Hello December

The 1st of December brings a rush of expectation, the lights to be put up on the tree or house, the Christmas cake to be made and doused with brandy every so often, the stuffings, cards, presents and 'O my goodness I forgot...' (place your own choice here!).

But where is God in all this? The danger we face as we hurtle toward Christmas each year is to forget the reason for the season! It's easy to go the whole month allowing God to be increasingly absent in our lives. Which is why it is so good for our spirituality to participate in Advent. 

Advent slows us down, advent refocuses us on what is healthy for our souls, which is time with God as depicted in this month’s photo. It was taken at St Andrews, Denton at our recent Dwelling service where we spent time in prayer and reflection. Advent is a season of watching, reflecting, longing and looking forward with hopefulness. 

It can be a time when Christians set out purposefully to find time to sit quietly with God. You might like to consider one of these ideas:

• Go for a walk each day and pray as you walk
• choose a Christian book and read a chapter each day
• join one of the small groups or an advent group
• watch the Advent Evening Prayer with Rev Sarah Monday to Thursday on Facebook-more information below
• Light an advent candle and pray quietly until it burns to the next number

If you would like to join a small group, please scroll down to find out about our different groups. We also have an advent group in Harlaxton that meets on Wednesday 4th, 11th and 18th December at 10am to 11.30am. Email Rev Sarah on sarahtierney336@gmail.com for more information and if you would like to join. 

Each Monday to Thursday during Advent Rev Sarah will lead Evening Prayer at 6pm. There will be prayer, a scripture reading and a refection from the book, 'At Home in Advent' using everyday experiences to draw us closer to God. You can join in by accessing the Harlaxton Facebook page or watch the recording at any time after 6.30pm.

Christmas services

We have a wide variety of services this Christmas from Carol services, to All Age worship to Holy Communion, to birthday parties and promenades, to more reflective services for those who want the space to remember a loved one who is not with them this year. Please look at the calendar for more information.

Christmas Cards

Christmas Cards

We all love receiving Christmas cards but this year we ask that people might consider writing one card to the Church community and putting it up in Church. As Eco churches we want to do our bit to reduce the amount of virgin wood that is used for cards. Thank you.