News Update – 21st December 2018
This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Advent, with services at the usual times at both churches.
Monday is Christmas Eve, and at 5 pm we have the Nativity and Crib service with our Sunday Schools at St Thomas’. This is a lovely service for all the family, when the Posada figures of Mary and Joseph return to church after their long journey, and the infant Jesus is laid in the crib.
Then at 11.30 pm we gather in the still of the night to await the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Our traditional Midnight Eucharist is a service of great joy and wonder, to which all are warmly invited.
Our Christmas morning Eucharist is at St Agnes’ Church at 9.15 am, where everyone is welcome to celebrate Jesus’ birth together in a lovely service for all the family.
Next Sunday, the 30th December, there is no service at St Agnes’, but we have a Parish Eucharist at 10 am at St Thomas’.
Well done to all our Carol singers, musicians and collectors. On Monday evening we sang around the houses in Leesfield, and raised a fantastic £80.89 for the Booth Centre for homeless people in Manchester. We’re singing again on Saturday from 1 to 2.30 pm at Lees Co-op, so please do come and join us. As well as the money which we collect, we also take your generous gifts of socks, hats, scarves, gloves, food and toiletries there to support their Christmas appeal, so please do buy a little extra Christmas present to help them.
On St Stephen’s Day, the 26th December, St Thomas’ Church will be open from 11.30 am to 1 pm so that anyone who needs company or just a break from all the hustle and bustle can drop in for a brew and a chat, or just some peace and quiet. The church is open to all visitors, as well as people who attend our services, and they are free to explore the church and to view our very special Christmas tree display.
Also on display for a limited period is a Book of Remembrance, which St Thomas’ Leesfield School has kindly agreed to loan to us, so please do have a look at it when you’re next in church.
The Church of England invites us all to follow in the footsteps of the Wise Men from Christmas Eve to Epiphany. It’s not too late to sign up for emails, with daily readings and prayers for the Christmas season.
For more information please visit https://www.churchofengland.org/followthestar
