A slightly belated but heartfelt Happy New Year to you! Before starting to write this posting, I looked back at what I had written in previous years. It was actually a bit of a surprise to open RN 8th January 2014, mainly because the newsletter looked so different. In January 2014, we were in the midst of our visioning process and were still called MCC Newcastle. I could not have imagined that, 12 months on, we would have such a wonderful logo which reflected the name and vision that emerged from that process – we have become Northern Lights MCC, offering hope and light in N.E. England and beyond. There was a really good example of that on Christmas Eve. Although I love the Carol Service, there is something about the quiet, understated tone of the Crib service on Christmas Eve which makes it my favourite Christmas service. It brings back memories of attending Midnight Mass as a teenager and stepping out into the Christmas night, feeling as though I was part of the Nativity, being out in the night, gazing at the stars, along with the shepherds. When I leave church on Christmas Eve, it feels as though Christmas has begun.
It is always hard to predict how many people will come to the Crib service. There is no public transport and many folk in the congregation are already away. This year I printed off 10 orders of service, plus some large print copies and started to get the church ready. The first person to arrive was a woman who had decided to spend Christmas in Newcastle. She lives in London and is involved in several different churches there. Each year, she chooses a different city to spend Christmas in. This year she chose Newcastle. She saw that the church door was open and came in. Next came a young Danish man and his mother, then a student on his own. After the service started, two more students came in, from India they told me later. Folk from Northern Lights MCC arrived, some with visiting family. By the time the service ended, there were 17 of us, over half of whom were not part of our regular congregation. It was as though we had become the welcoming stable for those drawn towards the Light of the World.
It just seemed wonderful to me that folk wanted to be in church on Christmas Eve and risked going somewhere they didn’t know. I was so glad that we had opened our doors and shone our light into the street to let people know that they were welcome. My prayer for 2015 is that we continue to do this – that we continue to shine our light and welcome people in – the alone, the lonely, those who need a place to worship God on a cold dark night or who are just curious. What a great way to spend a year!
God bless
Cecilia
It is always hard to predict how many people will come to the Crib service. There is no public transport and many folk in the congregation are already away. This year I printed off 10 orders of service, plus some large print copies and started to get the church ready. The first person to arrive was a woman who had decided to spend Christmas in Newcastle. She lives in London and is involved in several different churches there. Each year, she chooses a different city to spend Christmas in. This year she chose Newcastle. She saw that the church door was open and came in. Next came a young Danish man and his mother, then a student on his own. After the service started, two more students came in, from India they told me later. Folk from Northern Lights MCC arrived, some with visiting family. By the time the service ended, there were 17 of us, over half of whom were not part of our regular congregation. It was as though we had become the welcoming stable for those drawn towards the Light of the World.
It just seemed wonderful to me that folk wanted to be in church on Christmas Eve and risked going somewhere they didn’t know. I was so glad that we had opened our doors and shone our light into the street to let people know that they were welcome. My prayer for 2015 is that we continue to do this – that we continue to shine our light and welcome people in – the alone, the lonely, those who need a place to worship God on a cold dark night or who are just curious. What a great way to spend a year!
God bless
Cecilia
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