Share the light of Christingle

Last year, thousands of people came together to attend 265 local Christingle services across the Diocese of Oxford.

These special events raise money for The Children’s Society to help vulnerable children and young people.

They enable us to provide direct support to those who may be experiencing abuse, neglect or mental health issues, children who may be living in poverty, as refugees, or missing from home or care.

Their Christmas may be broken, but together we can help these young people to rediscover hope for the future.

That is why I am encouraging people from the local area to attend a service and donate to The Children’s Society - please join us and share the light of Christingle.

Mark Russell, CEO The Children’s Society

It’s a Letter from Santa

As Christmas draws ever nearer, why not get the little ones excited for the big day with a Letter from Santa? It’s a great way to bring joy to your own family, whilst knowing you’re making a positive difference to the lives of children who may need it most this Christmas.

The letters can be tailored to your child with name, age, hobbies and a personal message to get Christmas in your household off to a magical start.

There are eight new designs to choose from including Reindeer Flying Practice’, ‘Christmas Disco’ and ‘Elves are Ready to Go!’. We know that on average at least two children in every primary school classroom has suffered some form of abuse. You can help us be there for them and provide the necessary support at Christmas and all year round.

For every Letter from Santa, we suggest a donation of £5, which goes a long way to helping children.

With £8 we can cover the cost for our volunteer counsellors to answer two calls to the NSPCC’s Childline service. On average, a child contacts Childline every 25 seconds. It provides a safe, confidential place for children with no one else to turn to, whatever their worry, whenever they need help. They can get in contact 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk.

A £10 donation could help us answer two calls to the free NSPCC Helpline from adults worried about a child. It is open every day of the year for any adult worried about a child on 0808 800 5000 or nspcc.org.uk. Our practitioners provide advice and support, listen to concerns about a child, and offer general information about child protection.To get creating your family’s personalised Letter from Santa, and start spreading the festive cheer, visit the NSPCC

website.

Debbie Knights, NSPCC Community Fundraising Manager

We can be like that garden

LAST week I helped a friend make a determined effort to tidy her front garden ready for winter. But where to start? Leaves had blown down from nearby trees, pine needles lay all over a large area of gravel, weeds poked through paving, and the autumn chill had taken its toll on the remnants of summer flowers.

The first task was sweeping, raking and bagging the leaves and dead plants.

Then space was cleared to plant two creeping vines that had been started in pots through the autumn.

These will be dormant, along with the Michaelmas Daisies, Crocosmia etc, until they spring to life next year.

Finally bushes were trimmed and pruned, including a large straggly Hydrangea, and the results added to the bagging up process.

With this care and attention, the garden looked tidy again and everything was ready for a fresh, bright, colourful new start in the spring. We can be like that garden.

If we don’t care and pay attention to what is beginning to get out of control, our lives can become messy.

Good things get neglected and suddenly we realise we need to make a determined effort to sort things out, put them right and prepare for a renewed future.

We have to start somewhere, so let’s sit down, turn off the telly and social media, and think about what we need to do to get our life back on track.

As we read in Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 3 about John the Baptist we can all make that new start, by sweeping away the things that have gone wrong, bagging them up, letting go of them by saying sorry, and promising to try not to get into that state again: Our life, that had lost its way, can feel bright and fresh once again. A new start.

Rev Roy Burgess