On the last Wednesday afternoon before Christmas, we held our Christingle Service outdoors due to the current infection rates of coronavirus. The weather turned extremely inclement just as we were preparing to start the service. Though slightly warmer than previous days it was raining quite hard. A gazebo had been set up to protect the nativity scene and the portable sound system which had been kindly lent to us at short notice. The weather did not dampen the spirits of those thirty two hardy souls present, including nine children, all huddled together as families underneath umbrellas. As the night sky darkened dramatically the floodlights took full effect and the Christmas Tree brought colour and brightness into the gloom. Mary shared the Christmas Story, Hil offered the prayers, and Paul spoke very briefly about the Christingle and asked everyone to think about Jesus being the light of the world. And that Jesus wants us to be his lights in the world now. For Jesus said, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5.16)
I would like to thank everyone who helped to make this possible at very short notice. Hopefully next year we'll be able to do another act of Christian witness outside by our Christmas tree. Due to the poor weather, I was only able to capture one photograph of the event. A picture of the nativity scene but I also include a picture taken of our tree early in December under a clear moonlit sky as the hours of darkness drew near.
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