This post shows a picture of the Advent wreath at St Andrew’s Church.An Advent wreath or Advent crown is an evergreen wreath which contains four candles which symbolise the four Christian concepts of hope, peace, joy and love as well as representing the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar leading up to the birth of Christ.One candle is lit on each Sunday leading up to Christmas Eve to symbolise the passage of the four weeks.The circular wreath itself represents the infinite love of god and its green foliage the hope of eternal life brought by Christ.On occasion, a fifth candle is introduced called a Christ candle which is first lit on Christmas Eve, the beginning of the traditional Christmastide (24th December to 5th January ) and remains lit for the whole period of Christmastide.The wreath’s tradition lay in the Lutheran church though it later spread to many other Christian denominations.The wreath at St Andrews incorporates another traditional Christmas decoration, that of Christingle.Christingle is a tradition that has its origin in the eighteenth century Moravian Church (Czech Republic) when children would carry a candle wrapped in a red ribbon into church for Christmas Eve Mass.In 1968 the Moravian custom became popular in the UK when it was used to raise money for the Children’s Society.The various items used in the Christingle are: an orange representing the world; a candle representing the light brought to the world by Christ; a red ribbon around the orange represents the blood of Christ; the sweets or dried fruit that decorate the orange represents the fruitfulness of the four seasons.The centre section of the St Andrew’s wreath consists of four Christingle’s.
November is a time for remembrance. We humbly remember and honour all those people and animals who perished in the two world wars and other conflicts. This post shows a picture of the interior of St Andrew’s decorated to pay homage to those who have fallen on the foreign battlefields and those nearer home.Whilst decorating the Altar, I heard a most moving true story from one of our congregation.A story of a bond between two devoted friends, a man and a horse, and how one made the ultimate sacrifice to save the other. I will relate the story.Grandfather fought in World War One, I think he was a lancer as he always stated that he fought with lance, sword and pistol. The historians often write how this 20th century war was fought with 19th century tactics. The cavalry were instructed, and expected, to charge the enemy leading to enormous casualties amongst riders and horses. Eventually, a decision was taken to disband the cavalry and the soldiers were sent into the trenches. My grandfather was a good rider and both he and his horse called Bess were kept together. They had been together since the beginning of the war and possessed an enduring bond of companionship. Both horse and rider were employed to courier orders from one part of the battle field to the other. This meant they were often a sought after target by the enemy, but together they were lucky and they survived.Then, during the battle of the Somme, Bess heard the missile coming towards them long before Grandfather and she threw him from his saddle into a trench. Although wounded, Grandfathers life was saved but poor Bess was killed instantly. Grandfather never forgot Bess and would tell all his grandchildren from an early age about the heroic Bess.St Andrew’s Church is open most days, weather dependent. It possess two war memorials and one war grave which commemorate soldiers who fell in Belgium, France and East Africa.If you are passing South Thoresby then please call and see our Church and the Remembrance day display.
A big thank you to all those who attended St Andrew’ Church over the weekend of the 14th and 15th September when we were proud to participate in the wonderful Open Churches event. This very popular festival sees many of the beautiful churches and chapels across the stunning Lincolnshire Wolds and Coast open their doors to visitors.Many of those visiting Saint Andrew’s were fascinated by the Medieval Graffiti that can be seen on our 13th century font, as well as the simple but beautiful Romanesque Revival stained glass windows. Curiously, there were only a few that found all seven of our elusive church mice !
A collage of pictures from the successful St Andrew’s Summer craft fair weekend. A big ”thank you” to all the stall holders & attendees. Hopefully everyone found that special something. The next opportunity will be the Christmas craft fair on 16th & 17th November in the church.
