Countdown to Christmas

Before we begin: Advent Windows

Saturday 29 November from 9:30am to 12 midday

We will be taking down the Saints and creating Advent and Christmas artwork to go in their place. Come along during the morning of to help create them. No special skill necessary and everyone is welcome to contribute.

Sunday Services in Advent

Starting with Advent Sunday on 30 November 2025 at 10am
and continuing the following three Sundays at 10am

Blessing of Cribs: If you have a Crib, bring it along on Advent Sunday morning (30 November) so that it can be blessed before you put it up at home. When you come to Church on the day, put your Crib at the back of Church on the table so that we can enjoy the different designs. The Cribs will be blessed at the end of the Service, and then you will be able to collect them and take them home again ready to build them at home.

Lighting candles on the Advent Ring: Linking to Advent themes The Patriarchs, The Prophets, John the Baptist and Mary, the candles are lit to light our way through the Season of Advent.

Building the Crib in the window: As well as lighting the candles on the Advent Wreath each Sunday, we will be ‘putting together’ the Crib. Adding figures as we go, remembering the journey of Mary and Jospeh to Bethlehem.

Sermon Series: Linked to our Advent Study Book, we’ll be thinking of the themes given there – and the characters too. What can we learn from the Women of the Nativity and their faithfulness as we journey in faith ourselves?

Prayer Focus Table: In addition to the Crib as an aid to our preparations through the Season of Advent, there will also be a Prayer Focus Table, with readings, images and ‘prayer’ prompt cards, providing a different focus for our thoughts and prayers.

Advent and Christmas Study Groups

Every Thursday at 11am in church – Starting 4 December 2025, or

Every Friday at 8pm, various venues (contact for details) – Starting 5 December 2025

Advent Study Book: We will be using Paula Gooder’s book, Women of the Nativity. Paula Gooder uses her extensive biblical expertise and storytelling skills to recreate the events of the nativity, from the promise of a future people to Sarah, to the presentation in the temple and the encounter with Anna, the prophet. The story is told from the perspective of nine women in all including Mary, Elizabeth, Rachel, and others whom scripture records or tradition has imagined, such as the innkeeper’s wife. As we hear the familiar stories afresh through their words, the wonder of the incarnation and its consequences for good and for ill, come to vivid life in a new way. The book can be purchased online. You can hear the stories and see the paintings by visiting the Church of England wesbite.

Online and digital

Everyday Faith

The daily resources from Church House Publishing and the Church of England’s Digital Team are offering fresh and accessible daily discipleship materials for both Advent and Christmas this year. At their heart is the theme of Joy – joy as we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ during Advent, and joy as we ponder in prayer the great mystery of God’s saving love during the Christmas season.

The Everyday Faith app will carry daily reflections throughout Advent (Monday 1 December to Christmas Eve), based on a full-colour book, O Come Emmanuel, featuring eight respected writers and newly commissioned artwork. These will be followed by twelve reflections from Christmas Day to Monday 5 January. And, of course, the Everyday Faith app will continue to offer content (Monday to Saturday) into the season of Epiphany and throughout 2025.

During Advent, reflections are centred around the Advent antiphons on which the much-loved hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel is based. You can download the app from your App Store. For more information, visit, www.cofe.io/OComeEmmanuel.

We will have a copy of the book with pictures available in church, and copies of the booklet, Joy, available at Christmas.

Books

There will be some books on the bookcase near the prayer table in the foyer. If you borrow a book, please ‘sign it out’ and then return it when you have read it. If you would like to by your own books, some titles you might like to explore are:

• Ready, steady, slow, Church House Publishing
• When the time was right, Stephen Rand, brf
• Stepping Stones to Bethlehem, Jack McCardle
• The Advent Adventure, David Rhodes, SPCK
• Advent Calendar, Stephen Cottrell

Just pray

The Church is open most days, so do come in and take the opportunity to pray, to spend time thinking on the different themes of Advent, and to prepare yourself to welcome again the new-born King.