Five major UK denominations join together for an ecumenical celebration of the birth of Christ, in a Christmas Carol Service led by deaf christians in British Sign Language.
In an unprecedented collaboration, five of the United Kingdom’s major Christian denominations, The Church of England, The Church of Scotland, The Church in Wales, The Methodist Church of Great Britain, and The Baptist Union of Great Britain (Baptists Together), are set to broadcast a special Christmas Carol Service on Sunday 10th December 2023.
This ground breaking event will be hosted on their respective Facebook Pages and YouTube Channels, uniting thousands of viewers for a unique Christmas celebration. Titled The Christian BSL Carol Service this remarkable service is scheduled to be held at 9:00am on the 10th of December 10th 2023, which is the second Sunday of Advent. With its theme of “The Magi”, the service will offer a powerful reminder of the journey of discovery, faith, and the profound wonders that await us all in Christ.
The service will be led entirely in British Sign Language (BSL) by Deaf Christians and aims to bridge linguistic and cultural barriers, demonstrating the universal appeal of the Christmas story. For those who are not proficient in BSL, the service includes captions and spoken English translation, ensuring that everyone can fully participate in this festive celebration.
The distinguished team of Deaf Christians leading the service are: Helen Cottingham, Tony Hawkins, Fatimo O Olubakin, Mary-Jayne Russell de Clifford, Veronica Stewart-Holmes, and Janice Silo. With their faith and deep connection to the deaf community they convey the message of Christmas in a way that resonates with people everywhere. Tom Pearson, the spokesperson for ChristianBSL.com, the organisation partnering with the denominations for this service, highlighted the significance of this event: “Having filmed the service it became clear that this was a perfect opportunity for ecumenical unity, celebrating Christmas together. I am delighted that five of the UK’s major Christian denominations have agreed to platform the Christian BSL Carol Service at the same time on the same day.
Pearson continued, “The story of Christmas is universal, transcending languages and borders. In our service the message of Christmas comes to life through British Sign Language, bringing hope and joy to all.”
Christmas Voices is a sweet little book. Its tasteful burgundy red cover is reminiscent of a premium quality Christmas card adorned with golden holly, trumpets and a Christmas star. At 150 pages long, the compact size would fit nicely through the average letter box, making it the sort of cheerful gift I would post out to a friend along with a personalised note.
Christmas Voices is ideal for those who enjoy pausing to reflect for a few minutes each day in the run up to Christmas Day or over their Christmas break. To that end the book is divided up into 25 daily readings which include some of the more traditional elements of Christmas such as bible readings, festive carols, poems and prayers. Each day includes a short reflection sensitively written by author, and host of the Woman Alive Book Club, Claire Musters. Claire’s writing is born out of life experience, it is thoughtful, helpful but never heavy. I can relate to every word she writes on Day 12! She says this:
“It can be difficult to think about joy when we are going through testing times. I have wrestled with God about this myself and am now convinced there is a joy that surpasses our earthly circumstances that God wants us to experience. One of the ways that we tap into it is through honest conversation with him.
In my own struggles I have often turned to the psalms, particularly those written by David. His writing, like the story of Hannah, seems to give us permission to be honest. David is up front about his emotions, his circumstances and his questions, but also speaks to his soul and acknowledges the sovereignty of God. He often turns to worship even in the midst of lament, which is something I have learned to do.
So much in our world has been shaken in recent years and for those of us who have lived in relative safety and prosperity, it has been a shock. In this psalm (30:5-8,11-12), David reflects on how invincible he had felt when everything was going well, it is all too easy to forget to rely on God when all seems to be ticking along fine. Pain reminds us to cry out to him.
David faced a range of highs and lows in his life – a successful king, he also had moments when he had to run for his life and when he endured God’s judgement. So his line ‘Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning’ seems to hold a wider, eternal perspective.”
Published by the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) Christmas Voicesis a warm and friendly book with additional insights and comments from 40 contributors from diverse backgrounds. Its clear, user-friendly structure makes it easy to dip in and out off between the hustle and bustle of the festive season.
