Happy Christmas! May you and all your family have a peaceful, joyful Christmas and New Year.
We can often feel under a lot of pressure at Christmas time to have everything organised to have the perfect Christmas for all the family but the first Christmas just over 2000 years ago was certainly not organised, not very pretty and full of unexpected surprises. Mary and Joseph found themselves in a cow shed away from home and family having their first born child. Angels, shepherds and kings surprised them with their appearances and there was much celebrating of the birth of this child who was God born in human flesh but it was certainly not what you would have planned for the birth of your first child in first century Palestine.
The message of Christmas is that in all the messiness and busyness of everyday life God is with us. God is here and we don’t have to have life all sorted out and perfect before we can meet him. He is here and he loves us more than we can ever imagine.
However you celebrate your Christmas I hope you are able to enjoy a lovely time with your loved ones over the Christmas period. I hope when it arrives that you will have time to stop and enjoy spending time together which is far more precious than any presents we may give or receive.
At St John’s Church and St Mark’s Church we are looking forward to our Christmas services and you will see details of the times and dates on our Facebook page and website https://stjohnschurchshildon.org.uk .
These include on the Sunday before Christmas at 6pm at St John’s a traditional carol service with the memory tree and on Christmas Eve at 4pm a children’s nativity with very special guests for 2025, Shildon’s Bicentenary celebratory year, of Timothy Hackworth and George Stephenson! It should be great fun with a chance for any children who would like to, to dress up and take part – a lovely getting ready for Christmas the next day. On Christmas Day the service is at 10am. At St Mark’s Eldon we have a Christmas eve service at 6pm and a Christmas day service at 9am.
However you celebrate Christmas this year, may you know that God is with you and that he loves you.
With my best wishes,
Revd. Carol (Priest in charge St John’s Shildon and St Mark’s Eldon)
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
