The weekend of 10-12 December was an exciting one for the churches of Foxton, Gumley and Laughton as they moved one of their church services into a farmer's barn, held their annual Christmas Tree Festival, went carol singing with the children from the village and held a Christmas concert in one of the churches.
The Christmas Tree Festival and Christmas concert (both held at St Andrews, Foxton) were both successful in reaching a broad cross section of their local communities, and on the Saturday afternoon Revd Paula Oxley led children from the village of Gumley around the village by candlelight with children and Vicar singing carols to the local residents.
On Sunday the service which would normally have taken place in St Luke's Church at Laughton changed its venue to a barn (rather appropriate in view of the events of the first Christmas!) and featured Revd Barry Hill from the neighbouring Harborough team of Resourcing Churches as guest preacher with the singing being enthusiastically and joyfully led by the E.A.G.A Gospel Choir. Over 100 people of all ages, many of them not regular church attenders, formed the congregation and enjoyed refreshments after the service.
Barry brought an enlarged version of an icon which hangs in his study depicting Mary and Joseph helping the toddler Jesus to learn to walk and spoke about how at Christmas God demonstrates his desire to live among us and move not into the neighbourhood or lives we wish that we had but into the ordinary realities of where we find ourselves with all of our anxieties, celebrations, hopes and fears.He spoke of how at Christmas God offers to move not into the neighbourhood we wished we lived in or the lives we wished we had but into the realities of our lives and through the presence of Jesus to change our reality for the better.
Mollie Toyes, a Licensed Reader in the benefice commented that "It was absolutely great to see people of all ages joining in with the Gospel Choir at the barn in Laughton. Toddlers were running around jumping in puddles with pure excitement on their faces, in the muddy barn yard" before adding "The light and love of Jesus is certainly shining brightly in this rural benefice."
Pictures show the Barn being prepared for the service, the Icon Barry spoke about and a video clip of the Gospel Chor.