There is a recurring hilarious/facepalm (delete according to opinion) scenario in my marriage. I start to tell a story and fairly quickly my wife Jen detects a slight change in the tone of my voice that few else in the room would detect. She then bites her tongue and squirms with visible waves of tension coursing through her body, as she awaits the inevitable. She knows that even though everyone else thinks I am telling a worthy, important story, I am about to reveal that the whole (often lengthy) preamble has been the set-up for a particularly brilliant/excruciating (delete according to…you get the idea) pun.
How you hear a story depends on what type of story you think you are hearing. You might also say that how you hear it depends on what you are looking for from the story.
If all you are looking for is a bit of cheer at the end of a hard year, then that is probably all you will hear. Or if your only context for the Christmas story is that we are sinners and desperately need someone to sort out our sin, then whatever happens within the story will be fitted into that frame. If that is all you are looking for, that is all you will find. Where and when the story happens, and what else is going on at the time, is interesting, but to be honest just serves as Christmas decoration on the set of the central theatre.
But the spectacular and subtle entrance of Jesus into time and space did happen at a particular time and in a particular space. The first person mentioned in Luke’s telling of the great story is not Mary. It is King Herod. My dear friend and church leader John Good recently did a great job of sketching Herod’s ‘backstory’. This was no shy, retiring bureaucrat. On his father’s death, with the skill of a politician, he secured an appointment from Rome to be the ruler of Judea. Yes his ultimate authority came from Rome, but he ruled with an iron grip. He flexed military muscle with pleasure, expanding his territory into modern-day Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. He built great aqueducts and amphitheatres, earning the moniker “Herod the Great”. In fact his mantra was “Make Judea great again”. (delete #fakenews as appropriate)
However, none of his epic projects or conquests compared to the Herodium. This is a man who built a mountain to underline his greatness. Yes – a mountain. Built by slaves, with an artificial lake perched on top, no less, to commemorate his most famous victory against the Parthians. What type of man builds a pointless structure to massage their own fragile ego? I can’t imagine it happening today. Herod is a man who knows that appearance is everything, and if he looks powerful, he will be powerful. Herod’s grip on this power was enforced by remarkable cruelty, and his paranoia vented this cruelty even on his own family. There are few things more ugly than the combination of power and paranoia, and Herod lived right at their nexus, always fearing where the next challenge to his rule would come from.
So what’s the one thing you don’t ask this all-powerful, near-psychopathic King?
“Er, excuse us, your majesty. May you reign forever…and do you happen to know where the new King is?”
Have they a death wish? These men are not ‘wise’. They are unhinged. Suicidal. Or maybe just gloriously, worshipfully naïve.
The wise men thought they knew what power looked like. That’s why they headed to Herod’s palace. But then along comes a baby who looks the absolute opposite of powerful. Here comes a different kind of kingdom. Here comes a different kind of leadership. Here comes a different kind of politics.
Herod’s reign is a huge part of the context that Jesus steps into. Our world is not uncontested territory. This is not a pleasant story, set in a neutral space, to make everything a bit more colourful and kind. This is not just chaplaincy to power. This is a direct challenge to the status quo, and although the story is of course so much more than just political, that doesn’t stop it being very political. Herod is not thinking, “Ah – no challenge to me – that’s fine – another spiritual guru – another religious service provider – a more interesting player in the ‘faith sector’”. He senses the cosmic scale of what is happening.
And he wasn’t the only one. When Mary, the poor, shunned member of an oppressed people, told her cousin Elizabeth that God was ‘turning the world upside down’, she didn’t just mean the religious world. She meant the world. And boy do we still need that as 2024 beckons.
But Herod’s genocidal response to the news of Jesus shows how far people will go to cling to power. We must realise this is a battle. Not against flesh and blood, of course, but a battle nonetheless. There is nothing more scary to those who hold power than those who know where ultimate power resides.
So this Christmas, could we emulate my wonderful and mildly persecuted wife? Could we incline and train our ears to hear the political tone in the voice of the Christmas story? And moreover, could we refuse the easy answers of either abusing or eschewing power and instead walk the more complicated path of channelling it well? Much like the paradox of God as a baby.
Politics is dirty. So was that manger. The challenge awaits.
