Parish churches and cathedrals across the Church of England are preparing for their busiest week of the year with puppets, beach huts, wrapping paper and live animals all playing their part in telling the story of Christ’s birth.
“Church isn’t just for Christmas, but clearly the festival is one of our main opportunities to present a life changing message to a huge number of people,” explained the Rev Lynda Barley, Head of Research and Statistics for the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England.
Many Church of England churches are promoting their Christmas services on A Church Near You (www.acny.org.uk), a website which helps people find their nearest Anglican church alongside details of services and other activities.
Churches are using increasingly inventive ways of communicating the ‘world’s greatest ever story’ in fresh ways to their local communities.
All Saints Thorpe Acre, Loughborough are planning a family carol service on Christmas Eve dubbed ‘Bethlehem’s Got Talent’, where ‘contestants’ from the Christmas story will include singing angels, kings doing a magic act and the inn keepers performing stand-up comedy. The judges include King Herod, who takes on the ‘nasty judge’ mantle. The stories that the contestants tell will take the congregation through the Christmas story – and the real star of the show is of course the baby Jesus.
A ‘Carols and Nativity in the Barn’ service took place on 21 December at a farm in Preston Wynne, just north east of Hereford, where the congregation crammed into a Victorian stable complete with large manger. Local children read poems and Bible stories, and dressed up for the Nativity, while the farm’s animals proved unwitting extras – including horses putting their heads through the stable door.
Said parish priest, the Rev Heather Short, “This is the third year that we have held this service, which is growing in popularity each year. It is absolutely freezing in the barn, but everyone seems to like that - we have hot punch and mince pies after the singing!”
