The Tone Roses women's choir have a long-standing relationship with our Church. Two of its members are also part of our own Church family; and the choir have developed a wonderful and generous tradition of entertaining older folk at the annual Evergreens Christmas dinner. It was a real delight to host the choir at our church for a summer concert of varied music, covering sacred songs, pop songs and tunes from the musicals. The Roses were in excellent voice; the soloists - including our own Karen Ryan, who sang a stunning version of 'Unchained Melody', were wonderful; and we even had a bit of audience participation! The Choir made a generous donation to church funds for the use of the building, but it was their performance which truly blessed us. Long may our relationship with these marvellous singers and their leaders - musical director Fiona and pianist Stephen - continue!
"When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove." The end of November and early December this year have given cause for great rejoicing as three of our wonderful young Christians chose to be baptised and enter into the family of God. It began with Taya Stevenson, a brilliant 17 year old, who has shown her willingness to help in the Church and serve both God and his people for some time. She prayerfully and carefully considered taking this step, and we were delighted, in the company of many of her friends and family, to celebrate her baptism. We know Taya will go from strength to strength with the Lord: she is already the youngest PCC member we have ever elected! On 10th December, Nalisha and Eliana McCreadie Kariuki also came forward to go through the spiritual cleansing of baptism and receive the Holy Spirit. These two lovely girls have been stars of our Children's Group for a several years. During their preparation for baptism, they revealed deep understanding of what baptism is about, speaking of the need for God to redeem his people, recognising that Jesus came to earth to fulfil that need, and knowing the love and grace of God in his salvific sacrifice. Impressive for girls who are just 11 and 8!
Our church gardens are a patch of colour and light for local residents and shoppers now that we have decorated trees in the church garden for the Christmas season. Our huge thanks go to Alison and Vic Seddon, who provided the lights, the baubles and the labour - and brought blessings to our parish by their generosity.
On Saturday 2nd December, our church gathered with our Evergreens (our club for over-55s) to celebrate Christmas in style. Our wonderful Diane, ably assisted by her daughter Kate, had prepared a sumptuous three course dinner which everyone enjoyed. Laughter - and wine! - flowed at the cheerfully decorated tables as we got this festive season off to a great start. The Tone Roses, a fantastic local women's choir who generously give their time every Christmas, treated us to a fantastic concert of carols and Christmas songs. They were in great voice, collectively and in solos. Karen Ryan, one of the choir and also part of our church family, sang a beautiful traditional Carol accompanied on guitar by our own Richard Hooper. Huge thanks to all who made this day such a success: Pat, Kath and Derek who were indefatigable in planning and on the day; Diane and Kate, our cordon bleu chefs; Aly, Alison, Millie, Vera and so many others who washed dishes, vacuumed and tidied up. It was a day that gave real testimony to the love and care shared at St. Bridget and St. Thomas'. We wish you all a Christmas full of joy, peace, and love, as we welcome the Christ-child once more into the world.