Main Photo Credit: Inbal Malca via Unsplash
The all-singing, all dancing e-book NOTES FROM THE SHALLOW END – vids, mp3s, images
The movie The Great Escape is always featured on television during Christmas. That classic film about the Second World War is enjoyed by even those who dislike war films. 2023 will mark 60 years since it was released and, rather surprisingly, it’s become a seasonal classic.
In case you’re one of the people who’ve never seen it, The Great Escape is a fictionalised account of the mass breakout from the Stalag Luft III prison camp, which, spoiler alert, largely failed. Nevertheless, it’s an engrossing film with some great actors, including the dominating performance of Steve McQueen and his motorbike. It is also a reminder of the days when stunts were achieved by real people in the real world rather than by pixels in computers, and when war’s butchery was hinted at rather than depicted in every detail. I remember first seeing it 50 years ago as a teenager and it left a deep impression on me.
Why, though, for all its achievements, has The Great Escape, which barely mentions Christmas, become such a seasonal favourite? Oddities like this intrigue me because they often highlight what people are thinking. My take is that the idea of a prison-break connects at a deep level with everybody, for the simple reason that many, perhaps most, of us feel trapped in different ways. Perhaps we are stuck in the same dull job, perhaps we see life slipping past as we go nowhere.
I think this sense of being trapped, imprisoned, is made worse in our time because the world itself is becoming increasingly closed. A hundred years ago or more it was possible, at least in theory, to start a new life: to sail to Australia and a new beginning, to vanish without trace or take a boat to some blank space on a map in South America. But the world itself is no longer big enough to escape into. The white spaces on the maps have long been filled, opportunities fenced in by bureaucracy, and with a mobile phone you are never alone. There is, too, a sense of cultural claustrophobia where our digital world often seems to know more about us than we do. There are other forms of being trapped: some people feel trapped in their own bodies, some imprisoned by their own psychology, still others held hostage by their past. And all of us are prisoners bound by time, ageing and death. It’s a disturbing thought that The Great Escape is indeed 60 years old and that death has now claimed all the twelve lead actors. Outside any sort of faith, existence is a prison camp from which no one escapes alive.
In reality, I think the sense of being trapped and needing our own great escape goes deeper than any psychological claustrophobia. The philosophy of our age not only offers no jail-break but indeed screams that there is none. Life, we are told, is an escape room with no exit, a snakes-and-ladders board with serpents on every other square and a cell with no tunnel out to the free world.
One problem with this sense of being trapped is that often people seek an escape but choose a disastrous escape route. They assume a second marriage will solve the problems of the first, a new job will relieve the tedium of the old, a new home away from the hustle and bustle of the big city will bring calm.
The good news is that Christmas is about the big escape, not from the family and relatives! It’s the idea at the very heart of Christmas, that in Jesus, God was entering his own world with the intention of rescuing us. God has not just spoken but has acted. In a way inevitably beyond understanding, the infinite and the eternal somehow became one of us – entering our existence to the point of being human. And he did it not simply to show solidarity or to learn what we endure, but to be one of us and lead us out.
In the introduction to John’s gospel we get some profound thinking about what the nativity means. The eternal Word, God himself, becomes one of us; the infinite takes on flesh and heavenly light comes into earthly darkness. The closed system is broken open. We are promised that there’s even an escape beyond the impregnable walls of death. Jesus, dying in order to destroy death, doesn’t burrow his way out of the prison camp through a tunnel, but strolls out from the open tomb.
For the believer in Christ, Christmas points the way to our own escape from all that binds and entraps us. Jesus offers us the greatest of escapes into freedom, friendship with God and a future. Let’s take it!
“What’s the difference between an organist and a terrorist?”
“You can negotiate with a terrorist!”
It’s an old joke for sure, but it never fails to raise a chuckle! If you’re wondering how to melt the hard-working heart of your steely church organist this Christmas Deck the Hall by Andrew Gant is sure to have them drooling over every musical tale and factoid. This book would make a delightful gift for anyone who enjoys traditional church music and those who have a serious interest in the social history behind our favourite Christmas carols.
