Apologies to those of you who are getting a bit sick of nativity related posts - I did write the last one about statistics... (purely in the interest of balance you understand!) I have already admitted in the Christmas Decathlon that I find the run up to Christmas to be a bit of a multi-event exercise in exhaustion, but still - this weekend's episode was too good to miss.
On Sunday our church congregation did it's first nativity service. We meet in a primary school on the housing estate where I live. We're part of an established church in the local area, but have set up this congregation to take the church to where the people are. It seems to be working - we had lots of visitors this week, which was great.
The morning hadn't started too well however. Three very important people (not the three wise men - they came later...) were unable to be at church for various reasons. The leader of our merry band was out of the country, unable to return due to the snow. His wife - who happened to be doing the sermon - was stuck trying to collect their son who was also struggling with snow related air travel problems. The third absentee was co-ordinating the whole service, including the nativity element itself; well - she was poorly to a level of not being able to leave the house... We found out about these problems on the morning of the service... Oh crumbs. Time to keep calm and carry on!
I found a book with a nativity story in it (a present from my Mum recently - Thanks Mum, good timing!) and took it along, thinking that it would at least help us cover the nativity element of the service. I'd got some carols and songs sorted already, and some help from a lovely lady to play the piano (Carols and guitars don't always mix...), so at least we had something to sing...
We met up at the school, and pieced together what we had. Someone else had brought a replacement craft activity for the children, and another super on-the-spot thinker set about writing a short talk. Adrenalin + Holy Spirit = Super Efficiency! We've spent the rest of December looking at how 'Nothing is impossible with God' (Luke 1:37), so I guess it was only right that we started putting it into practice...
The singing went well, although undoubtedly the highlight (for me at least) was when we sang a song called 'Come and join the celebration'. Joel had been singing this one at school, and (not just because I found it difficult to play - honest...) he sang it really well, so I got him up to the front to lead the singing - microphone and all. Marvellous.
After this, the Nativity itself was next. I lifted the toy baby Jesus and the little manger centre stage as requested, only to notice something peaking out of Jesus' swaddling clothes... It was a partially eaten, pink ring doughnut! Oh, how we laughed...
The rest of the service went without a hitch... The nativity was great, the singing was full of gusto, the talk was thought-provoking, and the cup of tea at the end was a master stroke. All in all, it was Christmas in a nutshell; glorious, despite the circumstances (after all, the first Christmas hardly looked like a gloriously slick production... Apart from maybe the angelic chorus - but then they'd had a chance to practice!) The best present of all was (and is) Jesus, although it did remind me of a joke I knew (slightly altered for my own purposes of course)...
To a child at a nativity service...
'What's pink, round, and covered in sprinkles?'
Bemused child:
'I'm sure the answer should be Jesus - but it sure sounds like a doughnut to me'
Happy Christmas everyone. Gxxx
the whole occasion was just so joyful welcoming and warm - cute factor of the little angels and shepherds about one million, which always helps! Above all, to us the new congregation feels like family - sometimes a little less than organised or maybe even verging on chaos, but always with a whole lot of love, and definitely always room for a little one!!
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