THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Today is the first Sunday in Advent - and we had a Christingle Service at our church - we sang some old carols and learned a new one too, which was basically a children’s carol, but we all enjoyed singing it.  

Most people took part and made a Christingle - for those of you who don’t know about this, here is an explanation:

The orange represents the world.  

The lit candle (or glowstick) symbolises Jesus, who is the the light of the world and who brings hope to people living in darkness.

The red ribbon goes all round the world and symbolises the love of God and the fact that Jesus died. 

The four cocktail sticks either represent the four corners of the world or the four seasons.

The sweets (or sometimes dried fruit) remind Christians of God’s gifts to the world including kindness and love.

We couldn’t use actual candles because we worship in a Community Centre with low ceilings and the smoke alarms would have been going off all the time if we had and of course, there were several very young children about, so we had to be careful.  

When we had finished making our Christingles, we could either do some colouring or have our photograph taken “In the Picture” - we had a stable and a manger and I loved the fact that James, dressed in his donkey outfit, wanted to give his Christingle to Baby Jesus.  

Don’t even ask about the bearded man with the tinsel on his head!!  Suffice to say he enjoyed making his Christingle but it was noted that his had more sweets than anyone else’s!

All in all, a great service and we welcomed two new families, which was great.  

"Want to keep Christ in Christmas? 
Feed the hungry, 
clothe the naked, 
forgive the guilty, 
welcome the unwanted, 
care for the ill, 
love your enemies, 
and do unto others 
as you would have done 
unto you." 
Steve Maraboli