Months of work had gone in to the preparation of the Crib Festival at the small Domesday Book Church of St Michael the Archangel in Trusham. We have an average attendance of about eight people - but they pulled together to encourage others in the village and Benefice, gathering 56 cribs or depictions of the first Christmas from at least 19 different countries around the world.

The cribs each had a story such as: ‘used for 60 years in my parents’ home in the Netherlands, but now passed to me in Trusham’; ‘my mum-in-law’s crib, probably from Spain. Due to dementia she cannot tell me the story of it or anything else. For me it represents remembering not only the true meaning of Christmas but keeping loved ones’ stories alive.’ Cribs from South America, South Africa, Rwanda, Nepal. Italy, Poland (made and sold to raise funds following their devastating floods in September) and, of course, quite a few from the Holy Land. There was Playmobil; ‘first’ wooden ones with the baby’s teeth marks on the heads of the figures; handmade wise men with heads made from Poppy seed-head and rich robes; cheeky choirboys made by lively twins; glass ones made in Nova Scotia, a different piece being sent each year; knitted ones in various sizes and patterns; charity shop and Fairtrade ones, Such a rich variety of stories to put a smile on your face or a prayer in your heart as you looked at some made with the separation wall between Jerusalem and Bethlehem - where today the Wise Men would perhaps be unable to get in and Mary and Joseph unlikely to all be given permits to leave in order to flee to Egypt from Herod’s wrath.

BUT, then came Storm Darragh! Six brave souls walked up to look at the display on the Saturday while the stewards enjoyed chatting and getting to know each other better. But worse was to come when, at 0100 on Sunday, there was an on-going power cut. Could we, should we continue? We’d already had to warn people to come dressed in warm clothes and shoes as the church’s heating system had been condemned in the autumn. Now we didn’t have any electricity.

We prayed and felt a calm that we were doing this for God’s glory and would go ahead. A few more visitors came in the morning and in the early afternoon it felt quite full.

But what of the Crib Carols at 4pm? For ‘Skylarks’, a recently formed a capella group of eight ladies from as far away as Woodbury, Exeter and Lapford beyond Crediton, this was to be their first public performance, coming to sing a few carols composed or arranged by them as well as boosting the congregational singing. Could they make it, their practice having been cancelled the day before because of the winds? What would we do for lighting? What about the mp3s for the accompaniment?

Undaunted, people travelled, we had flasks of hot water from those few homes with gas hobs. We gathered all the candles from our homes and the church. We slightly rearranged the display to get dozens of candles safely on the window sills, plus an LED battery rope of tiny lights. As it got darker the church began to glow within. The tiny church filled, not only with people but also with real joy as the unaccompanied singing filled the place - reading the carol sheets by the light of torches.

We feel that the power-cut turned out to be a blessing. We had the basis of it all but, perhaps in God’s eyes, it could be even better than we had planned. It became a real ‘one-off’ of praise as we celebrated and learned about cribs and their origins and enjoyed the clear unaccompanied singing.

The smiles on peoples’ faces said it all - ‘magical’ or, rather, ‘Jesus-full’.

Oh, and the power cut? The power literally came on as we closed the door of the church on Monday at 1pm having just dismantled the display and tidied up!