The people of Adlington were able to get into the mood for Christmas as St Paul's celebrated their annual Carol Service on Sunday evening. Church was comfortably full for the service, which began in candlelight, with each member of the congregation holding their own candles.There then followed a sequence of readings telling the story of our salvation, including the traditional Christmas readings of the Angel Gabriel giving Mary the message she would give birth to God's Son; the Birth of Jesus, and the visit of Shepherds to see the infant king laid in the manger. The service culminated in the glorious reading from St John's Gospel of the Incarnation of the Word of God (John 1.1-14).The service allowed congregation members their first glimpse of the large Christmas Tree, kindly donated to St Paul's by United Utilities, and the Porch Crib Scene, on loan from Hollybrook @ St Paul's. Following the service, fellowship was shared over a welcome glass of mulled wine and a mince pie or two! We are looking forward to a full programme of Christmas services in the week ahead. All are welcome to join us at any of the services:Tuesday 24 December - Christmas Eve6.00 pm: Christingle, Crib Service and Children's Mass11.30 pm: The Midnight MassWednesday 25 December - Christmas Day8.00 am: Said Mass10.30 am: Mass with Christmas Carols
Members of the church community have worked hard over the last couple of Fridays to spread the good news of Christmas to the regulars in many of Adlington’s pubs. Each evening has seen us visit six out seven hostelries, singing traditional Christmas Carols with the locals, and giving information is our Christmas services.We see these evenings as part of our mission to proclaim the Gospel message to our community. They allow us to do this in an enjoyable and fun way, as we enter into the spirit of the occasion, enjoying a good Friday night out! You can relive some of the moments through a couple of videos on our Facebook page, @Adlingtonstpaul The serious message, of course, is that the child born in Bethlehem on that first Christmas is none other than the one who is himself the greatest gift of all, offered for the whole of humanity, to bring love and hope to everyone. May we remember that this Christmas, and may we seek to share that love with those around us. We have been overwhelmed by the reception we have received, as we were warmly welcomed without exception to all the venues. Thank you to the landlords of each establishment for making us feel so welcome, and we would want to wish the whole community of Adlington a very happy, holy and peaceful Christmas celebration.
Friday night brought with it the first of two Pub Crawls around Adlington, with around 15 members of the congregation bracing the weather to bring Christmas cheer to the pub-goers of Adlington and beyond. We were pleased to be welcomed into the black Horse at Limbrick, the Bay Horse, The Elephant and Castle, the White Horse and the Cardwell Arms. It was a joy to be able to bring something of the Christmas message to the. regulars, and to be given the privilege of having conversations across the village. We see this as part of our mission to the local community, making the Church accessible to the people of our village. We look forward to repeating the experience this coming Friday, when we will visit the rest of the pubs of Adlington, beginning at the Top Spinners at 7.30 pm.The following night, we welcomed the Crickmore: Crewe, a group of folk singers, into Church to sing a concert of Gallery Carols and Christmas Curios. They took us back through the ages of Christmas music, and together with their humour, enabled us to get into the Christmas spirit, and prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus this coming Christmas time. thank you to the members of the band, and to all who worked hard to organise the evening.
It was a day full of festive fun, as St. Paul’s was transformed into a theatre as we welcomed both Hollybrook Nursery and our Primary School into Church for a busy day of back-to-back Nativity performances. The children performed wonderfully well, and it was a joy to see their obvious enthusiasm for both the singing and dancing, and for telling the Good News of the Christmas story to their parents and supporters. We wish them and their families a very happy and blessed Christmas!
