Our new creative outreach window has been up since Monday 1 December. It’s hard to capture fully on a smaller scale but its already been getting a lot of attention from intrigued drivers and passers by.
After all, it’s not every day you see such a motley collection of pots and pans, tools, books and other strange props mixed up with the more usual Christmas icons…
But of course, as you come closer the text in the window links all these seemingly unconnected elements together:
‘Seeing an angel on the A65 might seem strange to you but…
‘Mary was doing chores at home when she met God’s messenger.
‘The shepherds were outdoors when everything lit up for them.
‘Joseph was taking a break from work when God spoke to him in a dream.
‘The wise men were studying when they first noticed the star.
‘Together they all met Jesus – God himself – in what was pretty much just a shed.
‘2000 years ago a collection of ordinary people were doing their usual everyday things when God came close to them than they could have ever imagined was possible.
‘Ever since then, billions of other ordinary people have met God in surprisingly everyday places too.
‘Where might God meet you this Christmas?’
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Emmanuel. God with us. In our normal lives; in our everyday places; in our noise and silence; in our busyness and quiet; in our stench and beauty. He has come. He is coming. He will come.
It’s our prayer that many people passing our window will understand something of this in a new or deeper way this Christmas.