Christmas really is just round the corner now.
Sunday night 6.30pm, Carols by candlelight.
This would be a great thing to invite your friends to. A chance to sing all your favourites. Church is so beautiful by candlelight. Mince pies and mulled wine to follow.
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But carols have been sung inside and outside the church all week.
Monday a small but hardy band sang carols round the Alton.
Tuesday was the Sparkle end of term nativity:
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Wednesday saw the Church school with family and friends in for their Key Stage 2 end of term performance by candlelight:
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Then they were all back in on Thursday morning for more carols, with prizegiving – and on Friday Heathmere school came for their end of term carols:
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It’s very good to be able to share our beautiful building with so many neighbours.
Speaking of the beauty of the building, Holy Dusters (12-2 Friday) co-incided with the flower team coming in to make the church doubly beautiful for Christmas – thanks to all who turned out.
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Then of course all the usual things coming up on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
5pm Christmas Eve for the Crib service – children of all ages, come and act out the Christmas story (costumes available on the door) – and … carols.
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And of course Midnight Mass (by the way, for the avoidance of doubt, this is at 11pm, not 11.30 as it has been in past years) and our family celebration of Christmas morning.
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I’m looking forward to sharing this with you and with all our neighbours.
Thanks very much if you are one of those who has distributed the postcard with the details on it. There are some more to post in church if you have time.
This Sunday we will speak of Joseph, Mary’s husband, who had the strange and challenging privilege of bringing up the Son of God in his own household.
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‘Christ in the House of his Parents’ by John Everett Millais. The young Jesus has cut his palm in the workshop, the wound pre-figuring the crucifixion.
It’s not historically accurate (the people depicted are European) and arguably a little sentimental. But I love that gives Joseph the role he had. The essential background, strong but gentle. A good man who was willing to become a better man.
With my prayers
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