Notable composer and conductor, Andrew Gant, teaches music at St Peter’s College, Oxford and has directed many leading choirs, include those of the Guards’ Chapel, Selwyn College, Cambridge and Her (now His) Majesty’s Chapel Royal based at St James’s Palace in London, where he led the choir at many state events. Gant’s friendly, rhythmic writing flows with an easy, effortless charm yet his voice never misses a beat and remains firmly confident and authoritative. These stories, which do gallop along at a fair old pace, are underpinned by Gant’s serious research and sound professional knowledge. For the serious reader looking for something significant to get their teeth into, it’s a very pleasing, well structured, composition.
The meaty hard back book is beautifully bound and, at well over 300 pages long, is not for the faint-hearted. Gant shares tales and anecdotes behind twenty-seven carols from a variety of traditions and places of origin. Chapter Six is dedicated to that much loved carol In the Bleak Midwinter. Gant writes: “One of our most hallowed Christmas traditions, alongside mince pies and a sherry at Auntie’s, is the annual competition to find our favourite carol. Magazines and broadcasters regularly run a festive countdown, voted on by readers or listeners, or by a panel of experts who probably give the exercise more or less attention depending on whether or not they’re being paid. Results vary depending on what’s included: congregational items only, or choir carols as well? Folk songs, or newly composed pieces? Sacred or secular? What about a wassail? Noddy Holder as a write-in? And how about Jingle Bells?
“There are trends and consistencies in the results. Top of the list of favourite English carols is often O Holy Night, which isn’t remotely English but French to its Gauloise-blushed fingertips (even the English translation hails from America, not England; the words are an un-English mixture of Catholicism and Unitarianism; and it’s an aria, not a choral piece). More of that in a later chapter.
“A Top Thirty in the November 2022 edition of the UK’s Classical Music magazine described its chosen winner as ‘nigh on perfect’. Viewers of BBC TV’s Songs of Praise at Christmas 2020 put the same song a respectable third. A 2008 poll of leading choral directors placed it first. Broadcaster Classic FM gave this carol unique honours in 2018 ranking it third and sixth.”
Extract from the Foreword of The Last Laugh by Steve Legg: It was one of those “Is this God speaking to me?” moments that many followers of Jesus experience. A thought surfaces, seemingly from nowhere, and its persistent luminosity makes us wonder if the Holy Spirit is broadcasting on our personal wavelength. Some believers insist their lives are punctuated with daily, even hourly, revelations. I haven’t found God to be quite so chatty. So when I do sense his nudge, I usually dash into crisis mode. Is this thought racing around my mind just my wishful thinking, is it truly the divine voice, or is it merely the aftereffects of last night’s chicken tikka masala? I wish God would speak with a louder, clearer voice, but perhaps he whispers because he wants us to draw closer, that we might hear.
Back to my inner nudge. Halfway through a Sunday morning service, I was just about to preach when the thought surfaced again: “Take a look at my beautiful people.” So I did. I looked around at the sea of faces that was our congregation, and recalled some of their stories. Over there was John, who married after desperately longing for a soulmate for decades, only to lose his darling in a drunk driver-caused crash. Towards the back was Sally, who had poured her heart out on a lonely mission field. Not many responded to her life of kingdom service, but she stayed the course until retirement. Now she feels somewhat lost, surplus to requirements. I look her way but she is unaware, for her eyes are shut tight, her hands raised in worship. Beautiful indeed.
And the whisper confirmed the truth that God who flings stars into being with a word, daubs drab skies with rainbows and paints deep sea fishes in stunning colours that no human eye will ever see – this God of ours finds the greatest delight when he sees hearts that trust him through mystery. In recent months, I have pondered yet another dazzling sight. Our dear friend Steve has been given a terminal cancer diagnosis. A tearful oncologist delivered the dreaded news that he had just months to live. There are hopeful possibilities with some radical treatment options, but he, Bekah and the whole family are treading a bewildering path: the remote possibility of a medical solution and their belief in a miracle-working God who can heal in a moment, all entwined with a visit to a hospice to discuss end-of-life care. But Steve and Bekah have decided. Even when life is threatened, it still goes on.
