St Luke's and Tittensor's Church of England First School were very active this last week; the children at Tittensor First School held an outdoor Christingle (and the weather held; alleluia!) and also made and distributed cards to people in the village.  St Luke's members and the residents and staff of Oaklea Househeld held an outdoor carol concert.  It's been a tough two years for everyone at Oaklea as the lockdown effects of Covid have hit hard.  Several residents are faithful members of St Luke's yet have been unable to come to church because of the risks.  Being able to get together again, however briefly, was important for everyone.

Tittensor Tots have also been busy and you can read about and see them in the Newsletter.  Having the space of the church to explore safely from time to time has been great for them; in fact, some of the youngsters who have been in St Luke's in recent months have particularly enjoyed the dash up the aisle, followed by a dash back again. It's all good fun and great to see!

By the time you read this, the last Sunday morning service of Advent and the village Carol Service at St Luke's will have taken place.  This year, for the first time, we were able to stream both of these to the internet and we hope that this has helped those far away or even close by but unable to come along on the day.  You are all welcome.

There will be a Crib Service at 4 p.m. on Friday 24th December, Christmas Eve.  This short service is very much geared for small children and their families, with some songs that children, parents and carers will be very familiar with (such as 'Little Donkey').  The story of the Nativity is told simply and there is plenty of space of children to play in, next to the stable scene.

After that, there will be a short Family Communion Service at St Luke's at 9.30 a.m. on Christmas Day.

We wish and pray that everyone of you will have a good Christmas, that the Lord will be with you and that you will come safely into 2022.