18th December

“In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”


“The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind the hearts that are broken.” – Isaiah 61:1


During this last week of our Advent journey together we will be listening to music to help this joyful message of Christmas sink into our hearts. Emmanuel is one of this titles given to Jesus and one we particularly recall at Christmas, it means “God is with us”. This traditional Carol is one of the only true Advent Carols, rather than Christmas Carols, as it is all about the wait-ful expectant hope of Advent. (This is a version you may not have heard of before, some of you might really like it, some of you might not).


Talk with your family about what their favourite Christmas carols are and why. If you did like this version the artist Tommee Profitt has a whole Christmas Album of modernized carols that you might like to check out. If you didn’t like this version you might want to look up some other versions to find which is your favourite.


“I will light candles this Christmas
Candles of joy, despite the sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch.
Candles of courage where fear is ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens.
Candles of love to inspire all my living.
Candles that will burn all the year long.”
– Howard Thurman