The weekend after the dark diagnosis, Steve, a brilliant evangelist who uses comedy in his Tricks and Laughs presentations, performed at four outreach events. He is also the publisher of Sorted, an outstanding Christian magazine for men. Bekah continues to lead Restored, a non-profit dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse. Recently, during a transatlantic phone chat, Bekah spoke of some of the good things they are celebrating, even as they pass through the valley of the shadow. “There is so much beauty to be seen, even in this horrible season,” she said. “We don’t want to miss the lovely things that God is surely doing.” That’s when we had to pause for tears because, in celebrating treasure that can be found even in darkness, Bekah and Steve have themselves become quite beautiful in their persistent faith and faithfulness. In the intense and unwelcome roller-coaster ride that suffering brings, they are clinging to God through the white-knuckle ride. They are, in short, a stunning sight.
Often we focus on what’s wrong with the world and with the Church. Fixated on the failures of high-profile Christian leaders, we sink into despair. Preoccupied with the picky pettiness that breaks out when someone suggests moving the pews, we wonder if there’s any future for a people so resistant to change. But all around us today, there are quiet yet glorious examples of tenacious dedication. If you’re one of them, know this: your love for Christ surely turns his head.
In this warm, authentic book that is rich in wisdom and void of cliché, you will find hope and inspiration. As you trace Steve’s journey, you’ll peer into the shadowland of suffering and discover that the light of Jesus shines brightly there. As you read, please say a prayer for Steve and Bekah, and their lovely family. And if you’re preoccupied with ugliness – in yourself, in others, in our broken world and imperfect Church – then know this: there’s beauty to be found in the most surprising places. Go on. Turn the page, and look again.
“How long have I got, Doc? Five days? Five weeks? Five months? Five years?”
“Months,” the oncologist replied.
When he heard this devastating news, Steve Legg and his wife Bekah made a bold decision – they would get busy living and get busy laughing.
Yes, there were tears that day and in those that followed, but Steve is a funnyman and a man of faith. He was never going to give cancer the last laugh.
In his latest book, international baffler and funny guy, Steve Legg, faces the no-joke reality of the diagnosis of a terminal illness. An engaging read throughout, the book will lead you to the most wonderful of all conclusions: that we are never, ever alone, and never, ever forsaken.
But this is not just Steve’s story; he draws lessons that can change not only the way we view our death – but also our life.
Hope. Heart. Humour. Humanity. This gripping story has everything.
This is actually true but you’d have to eat a lot of carrots for it to happen. Carrots contain beta-carotene and if you consume too many, the excess beta-carotene enters your bloodstream where it is not properly broken down. Instead it is deposited in the skin, leading to an orange skin discolouration called carotenaemia. It is a common and harmless condition that typically affects infants when they begin eating solids since carrots are a popular choice among new parents.
Eating Turkey Makes You Sleepy
This is true. Turkey is rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that your body turns into a B vitamin called niacin. Niacin plays a key role in creating serotonin, a brain chemical that is associated with sleep. It is not just the turkey that makes you sleepy. It’s also the stuffing and potatoes because eating these carbohydrates allows the tryptophan to easily enter the brain speeding up the serotonin production. If you add alcohol into the mix as well, it is no wonder you can hardly keep your eyes open.
You Can Detoxify Your Body
Although an appealing idea, this myth is false. For doctors to know if a detox therapy works they need to know two things. Firstly, they need to know what toxin is being removed from the body and secondly they need to know how it will be removed. Researchers found that companies simply renamed ordinary processes like cleaning or brushing, calling the “detoxifying”. They used “detox” as an advertising buzzword. Legitimate detoxification happens in a hospital, usually when something has seriously gone wrong such as a patient with heavy metal poisoning or treatment of an alcoholic.
Exercise Makes You Smarter
This is true! It is not just your body that benefits from exercise but your brain too. Your body produces a chemical called irisin during endurance exercise. This activates genes related to learning and memory and results in new neurones being created. Exercise also lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Eating Late at Night Makes You Gain Weight
Another true myth … in general late-night eaters tend to weigh more and have a higher body mass index than those who eat earlier in the day. It is thought that this is because eating at night can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels.
Vitamin C Stops You Catching The Cold
This is false. Vitamin C does not stop you catching a cold but there is some evidence that it may reduce the duration of symptoms by a day or two if taken in high dose (1000mg daily).
