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SUMMARY:Holy Eucharist for Christmas\, Wednesday 24th December 3pm
DTSTART:20251224T150000Z
DTEND:20251224T160000Z
DTSTAMP:20260410T214310Z
UID:9780662025-12-24 15:00:00+00:00achurchnearyou
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DESCRIPTION:At Christmas time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in a 
 stable in Bethlehem. We are all familiar with the story - the little town 
 of Bethlehem\, the shepherds watching their flocks\, the herald angels sin
 ging\, the 3 Kings from Persian lands afar\, and the birth of a small baby
  to young & humble\, yet delighted\, parents. \n\nBut\, of course\, this s
 tory is purely the outer wrapping of a deeper theological truth\, which we
  celebrate at Christmastide - the fact that God entered his creation\, not
  as some big “I am” kind of God\, all glory and hallelujah\, but in hu
 mility\, and ordinariness\, …in the person of a small child\, just like 
 one of us. In that little baby\, in that manger\, was our God\, an imminen
 t God\, a present God\, a God who was to experience human life. \n\nOur Go
 d got out of his heaven and got involved with the things of every day. He 
 knew what it was like to be small and vulnerable\; he knew what it was lik
 e to be in a family\; he knew what it was like to be misunderstood\, to be
  rejected by others\; he knew what it was like to have fun with his friend
 s\; he knew what it was like to lose loved ones\, to be tortured and abuse
 d\; he knew what it was like to have his life taken from him in pain and a
 nguish. \n\nThe big danger at Christmas is sentimentality. Somewhere in th
 e middle of the Christmas hype\, the “much mistle-toeing” and “kids 
 jingle-belling”\, we need to find the baby Jesus where he is today. \n\n
 Oscar Romero\, head of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador\, who was 
 assassinated in 1980 for his opposition to the military government\, wrote
  this: 'We must not seek the child Jesus in the pretty figures of our Chri
 stmas cribs. We must seek him among the undernourished children who have g
 one to bed at night with nothing to eat\, among the poor newsboys who will
  sleep covered with newspapers in doorways'.\n\nPIcture above: Belen in Iz
 najar
GEO:-4.298266529747012;37.12525560245366
LOCATION:Salinas Anglican Congregation
URL:https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/8488/service-and-events/events/9
 78066/
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