Salamander - The Worshipful Company of Firefighters

WCoFF NEWS
Past Master Geoff Morgan
As many of you are aware, Past Master Geoff
Morgan collapsed with chest pains while
attending a committee meeting at the
Ironmongers Hall and had to be rushed into
hospital. The good news is that, following a spell
in hospital, he has recovered well and is now
recuperating at home. Geoff has been a great
supporter and contributor to the newsletter as
well as being a wonderful proof reader. We all
wish him good speed with getting back to full
fitness.
Carol Concert Homily
On 14th December 2012, at the Company’s
annual Carol Service at St Mary-le-Bow, the
‘homily’ was delivered by Past Master James
Blott (2008-2009), who was licenced by the
Bishop of Portsmouth as a Lay Minister in the
Church of England in September 2010. This is a
summary of what James said:
James took as his message the relevance that the
Christmas story has for us in the Company in
2013, looking to the challenges ahead.
He started by referring to the ‘St John’s Bible’
project, the first illuminated Bible produced with
a goose quill on vellum since the invention of the
printing press. The depiction of the Christmas
story is of a huge red Bible in the manger, in place
of the baby Jesus. This challenges us to think
about the meaning of the famous passage in St
John’s gospel, read at so many Carol Services:
‘And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among
us’. The strangeness of this image, of the baby
Jesus shown as a Bible, encourages us to think of
the real meaning of the Christmas story, which
lies in the enormity of the gift that God has given
us, by coming among us as a vulnerable baby.
James went on to say that Christmas has a wide
appeal, which enables us to reach out to those of
other faiths and none, but it’s also a time when
we need to acknowledge our responsibility to
reflect Christ’s values in our lives; His care for
the oppressed, His concern for the powerless
and voiceless, His commandment that we should
love one another and His non-violent, selfsacrificial
offering of himself. In coming to us in
the form of a baby, God makes himself
intentionally vulnerable, and in doing so He calls
us to mirror that vulnerability in our dealings with
each other. The Christmas message shows us a
model for our own relationships with each other;
it calls us to shine as a light in an increasingly dark
world, and to see each other as gifts from God to
each other. James quoted the great Civil Rights
leader and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King,
who said that all life is interrelated and we can
only be what we ought to be when those with
whom we come into contact become what they
ought to be.
At the end of a memorable year for the
Company, in which we’ve experienced another
successful Fire Lecture, the triumph of the River
Pageant and the continued success of our Ball,
James concluded that looking on the Christmas
message this way would enable us to look
forward to a happy and successful 2013.
Past Master James Blott (2008-2009)
Carol Concert Raises £458
for Homeless Charity
The WCoFF carol concert
held at St. Mary le Bow was
well attended and enjoyed
by all who came, company
members, family friends,
children and even some
visitors to London who
happened to be passing.
The singing was excellent,
there were some fine readings and our Past
Master James Blott gave the homily - a summary
of which can be seen on the left. There were
some tasty eats and drinks afterwards and a good
time for enjoying each other’s company in the
run-up to Christmas in the heart of the city. The
really good news was a generous collection for
the homeless which was much appreciated.
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