You Should Wash Poultry Before Cooking
This is definitely false. Poultry should not be washed before cooking as this can increase the risk of food poisoning with campylobacter, a nasty bug that causes bloody diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and severe tummy cramps.
Fresh Vegetables Are More Nutritious Than Frozen
There are conflicting opinions on this one. If eaten within a few hours of picking, fresh produce is the most nutritious. However most “fresh” produce in shops is actually several days or even weeks old and the nutrients start to break down from the moment the produce if picked. On the other hand, many frozen vegetables are quick frozen very soon after picking and this preserves more of the nutrients. So unless you can grow your own vegetable and use them as soon as you pick them, frozen vegetables may be more nutritious.
All Fat is Bad For You
This is false. Healthy fats are essential for good health and have been shown to protect from a range of chronic diseases especially heart disease. Healthy fats include monounsaturates and polyunstaurates, found in nuts, seed, olive, olive oil and avocados. They also include omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish, linseeds, flaxseeds and soyabeans. You should minimise saturated fat intake; butter, cheese, red meats.
Eating Carrots Improves Your Eyesight
This myth has been about since World War Two when rumours circulated that pilots ate lots of carrots to optimise their vision. In reality, unless you a very deficient in vitamin A, more carrots won’t make any difference to your vision.
Natural Sugar Alternatives are Healthy
False. We all know eating too much sugar is bad for us, so it’s not surprising we convince ourselves natural sugar alternatives are healthy. However, our body still sees it as sugar. Agave syrup, maple syrup, honey and brown sugar are still sugar and although they may have more micronutrients than refined sugar, these are in such small quantities to make no meaningful difference. Sugar is sugar. The World Health Organisation recommends limiting daily added sugar to less than five per cent of energy intake (this equates to six to seven teaspoons).
Chocolate is Good For You
This is true; if it is dark chocolate and you limit it to two squares per day!
Digital Editor’s Note: I’m excited and proud to welcome Rob Allwright as a Guest Writer here at the Sorted Magazine website. Rob brings a wealth of experience and is one of the most respected Christian reviewers in the UK. The energy Rob devotes to supporting and encouraging Christian creatives is staggering. His review show One Man In The Middle is broadcast by Branch FM, Heartsong Live and Hope FM. And I’m just a teensy bit excited that he has joined the wonderful peeps at the Manchester based broadcaster Konnect Radio!
Rob writes: For those who love their Christmas music with a touch of class then you need look no further than this classic album from All Souls Orchestra in London. Marked as Prom Praise Celebrates Christmas this album takes you on a classical journey through instrumentals of some of the best loved Christmas Carols and songs. Arranged and conducted by Dr Noel Tredinnick this album captures a great crisp orchestral sound which will bring a warm glow to any room where it is played!
The first track A Christmas Festival is a bit of a medley of many different Christmas songs brilliantly wrapped up together in one brilliant piece of music and you can’t help but be swept into the Christmas spirit with this. While this is one piece of music it brilliantly captures the different elements of the various songs included here, there is time to dwell in a couple of parts before you are swept along to something else. This first track is just under seven minutes long and it really flies past! The second track also takes pieces from some of the more majestic sounding Christmas hymns. In The Bleak Midwinter, O Come All Ye Faithful, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and others are blended together to become A Christmas Overture.
The next track is Silent Night which, when it comes to Carols is many people’s favourite. They have certainly done it justice with this version as there is a little prelude before the Cello’s come in with the main harmony and slowly other areas of the orchestra work their way into the familiar tune. It was intended that these versions of the songs would be an excellent backdrop for the Christmas season, but additionally they should be music that could be sung to as well if that is something you wanted to do. With these tracks that are well known they have kept the arrangements relatively straight forward, with a bit of an intricate introduction and then into the main body of the music. There are some rather grand openings, such as the amazing organ opening up It Came Upon A Midnight Clear.
