Happy Christmas-tide

Having remembered my childhood memories of the wonder of an Advent Calendar at the beginning of this month, now I am recalling that writing thank you letters in the week after Christmas was also very special to me. Perhaps unusually for a child, I would be keen to start writing “thank yous” on Boxing Day. When I look back, what I notice is that deciding how I was going to say thank you was even better than unwrapping the present, because I was having time to think about how much I would enjoy it in the coming year. I was also, even in a childish way, recognising the care of the person who had given it, and enjoying my connection with them.

It is then a great joy to end the year with a big thank you letter to all of you; to celebrate the connections we all share, and to look forward to enjoying them in the coming year!

Thank you for all we share in the life of this parish. Thank you to all who read and take interest in our news; to all who have participated in our worship and community events throughout the year; thank you to all with whom we’ve been privileged to share your most special life events. These moments of connection are real gifts.

Thank you too, to all those whose participation enables all the activities of the church to happen: for the generosity of financial support, the energy that goes in to caring for our buildings and making them places of welcome, the skill behind our website and communications and all the background administration and governance; thank you to those who have organized our range of social events.

Thank you for all that enhances the worship that is the heartbeat of all we are together, to the ministry team, all who read and offer prayers, those who prepare the churches, make them beautiful with flowers, and to those who spot the hidden things that need to happen; for the beautiful music we are blessed with and the bells that elegantly proclaim to the wider world what is going on. Thank you to all whose quiet prayers sustain our life together.

These gifts are generously shared through the year but thank you especially for all that has enabled the joyful celebration of Christmas!

May these gifts we share together be a blessing both to us, and to all

those around us in 2026.