Advent/Christmass Letter

End of Year / Christmass Letter

It’s been a busy year. For meetings, retreats, schools, etc, I travelled to Bloemfontein and or Modderpoort many times. Totalling over 10,000 km (about 6,500 miles). Travelling around the parish was very much easier. (I can walk to most places.)

My Cluster (archdeaconry) is just 6 full-blown parishes and a multitude of small worship centres scattered all over the Eastern Free State. From Villiers in the north-east to Arlington in the West (if you’re looking at a map.) It includes the whole of the previously “independent” homeland of Qwa Qwa. 3 of our congregations have no building at all, but we hope to do something about this in 2009.

My church of St John the Baptist is a traditional stone building which could have been transplanted from anywhere in the UK. It has a pipe organ (one of only 2 in the whole diocese). I have a small chapelry in a distant township – Resurrection Church – which we have extended during the year. It will now hold about 70 people instead of the previous 30 odd. It still needs a ceiling and some furniture but, with a bit of luck, we shall achieve this in the next 6 months or so.

As well as services in our church, I am also chaplain to the hospital staff which involves visiting them at the hospital every Monday morning to start the week with prayer. We have a little service in each ward and in the kitchen. I also have a weekly Eucharist at the old aged home for about 12 people who can’t get to church. For the 1st time, I’ve been asked to go to the post office to pray with the staff next week. When I was a teenager, I worked in a post office for a couple of years so that should be interesting.

My health is good. I managed to break a toe on a supermarket trolley last month. It was entirely my fault and carelessness so I can’t even sue the shop for millions of bucks as if I was in the USA. My diabetes is fully under control – to the point where the diabetes clinic at the University Hospital now only want to see me once a year instead of every 6 months.

When I got back from my last visit to Bloemfontein, I found that my home had been broken into and the computer stolen. A terrible nuisance. I soon got a replacement and am now trying to get the insurance to pay for it. I can do nothing about the lost work except back-up more often than I did.

We had a great spit braai (bar-b-q) last Sunday. Roasted whole a sheep and a pig. A bouncy castle and water slide kept the smaller children happy. Lots of booze kept the older ones even happier! Our singing at the church service was accompanied by a lady ringing Swiss cow bells. This may sound odd but was magnificent.

Our Carols by candlelight is on the 14th and soon after it will be Christmass.

I turned 65 a week ago and am now officially an old-age pensioner. I applied for a pension but don’t know when or if I shall get it. But I have no intention of retiring and hope to go on for as long as my church is happy to have me.

Please visit my website: vicspencer.blogspot.com for pictures, etc. I’ll get it up to date soon.

I wish you all much love, a very blessed Christmass and a happy (I won’t say prosperous, given the world’s economic woes) year in 2009.