Our lovely but cold church hosted the Christmas bazaar last Saturday and I am thrilled to report that over £850 was raised to go towards the ongoing improvement projects which are currently underway. It was good to see so many people in the church catching up with neighbours and friends and also some visitors from the other villages nearby. Everyone was very generous not only in donating items for sale but also in coming along and spending their money as well. We’re indebted to Wendy and Eileen for all the work they did over several weeks to organise this event. It was a grand day and I hope we will be able to do it again.
The week before we held the annual Remembrance Service. The number who attended was down on normal years but we were very glad to see our military friends from Brize Norton come along with their families to join in and mark this very special day for the nation. The War Memorial was renewed for the occasion.
Our next service will be Holy Communion on Sunday 11th December at 11 a.m. The church is currently closed whilst the electricians do their work installing all the cabling to connect the new heaters, so by the time we get to December we will all be toasty and warm. The Service of Light which was due to be held this Sunday 27th will now take place at St Britius in Brize Norton so please let me know if anyone would like a lift round. Parking is in the Elderbank Hall carpark or in either of the two side roads near to the church.
Don’t forget the Christmas Carol service and grotto which takes place on Friday 16th December starting at 5 p.m. for the grotto and 6 p.m. for the carols. We will have Gary Long helping us once more and Simon will be playing all our favourite carols on the organ, so we hope to see lots of little ones participating in the Christmas Story. Refreshments will be available so please come along and join in the fun.
By popular demand, this year the time of our Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve has been moved to 10 p.m. Many people have said that 11.30 is too late especially when Christmas morning tends to be an early start for lots of us – children up at the crack of dawn to open presents and the turkey to be put in the oven etc. We hope the new time will be popular and that we will see all our residents joining in this magical service for the start of the Christmas festivities.