St Margaret's News is published 10 times a year (monthly except January and August). We aim to distribute a copy to every home in the parish. Below is a selection of articles from recent editions. For contact details, please see the Getting in Touch page.

The Dangers of Shopping and the Joy of Christmas (December 2008)

     I wonder if you have ever experienced the heart-stopping anxiety of not knowing where your child is whilst out shopping? Or perhaps you can remember a time you were lost when you were young?
     I was talking to my sister, Hannah, about this recently and she remembers a time when she ended up being lost whilst we were on a family shopping trip. She was about four years old and it had been a long morning going from one shop to another, so to ease the boredom whilst in Debenhams she decided to play amongst the clothes rails. However unknown to her whilst she was still playing the rest of the family had moved on. Equally, absorbed in what we were doing, the rest of us had not realised Hannah was missing. 
     A few minutes later when we noticed she was not with us we started looking for her retracing our footsteps, but by then she had moved to another part of the floor. Looking back on the occasion, even though we were  intensely worried because of the potential danger she might have been in, Hannah says she was not concerned in the slightest – she was having fun playing in the clothes. It was only when she realised she was lost that she became upset.
     At Christmas we celebrate Jesus coming to earth to be a light to the world. Part of what it means for Jesus to be a ‘light’ is that He shines into our lives highlighting our need to have a relationship with God.
     Jesus exchanged the splendour of heaven for a manger, not because He just fancied a change of scene, but because He knew He needed to take action. He came to highlight the danger we are in if we live ignoring God, and ultimately to enable us to have a relationship with God through His death. So  Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus coming into the world to enable us to have the greatest gift there is, a restored relationship with God. A relationship that gives true peace with God, with other people, and within ourselves.
     The trouble is that we are often so busy getting on with our lives we don’t realise that we are in one sense lost. Why not make a resolution this Christmas to not only celebrate the baby Jesus entering the world but to get to find out more about Him in the New Year?
     I hope you have a truly happy Christmas and wish you every blessing in the New Year. May you experience the joy and peace of Christ’s Christmas presence.

Simon Talbot, Curate

Congratulations to Rena Daniels (December 2008)

     A member of St Margaret’s church for many years, Rena reaches her 100th year on December 3rd. Recently I had the pleasure of spending a delightful afternoon with her at her home listening spellbound as she reminisced over her long and busy life. The details were so remarkably clear that at times it was hard to realise that the events had taken place such a long time ago.
     Rena was born in Penrith, and won a scholarship to the local grammar school at the age of eleven which she was unable to take up due to family circumstances. Leaving school at fourteen she took a series of posts away from home looking after young children.
     At the age of seventeen one of her employers recognised her potential and arranged for her to train for nursing in Galashiels a n d subsequently at the City Hospital, Edinburgh. About this time a sadness occurred in Rena’s life which resulted in her seeking a change of environment and, supported by her grandparents who were living in Ipswich, she took a post at Anglesea Road Hospital. She sought, and found
solace in St Margaret’s church and has remained a faithful member to this day.
     She married Jack the day after her birthday in December 1937 and the reception was held at the Garratt
Memorial Hall.
     After a spell of living in Luton she moved to York where she became matron of a nursery which looked after fifty children whose mothers worked in a munitions factory. It was whilst she was in York that her two
daughters, Judy and Suzy were born.
     In 1950 the family returned to Ipswich where Rena became a staff nurse at Anglesea Road Hospital.
     Meeting with her now has been a heart-warming experience. Her sense of humour, sharpness of mind,
kindness and humanity, together with her wisdom and deep under-lying faith remain with me as a source of
lasting inspiration.

Gillian Sellgren