Dear Friends at St Margaret’s,

Firstly I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

I can’t believe it is this time of year again! And 2 years since I joined you all as minister!! I want to say thank you to you all for all your support and enthusiasm and entering into everything we do whole heartedly (even some of my wacky ideas!!).

Happily, and it’s testament to the warm welcome people receive here, that we have grown in numbers on a Sunday over the last few years. However, we have sadly also lost some longstanding members and much loved friends – we remember them all with fondness and love and pray for the families and friends who still grieve their loss.

Numbers attending the things we offer have stayed stable – and the toddler group still has a waiting list!!! I love working with this group – and it’s beginning to see rewards in families requesting baptisms for their little ones! This is a true blessing to our community!!

But it’s not always just about numbers – it’s about hpw we engage and I’ve seen this especiall this Christmas.

We have worked with our friends at St Gregory’s to do Love Christmas – Over £3000 worth of items were collected and 350 bags made ready to be given out! These will go to a variety of people and families to make their Christmas a little better and to tell them that we, in the churches of the Nook and Shields, love them and so does the God we serve! 

Our prayer is that the folks who receive a bag may glimpse a small part of God’s love for them!

So, keep sharing the love of God through the things we can do, the words we say and the love we share!!

Every Blessing and Much love this Christmas

Jane