We publish a Parish Magazine 4 times a year and in each Magazine there is a letter from Jonathan Smith, the Vicar at St John's. Here is the latest one:
Tinsel is being shaped into haloes and wings, tea towels being employed as headdresses, cuddly sheep and lambs rescued from the toy box… it can signify only one thing: the time for the Christmas Nativity Play is upon us again.
At St John's, the morning of our Junior Church Nativity Play is a very special one involving a huge cast of actors and musicians. Each year has its own particular interpretation but the theme is, of course, constant. The Incarnation, literally, the taking flesh of God as he enters the world which he has made in the fragile, vulnerable life of the baby Jesus.
The whole panoply of characters, Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, Angels, Wise Men, Innkeepers (oh yes at St John's we do not stint ourselves by having only one Innkeeper!) together with the ever-faithful Donkey are here to testify to the most stupendous and wonderful truth which can be summed up in one word IMMANUEL which means GOD IS WITH US. The birth of Jesus assures us that our God does not remain aloof from the muddle and mess of the world but comes down to join in the delight and the danger, the joy and the pain.
During my lifetime I have participated in and observed many, many Nativity Plays and yet they never fail to move me. There is something so attractive and humbling about the faith of children; we adults have so much to learn from them. It is terribly easy for us to find the whole Christmas business somewhat manic or wearisome. There is a huge amount to do; it is very hard work for very many people and the Christmas season can bring its own particular stresses, strains and sadnesses. However, when I see the flutter of the angelic chorus tiptoeing their dainty way down the nave of St John's and look at the tableau scene of the Bethlehem stable then I am filled with joy and wonder, and the truth of IMMANUEL becomes a fresh source of hope and encouragement.
I pray that you may know something of the joy and peace which are the Christ Child's gifts to a waiting and weary world.
Happy Christmas and blessings for the New Year.
All good wishes
