Miscellaneous Chuch Business
	CHRISTMAS CHURCH FLOWERS Saturday 15th December. Volunteers are needed to help decorate the church for the Christmas services.  The Church will be open on Saturday 15th December from 10am till 12 noon.  Simple arrangements with lots of holly, ivy and other evergreen foliage which we can then fill with red and gold ribbons; and for further information please ring me on 820458. Brenda Lord
	CAROLS Carols with the Salvation Army Band will be in the Church on Friday 21st December at 7pm.  There will be a collection for the Salvation Army’s charitable work, and coffee and mince pies will be served afterwards. Ann Davis
	THE VISION MEETING On October 31st there was an Open Evening in the Parish Church for members of our local churches and community to share ideas about our church of SS Peter & Paul’s, what sort of church it should look to be and what sort of things it should be doing. Nearly 50 people turned out for what proved to be an evening of much laughter and sharing.  After a ‘setting the scene’ talk by the Vicar, people moved into small groups where many ideas were shared.  Back in open forum, some of these ideas were discussed in greater depth and other possible ventures fed into the melting pot. From this one evening a document of six sides of A4 paper has been produced, listing all the ideas and perceptions which were offered.  This will form the central hub around which the P.C.C. will discuss the future of our church.  It may now be some time before we are able to let you know precisely what has been decided, but when it is available we will try to communicate as much information as possible to you all.
	NEW SERVICES IN THE PARISH CHURCH At SS Peter & Paul’s we are having to change the Orders of Service which we use.  This is because the Church of England has adopted a new prayer book and legally we have to use the up-to-date services.  This is not entirely the case as we could still use the Book of Common Prayer, which dates from 1662 but most people now find the language used somewhat inaccessible.  However, the more recent A.S.B. (Alternative Service Book) of 1980, which people now think of as the ‘norm’ is no longer legal and our parish church should have gone over to using the new services at the beginning of this year.  It did not do this because of the interregnum, but now that I am in post we must act to change over and catch up with the rest of the Anglican church! The situation is complicated as there is not a single prayer book - but the church has published a series of service books each of which contain many options.  Each local church has to decide on the style and content of its services within certain structures and from a selection of prayers. We do not have freedom to choose from other sources, but as an example: The Eucharistic Prayer - which is the long one the priest uses over the bread and wine as it becomes to us the body and blood of our Lord - whereas previously we had a choice of 4, now there is a choice of 8 - and each of these can be varied according to the Season, or even from one Sunday to another as we celebrate different Feasts. A working group is beavering away on our behalf and when the P.C.C. and congregations have approved what is decided we shall have to print our own Orders.  We have been using the new Baptism Service and wish to fine tune that, so you can tell this is going to take some time as we have to work on 2 different communion services, a family service, baptism, marriage and funeral services as well as occasional services such as Harvest and Remembrance.  We are not going to rush things but will take our time to get it right. The Rev’d Martin Flowerdew
	CHURCH BELLS A Quiz Evening was held by the Tendring Bellringers on 27th October, in aid of OUR Church Bells.  A magnificent £269 was raised.  They had their peal ‘done’ a few years ago.  We thank them for this splendid gesture. I also had a very enjoyable evening. Mark Roberts

	FRIENDS OF ST OSYTH PARISH CHURCH Reg. Charity No. 1087946 Events for next year have been considered and, in the light of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in June, it has been decided not to have the Village Open Gardens Weekend next year. There will be a CONCERT to be held in the church on Saturday, March 9th (evening), with both local talent and help from the Clacton Operatic Society. For the Queen’s Jubilee we will be putting on a 1950’s Exhibition, starting on Saturday, June 1st and ending with an Evening of 50’s Fashion and Music on Saturday, June 8th. MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES IN YOUR DIARY.  More details in the February St Osyth News. Mark Roberts CHURCH CYCLE RIDE Congratulations to those who rode in the September Cycle Ride - £466 was made.