A Nativity Photo Booth

I couldn’t hold Edward off any longer... on Friday this week our Christmas Tree was put up. Our season of preparation and anticipation has officially begun. Though I don’t think we’re going to tempt fate by putting any presents under the tree just yet. Self-restraint is a skill still under development for a soon-to-be-4- year-old and a soon-to-be-2-year-old. The soon-to-be-4-month-old has recently started rolling, so even he can’t be trusted!

There remains something magical about Christmas – the rhythms and routines, the sounds and the smells, the tree and nativity scene and carols and candles. This week we light the candle of hope, and we hear through our readings of the anticipation of the prophets for the coming of the Kingdom. Isaiah, as he so often does, paints an idyllic scene, while Paul, as he often does, focusses on how we might prepare ourselves for the coming dawn. Both, nevertheless, are full of hope for what is to come.

During the week I re-watched the excellent “Bible Project” video on the theme of Hope and was struck by the image they used to describe it. One of the Hebrew words for hope, Qavah, comes from the root cav meaning ‘cord’. They suggested that hope is like the tension felt when a cord is stretched. We’re waiting for the snap. It isn’t naïve optimism or even holy confidence, rather it is a habit of trust in the character of God.

One of my hopes at every Christmas is that those familiar with the story of Christ’s incarnation would find a fresh revelation of awe at the gift of God, and that those who are less familiar with the story might be welcomed by the community of Christ to celebrate the story with the body Christ has left in the church.

With that in mind, I am trying something new this year – A nativity photo booth! From 3-5pm daily from the 11-18 December we will have a nativity back drop which people from the community can come and take photos in. If you can help with setting it up from the 9th of Dec, or by welcoming visitors during the week, please sign up on the noticeboard.


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