Silent Night, Holy Night....... How lovely it is to see the faces of the children lit by the candles of the Christingle.
 

The Children of Jelly Beans Nursery, All Souls Rainbows and Brownies, along with the Young people of All Souls and a smattering of Guides took part in this most special of services on  the evening of 16^th December.

The Nursery children played the parts in the Nativity whilst Anna, Amy and Emily read the story of how Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem, found shelter in a stable, and how Jesus was born in that lowly place on Christmas Day over 2000 years ago.

The Brownies and Rainbows gave a separate presentation of how the individual parts of the Christingle symbolise the World, the Light of the World, the Four Seasons, the fruits of the earth and the blood of Jesus.

No one could have missed the fact that there were only two kings instead of three and that one of those didn't really want to take part, or the star who, having led the shepherds to the stage proceeded to wandered off into the corner much to the amusement of our Director of Music! I am sure no one noticed the quiet whisper of 'when do we need the donkey?' and the quick repositioning to include a beautifully dressed creature who was vital to the Nativity tale.  However, for me, the highlight was the sweet voice of one little shepherd who could be heard singing happily to himself, wrong words, wrong music, but ‘Away in a Manger’ has never sounded so sweet.

These are the things that make this service special.

The Carols and readings set the scene and gave reverence to an otherwise less formal service. The music was ably provided by the Girls of Con Spirito, under the guidance of Musical Director Lynne Novis.

As usual the service ended with a ring of lit Christingles around the Church, the faces of the children lit by the glow of the candles and then the final carol,

Silent Night, Holy Night.

Pure Magic!