“How on earth did I miss that?” I thought to myself. It was Friday afternoon and I was sitting at home on the settee watching ‘Countdown’. I don’t normally watch daytime TV but it was my day off and having completed many chores I felt I deserved a rest. As I sat and watched, out came the nine letters – a mixture of consonants and vowels. Next, the familiar sound of the ticking of the clock, as the task of making the longest word possible out of the random selection of letters began. As I joined in the game, I kept discovering the contestants found longer words than I did. As they shared what they had found, it suddenly seemed so obvious. I could only ask myself the question, “How on earth did I miss that?”

Last night saw the launch of 40 Days of Community at our Pancake Party. Over the next forty days we are going to be thinking more about what it means to be a part of God’s family. We will be sharing in house groups, listening to sermons and reflecting through reading “Better Together” - a book with 40 daily devotionals.

It is the time of year when people are busy making preparations for Christmas. Arrangements are being made about who will visit whom and when. Presents are in the process of being bought. Mince pies and other seasonal foods are being made. Christmas parties are taking place. These things are all a part of what makes Christmas what it is. I love Christmas, but each year (and usually around this time of year) I have a moment when I look at all that is going on and think with some sadness about how many people are missing the point of Christmas.

Well, the news may have been dominated over the last few weeks by matters of a financial nature, but this week another story has earned more than its fair share of media time. The Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross controversy has been rumbling on and on. As I write, it has been announced that the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, has met with the corporation's governing body to discuss the broadcast.