Along with the classics and the medleys there are some less well known tracks, including From The Squalor Of A Borrowed Stable by Stuart Townend which has never really broken out of the church in the way that it should have done, because it is a truly beautiful song. A track that I am not terribly familiar with is Overture: Hansel and Gretel originally composed by Engelbert Humperdinck which is included on this album and shows that this orchestra aren’t afraid to take on something a little more rare and challenging. The last medley on the album is the A Festival of Carols which combines another whole load of well known tunes starting with Hark, The Herald Angels Sing these even re-cover some ground with different interpretations of some carols that have appeared previously.
This may not be the most high-brow of orchestra’s but I think that they have done a great job with these arrangements to bring these carols to life as instrumentals. These could easily play in the background throughout the whole of the Christmas period, through dinner parties, family gatherings and more, additionally they could be used for a little bit of Carol worship too for small groups or personal worship. I’m not a big orchestral or classical music fan but I really enjoyed these and appreciate the talent from every member of the orchestra.
Digital Editor’s Note:Wonder: An Advent and Christmas Collection is a profound and often humorous collection of reflections, monologues, poetry, sermons and sketches. In this new book Rev Andy March invites us, whether we’re lifelong Christians or new to faith, to take a fresh look at this world-changing story and become lost in wonder once again. I’m delighted to welcome Andy as today’s Guest Writer. Look out for extracts from his book during the month of December.
Rev Andy March writes: “I love Christmas. I think I look forward to it almost as much as my children. I love almost everything about it, the cheesy music; the lights that illuminate the dark December streets; the carol services and nativity plays; the carols and Bible readings; going to church at really strange times of the night; the Christmas trees and decorations … I could go on. I love telling stories, particularly Bible stories, and finding ways for these timeless and ancient truths to hit home today, whether for a hall full of schoolchildren, an all-age congregation, or occasional visitors to church at carol services. If I can find a different way to convey essential truths, I will, even if it involves looking silly (which it often has, as I’ve dressed up as angels, wise men and even adorned donkey ears, much to the embarrassment of my children!).
Wonder: An Advent and Christmas Collection is the fusion of these two passions and the result of a decade or so of my work in Church of England parish ministry. Most of these pieces have been written for church all-age and carol services as well as “ordinary” Sundays, and school services. They were written to be read aloud and performed, so you may want to try this yourself!
Whether you’re someone looking for fresh inspiration as you plan your own services, or a Christian looking for something to inspire your own worship and devotion, I hope this book is a blessing to you.
Wonder: An Advent and Christmas Collection is not designed to be read front-to-back like a novel. I see it more as a selection box to be dipped into and enjoyed! The stories are gathered into four parts:
Part One: Telling the story A collection of monologues and sketches that seek to tell the familiar story in a new way, often from the perspective of the characters involved. These would be perfect for use in services and would work as stand-alone pieces.
Part Two: Proclaiming Good News – the message of Advent and Christmas This includes sermons I have preached over the years. The “Carols by Candlelight” sermons try to reflect the year’s events in some way and link it to a particular aspect of the Good News of Christmas.
Part Three: Responding to the Story Poetry, which often forms my personal expression of worship in this season. My greatest challenge as a “professional Christian” is that I can be so focused on communicating the Good News to others that I fail to appreciate its meaning for myself. These poems flow from those times when I stop, reflect and worship.
Part Four: Reflecting on the Story An Advent and Christmas devotional that starts on December 1st and ends on January 6th, containing Bible verses I selected and reflections I wrote on Twitter. You may want to use this to accompany your own devotions, perhaps at the end of the day.
In the foreword Andy Kind, Comedian and Author writes: “The joy of writing, when you shake off the norms and the preconceived, is that really you can write whatever you want to. “Unclassified” isn’t a low grade – it’s a sign of pioneering out-of-the-boxmanship. Andy March has done that with this book. Having preached at his church, I’ve seen first-hand Andy’s commitment to people and kingdom ideas, telling the old, old story in new and innovative ways. This new work is the fruit of Andy’s labours working “in the trenches” of local church. It drips with experience, wit and wisdom – an impressive addition to his growing output and legacy. For devotion and inspiration, via his own perspiration, here you’ll find a one-stop shop for Christmas word feasting. An advent calendar of tasty word; a buffet of delectable sound bites. Don’t get too fat, now, will you?”
