What's on? Next Messy Church:  Sunday 14th December 2025 

Services    Toddler group

  You are a gift. Made with Love.

I wonder how you might spend the four weeks before Christmas? 
Is it a time of struggling with the perceived need to rush into Christmas shopping and for displaying the latest glittery decorations? 
Is it a time of slowness, searching for memories of people we miss in our lives?

These four weeks mark the season of Advent.  This is a time of waiting, of reflecting and a journey of preparation for something different. 
So, instead of present seeking online or in shops, pause for a moment to consider that, placed within you, there might be the very gift required by your friend, neighbour or relative and treasured memory! 
With abundant grace, God has placed within each of us the gifts of kindness, wisdom, courage, creativity, patience and love. 
Such gifts enable us to see, to listen, to feel and to be present with God and alongside one another in new ways. 

In preparing  gifts to give, there maybe  wrappers and tags to remove. Likewise when receiving a gift. 
I wonder what might need to be removed from our lives this Advent to make us more aware of God's presence and more aware of others?
Are there fears, distractions, or attachments that keep us from being fully present?

Gracious God, we give ourselves afresh to you as we step into Advent.
Let us iron the crumples and the creases from our lives
so that we may be the best gift that we can be. 
Lord, may we cherish the gifts you have placed within us.  
Guide us to share these gifts freely to build neighbourhoods where everyone feels valued and loved.
For it is through each one of us that your love is made visible in the world. Amen.