The invitation to ‘Come and Sing Carols’ was open to six churches, five parishes and hundreds of people living in multiple villages.
Hosted by St. John the Baptist church, Pilling, the service, led by Rev. Naomi, was very much a team effort.
Choirs from across the Benefice joined forces and voices to lead the Christmas carols. Each parish made a unique contribution with a Bible reading, a reflection, a poem or a drama of their choice. The mix of narrative voices, and the wide variety of offerings ranged from John Betjeman’s ‘Christmas’ which contrasts the commercial aspects of Christmas with the profound truth of Christ’s birth, to self-penned poems musing over the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a ‘real’ tree, to A. A. Milne’s rhythmic poem, ‘King John’s Christmas’, in which the unpopular and lonely king, secretly hopes for the gift of a big, red, rubber ball!
A highlight however, was a mini drama which brought to life a conversation between Archangel Gabriel and an earthly bureaucrat! Rev. Naomi donned a halo and wings and set about informing her reluctant ‘listener’ about the glorious proclamation of God’s ‘Good News’ which was due to sweep across the globe. Her enthusiasm and excitement was met with a list of ‘obstructions’ in the form of risk assessments, noise pollution complaints, health and safety concerns, insurance claims, liability clauses…in other words, lots of tedious form-filling! The conclusion the official administrator came to was, “I’d be failing in my public duty if I allowed this event to take place”, a view which was immediately countered by Gabriel’s cast-iron knowledge that NOTHING can stop the Good News being shared.
Prayers and blessings brought the service to a close, in addition to a bold rendition of ‘We Three Kings’ which sent people onto the next part of their Christmas journey…into the Parish Hall, where coffee and mince pies were shared, alongside mutual chatter, combined laughter and collective catch-ups.
