Messy Christmas

Messy Christmas
Originally uploaded by Lees Street.

We enjoyed baking biscuits at our Messy Church Christmas - they were really tasty. We made angels and stars, while thinking about what we were doing to get ready for Christmas. We also made trees and reindeer bags as we talked about waiting for something exciting to happen. Some of us also made Christingles ready for the 11 o'clock service, reminding us that the birth of Jesus brings light to the world.

We will be having a break in January but Messy Church will return at 9.15am on 14th February.

The X-mas Factor

I know, the title is a bit naff - 'The X-mas Factor' - and probably not very original, but it's hard work always having to try to come up with new ways to talk about Christmas! I sometimes feel that there is this pressure from traditional church - whether or not the pressure is real - to reinforce that the Christmas message always stays the same, in the midst of a changing world. But the more I look at the Bible readings we use during Advent - particularly the words of prophets like Isaiah, but also the 'traditional' nativity stories of Jesus too - the more I feel that 'God is doing a new thing', not just way back when in history, but time and time again ... After all, what we need to realise is that there's something genuinely unexpected about the birth of Jesus - and to 'get' it, every year, we need to witness it as a surprise each time. The Roman Empire taught its people that it was the source of peace, and there were stories about the Emperor being miraculously born, and people being guided to his birth by a mysterious star - so when Matthew and Luke wrote their nativity stories, they were doing something dangerous and unexpected: they were saying God doesn't bless the imperial teachings, but, as the nativity shows, is to be found working through a family for whom 'there is no room' - a very different power at work, and a very different X-mas factor, bringing peace from below, in solidarity with the vulnerable.

"I am shocked" - in a good way!

Our Christmas Carol service was a good occasion when members of both the church and the Musical Society came together, sang traditional and new carols, took part in Christmas sketches, and prepared a simple cradle with strips of cloth. One highlight was the Nativity Play performed mostly by adults, but they did it as though they were infant school children, with Joseph's catchphrase being "I am shocked" as the events unfolded. It's easy to forget the shocking message - that God did not come to us with force and power, or with big boots on, but even through the cries of a vulnerable baby we witness God's relationship with us - and it's easy to squander the hope of such a message, burying it under busy-ness, tinsel and seasonal stress, but the hope remains: a new world is possible, if we follow the example of the Prince of Peace, if we love our enemies, if we forgive one another and put the needs of 'the last' first. Shocking, eh?