If no one brings anything the church will look very bare!
By the time the Choir lead the evening carol service the church will look beautiful, I’m sure.
It will look really lovely for the toddler carol services, and for the Day Centre services too. We’ll be ready to receive the Peace Light at the Christingle service on Wednesday 19th December at 6-30pm.
That brings us to the Sunday before Christmas, 23rd December. That’s going to be the time for Christmas Cards. Everyone coming to church that morning will be invited to bring along a Christmas Card with a prayer for Christmas and the New Year.
We will then use those prayers in our Christmas Communion service that morning, and hang them in the porch underneath the caption ‘Our Hopes and Prayers for 2008’
Everyone coming to our Carols by Candlelight at 6-30pm on 23rd December will be greeted by a wonderful array of Christmas Cards, ready for a carol service built around the theme of Hope 08.
And then we’ll arrive at Christmas Day itself, and a chance to bring along a little gift from your stocking and
discover what’s hiding under the Christmas Tree.
Our Christmas Collection will go to The Lilian Elizabeth Fund bringing better health care to the villagers of Sika in the Gambia. When you bring your cards you may like to contribute ‘the postage’ and a little more to the Christmas Day Collection as well!
That means Christmas will be a little different this year: how the church looks will depend on all of us!
So let me re-cap. This is what we are going to be asked to do through the Sundays in Advent:
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2nd December: look out for the first of our Christmas boxes |
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9th December: be ready to stay after the morning service to decorate the Christmas Tree |
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16th December: make sure you remember to bring along a Christmas Decoration to put in the church or the hall |
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23rd December: don’t forget to bring a Christmas Card to share to share your Hopes and Prayers for 2008 with everyone else |
And above all ... have a happy Christmas and may your Hopes and Prayers for 2008 bear much fruit.
Every blessing,
