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REACHING OUT
St. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH NEWSLETTER
Winter 2004 No 56
O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL
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'Santa is given
the heave‑ho!' It's a case of no room at the
grotto for Santa this Christmas. The Ministry of
Fun, not a new government department, but
Santa's employer, tells us it's so the stores can
get in more shelves of Christmas goodies for us
to buy ‑ even with 3 for the price of 2 I don't
think so. May be with the growing compensation
culture we have inherited from the States its
best to have Santa out in the open so we can see
what he is up to! Sad isn't it ‑ before long
they will be telling us, that for the sake of
cultural uniformity we can't have Santa Claus or
Christmas at all, it will be banned like it was
under Cromwell and the Puritans in the 17th
century. After all, like smoking, and eating
chips, its not good for us, spending all that
money on gifts and food and drink, and getting
`plastered'. The way things are going one just
doesn't know what's to be next on the list of
things the state tells us are not only bad for
us but that we need to be banned from doing,
thus taking away our basic freedom of choice.
Never mind
smoking, what about all the traffic fumes and
toxic chemical we all breathe in every day of
our lives? Why don't M. P. s discuss that
instead of spending 700 hours discussing fox
hunting? Better still why don't they really do
something about the health service and education,
like throw some serious money at them. What's
the point of spending lottery money on the arts
when people can die waiting for hospital
treatment?
For many life
looks bleak enough as Christmas approaches, with
hiked up interest rates and credit card fatigue,
we need all the festive cheer we can get ‑ free
visits to Santa's grotto for all, say I! Make a
stand for the ghost of Christmas past, bring
back all those quaint English customs, and that
includes going to Church. Come and join our
celebrations at Saint Augustine's this Christmas, and
join us as we celebrate the birth of the boy
King. Real carols and not a guitar in sight!
A truly happy
Christmas you all,
Father Keith |
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