Tomorrow will mark four months since I was ordained into the ministry after which there are only five more days to go until Christmas - yay!
We are now in our second period of wintry weather. This one began on Thursday and the forecasters predicted a couple of days of snow and then dry into next week. However, it snowed quite a bit through Saturday and on through the night. As a result it was rather difficult for many people to get to our Cool School Nativity Service this morning.
But it takes more than a bit of snow to keep Melness and Tongue folk away from church. All the children and leaders were there, and there was a good crowd of parents and siblings too. I reckon we had close on 50 folk in church today.
Given that we have at least three folk away on holiday, and another dozen or so kept away by the weather, I was pleased by the strong turnout.
It seems that God is really drawing people towards our church fellowship. We are having fun together as we strive to follow Jesus and worship our God. People are deciding to start coming along for the first time, or after an absence of many years.
The children did really well today. The Christmas Story was well told, with clarity and humour. The congregation did really well too, laughing at the funny bits, and managing not to laugh when one of the Kings proudly announced she had brought Frankenstein for baby Jesus!
During this past month we have had five funerals in the parish. It is not many compared with a lot of parishes, but for a resident population of around 600, it is a significant percentage. One of the people who came to church today said that it seemed that for too long they had only been to church for funerals. They were pleased today to celebrate the joyful message of Christmas with us all.
Although I have been here for four months now, the beautiful scenery still catches my eye and makes me gasp in awe and wonder at the majesty of God's creative genius. The above view across Talmine Bay and the Kyle of Tongue, with the watery wintry sunshine slanting across the misty air, just took my breath away.
When God's messengers came to tell Mary and Joseph, and then the Shepherds, what was going on, almost the first thing they said was 'Fear Not!'
God loves each person and He doesn't want anyone to be afraid of Him. Don't be afraid to put your trust in Jesus today. He has lived through everything we have, and more. He won through to the other side of death, and He beckons you to follow after Him.
Don't get left out in the cold and dark of Winter. Shout out, "Wait for me, I'm coming!"
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