance, when we ask ourselves whether we are ready for Jesus’ second coming. You may think the more urgent question is: “Will I be ready for Christmas? Have I bought the presents, made arrangements to visit family and prepared for the feasting?” Christmas is less than a month away after all.

Yet, not being ready for Christmas is not the end of the world. On the other hand, not being ready for Christ’s return means missing out on the next world. Christmas may feel imminent, but we do not know when Jesus will return. It could be another 2,000 years or it could be today. We need to be ready now.

Why not take time this Advent to prayerfully consider whether you are ready for Jesus’ return? The sermons will help. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at three of the stories Jesus tells to help us in our Advent reflection. They pose the following questions for us to consider: Am I prepared to follow Jesus for the whole of life or is it just a fad? Am I using the gifts and talents God gave me as I should? Do I treat other people, as though they are Jesus?

Paul Worledge

This Sunday (30th November)

Advent Sunday (Matthew 25:1-13)

This week is a Joint Service with St. George’s at St. Luke’s, 11am as normal. It is an All Age, although Sparklers our group for pre-schoolers will be running as normal. We will be remembering that Jesus is coming and asking whether we will be ready.

Key Notices:

Christmas Publicity

The Christmas publicity is now ready to deliver. If you can deliver to one or more roads, please grab enough leaflets from the pile at the back of St. Luke’s, check the roads are not already taken on the maps, then cross out the road(s) so that others do not deliver there. It would be great to cover as many roads as possible.

Pre-Service Prayer and Prayer Ministry

We are happy to announce that we will be starting pre-service prayer on Sunday 7th December at 10.30 am. This is open to all. After the service there will be opportunity for anyone in the congregation to receive prayer from our newly formed prayer ministry team.

Decorating the Church for Christmas – This Thursday

From about 11am on Thursday 27^th November, there will be a working party to decorate St. Luke’s for Christmas. Everyone is welcome to come and help. If you are interested in collecting some greenery to enhance the decorations then please see Lucy W-B.

Generous Giving Sunday – Response so far…

Thank you to all those who have responded to the Generous Giving Sunday appeal. The projected deficit for St. Luke’s this year is around £22,000. Of the responses so far, we have received nearly £2,000 in one -off gifts to help us cover this year and a few have increased their regular giving to help us with the future. However, as one or two have had to decrease their giving, the overall level is going down for next year. Please consider responding asap if you have not already done so. Response forms can be returned in one of the envelopes addressed to Nicky Galer, our treasurer, available at the back of church or by emailing her on treasurer@stlukesramsgate.org.

Christmas Unwrapped – This Wednesday

We are hosting two schools on the morning of Wednesday 3^rd December. If you can help with biscuit decorating or other activities, then please see Paul this Sunday.

Carol Singing at Care Homes

We are planning to go into a couple of local care homes to sing some Christmas Carols for the residents. If you can join us for these events, then please let Paul know:

• Keele House, 2:30pm on Wednesday 10^th December
• Ramsgate Care Centre, 2:30pm on Monday 15^th December

Decorating the Church for Christmas

Thank you to all those who have helped to decorate the church for Christmas and make it look so fantastic.

Coming Up:

Let there be Light

This evening from 5pm at St. George’s Church, there will be the  Let there be Light event. This is a free event with refreshments and entertainment (see fliers for more information). Last year we had over 500 attend. If you can offer to help steward then please let Paul know, and come to the briefing at St. George’s at 4pm.

Meal and Magic Evening, Saturday 6^th December, 7:00pm

The Men’s group will be hosting this fantastic event at St. Luke’s Hall. It will include a hot meal, a quiz and magic from Colin Hoult. This is open to everyone: children go free, adults only £5. For more information or to buy a ticket see Bruce (07708 682464, bruce.stokes@btinternet.com ) or Peter Erlam.

Sunday Club Christmas Party – Sunday 7^th December

We would like to invite all Sunday school aged children to a Christmas Party on the 7^th December at 12.30 (after church). There will be fun games and activities as well as party food and maybe a seasonal visitor. If you can help decorate the hall in preparation on Saturday 6^th from 1-3pm, then please let Tonya know.

Christmas Tree Festival

This will be running from 12^th December at St. George’s. If anyone would like to decorate a Christmas Tree on behalf of St. Luke’s, then please let Paul know.

Christmas Baroque at St. George’s – 18^th December, 7pm

The Baroque Collective warmly invites you to the fifth annual Christmas Baroque Concert at St George’s on 18 December at 7pm. Tickets: £13 in advance, £15 on the door; free admission for children under 16. Find out more and buy tickets.

