It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas – Synod Representative Jane Andrews
As someone who is less than thrilled with change, the phrase “Christmas will look different this year” is not my favourite one to hear, let alone at a Parish Council meeting. Of course, some things will stay the same – I’ve been playing Taylor Swift’s Christmas album since early November, I’ve started taking the long way home to see the Christmas lights, and I’ve spent far too long researching which Christmas baking recipe I will botch this year. But I was reminded that some things will look quite different when my Mum came home a while ago with a present: a Christmas themed mask to wear to church on Christmas day.
Our Parish Council meeting last Wednesday discussed the plans for Christmas. A large part of the discussion centred around potential government restrictions, vaccine mandates, and social distancing. And although I feel as if I could dedicate a whole blog post to COVID-19 and Christmas, I wanted to write about the events coming up in our church that are a little bit more exciting.
Christmas will be different this year. However, sometimes that change is for the better. A big change for our church this year is the collaboration with St John’s church in Burleigh Heads. Currently, our young adults group meets at Burleigh Heads on a Monday night, and I have loved spending my Monday nights there. It is a beautiful church, and it is a very welcoming space (with lovely people!). In particular, I am looking for attending the Christmas carols on the lawns of the church. The carols evening will feature our young people, who are putting on a series of skits around Christmas. I am excited to meet the parishioners at Burleigh Heads and to enjoy the talent of our young people.
I am also excited to invite new people into our church. I remember how it felt to be at this church for the first few times, and I know how grateful I felt when people stayed behind after the service to introduce themselves to me. To prepare the church for the Christmas service and make people feel welcome, we are putting on a working bee this Saturday. Even though manual labour is not my favourite thing to do, I can’t wait to meet people from our church I haven’t met before and roll up my sleeves!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the church. Even though it may seem different from previous years, I can already feel the Christmas spirit.
Jane Andrews,
Parish Synod Representative