You may remember that at Christmas 2020 we were in the midst of a second lockdown and so were unable to make our usual Christingles, so Mig Coupe, my daughter Lucy and I were giving out “make at home Christingle” bags to passers-by at the Church gates on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t the same as giving them out at the Nativity Service but we made the best of what we could do. The surprise and pleasure that people showed was wonderful and made me realise that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference to a person’s day.
2021 continued to be a year of changes, but by Christmas, a small group of us were able to gather in Church to make the Christingles, and whilst the Nativity Service had been cancelled for a second year, we decided to give out the Christingles at the church gates again. This time there were around 20 of us and we were singing socially distanced Christmas carols. Mary Kennedy provided the musical accompaniment on her accordion. It felt spontaneous and fun and we surprised quite a few people walking down Church Street. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt the heart-warming glow of reaching out into the community, spreading some of the love and kindness that is always present in Holy Trinity.
We have become so resourceful and adaptable as a congregation during this difficult period since COVID arrived in the UK. From Zoom services and meetings, changes to seating, changes to giving out the sacrament, wearing masks to sing, not being able to have refreshments after the services and keeping the congregation connected with phone calls and doorstep deliveries of Gloria during the lockdowns. We all deserve a huge pat on the back – but none more so than our wonderful Rector Liz who has steered us through all the changes and actually managed to grow the congregation during the last couple of years when lots of churches are experiencing falling numbers. We are part of an amazing family at Holy Trinity and hopefully in 2022 by reaching out occasionally into the Haddington community we can encourage others to come and share it.
Gail Craven