Christmas Services at St. Luke’s

Tree of Love Service (Formerly Remembrance Service) – Sat. 20^th, 6:30pm

Family Carol Service – Sun. 21^st, 11am

Crib Service – Christmas Eve, 24^th, 4pm

Traditional Carol Service – Christmas Eve, 24^th, 6:30pm

Christmas Day All Age and Holy Communion – Christmas Day, 11am

From the Wider Church:

Dick and Caroline Seed Angola Update

Thank you for praying for the training in Angola. I had to spend three days in the airport waiting for a flight to Luanda. Angola had independence celebrations the week before, and the aircraft timings all got out of sync. Thankfully, the two facilitators from Brazil arrived on time and started without me, for which I am very grateful.

We had 30 participants from Angola and Mozambique join us for the training. Very few of them had any previous training in teaching practice or the theology of theological education. Some of the concepts were very new to them. However, the feedback was encouraging. They are now planning to implement some of what they learnt in the coming semester (2026), and we hope to meet next year to complete the programme.

Safe Family Events

Christmas Zoom, Thursday 18^th December, 12:30-1:30pm

This is a time for all our supporters in London and the South East to meet online, to share stories from this year and take part in a quiz (trivia). This will be an opportunity to meet our team and celebrate this year. Totally optional but we’d love to see you if you can make it! RSVP using this form.

Kent Celebration, Saturday 10^th January 2026, 2-4pm, St. Christopher’s Newington

Please do bring your friends and family along to our celebration of Safe Families and Home for Good in Kent. There will be fun, food and friends – lots for both children and adults to enjoy and all free! Please do pop in, we would love to see you!

RSVP using this form

Interesting Blogs to Share:

This week, some Advent resources that may help you be ready:

Bible Society Free Advent Resources

LICC resources: The infinite in an infant

Church of England: O Come, Emmanuel, reflections on the carol

Weekly Calendar

Sunday 30^th – Advent Sunday

Joint Service (St. Luke’s Church) Matthew 25:1-13, 11:00am-12:00pm

Christianity Explored Youth (13-18s) (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Let There Be Light (St George’s Church) – 5:00-7:00pm

Monday 1^st December   

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Christianity Explored (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 7:30-9:00pm

Tuesday 2^nd

Prayer Meeting (St. George’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Christ Church Toddlers @ St Luke’s (St. Luke’s Church Hall) – 9:30-11:30am

Wednesday 3^rd 

Christmas Unwrapped (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:00am-12:00pm

Thursday 4^th

Prayer Meeting (St. Luke’s Church) – 9:30-10:00am

Cafe4All (St. Luke’s Church), Coffee and Chat for all – 10:00-11:30am

Christianity Explored (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 11:30am-1:00pm

Friday 5^th

Play and Praise (St. Luke’s Hall) – 10:00-11:30am

Saturday 6^th

CTiR Prayer Breakfast (Newington Free) – 9:00-10:00am

Meal & Magic (St. Luke’s Hall) – 7:00-9:00pm

Sunday 7^th – Second Sunday in Advent

Baptism Service (St. Luke’s Church) Matthew 25:14-30, 11:00am-12:00pm

Sunday Club Party (St. Luke’s Hall) – 12:30pm

Christianity Explored Youth (13-18s) (St Luke’s Vicarage) – 5:00-6:30pm

Online Forms:

Under the ‘Contact’ tab on the website, there are now three forms that you can use to help us in managing the church:

• Events Application Form. Use this if you are organising a church event that needs a church room booked, advertising or ticketing.
• Submit a Notice. Use this if you want to ask us to include a prayer request or other notice in the church notice sheet or email.
• Maintenance Reporting Form.Use this to report any non-urgent issues with our buildings or grounds.

St. Luke’s Website

• What’s On – a page which lets you know what is happening this week and gives information about upcoming events.
• Notices – You can read the latest notices on this page.
• Sermons – Read a transcript of a recent sermon or watch the YouTube version recorded at St. Luke’s. You can also listen to the sermon through the podcast website castbox.

Safeguarding Training

If you volunteer in anyway at church the national authorities are strongly encouraging you to take at least the Basic Module in safeguarding training once every three years.

If you have not completed the training in the last three years, then the module can be completed online and takes about ninety minutes. You can access the training by following this link. You will need to first register, to access the training. Once the training is completed, you will be sent a certificate. Please forward that certificate to James (office@churchramsgate.org), so that we can keep records of who has done the training.

Finally, let’s be ready for Jesus’ return.

Yours in Christ

Paul Worledge

(Vicar, St. Luke’s Ramsgate)