In the village of West Lydford, church volunteers have been busy creating a Christmas experience to bring the nativity story to life for local children and families. In the…
In the village of West Lydford, church volunteers have been busy creating a Christmas experience to bring the nativity story to life for local children and families.
In the run up to Christmas, local churches invited families to join the Nativity Trail around the village, with the aim of offering something a bit different to their usual Christmas services. Based on the Experience Christmas material often used in schools (available from Jumping Fish Publications), they used Lydford Village Hall and St Peter’s Church, and a horse box to tell the story of Jesus’ birth. It offered families the opportunity to reflect on each part of the Christmas story, the characters and the importance of Christmas for Christians.
A 24 strong team of local volunteers worked together. The group included Lyford villagers acting as guides, the Open The Book team were the storytellers and the choir served hot chocolate.
The trail was advertised by email, Facebook and connections were made with the youth club, Scouts and the Primary Schools. The team were encouraged by the response they received. 10 families signed up ahead of the day with 15 adults and 17 children visiting in the first two hours.
Sally Buxton, who helped coordinate the event commented, “The main thing is that the children have really enjoyed it and loved getting involved. Most people who come wouldn’t bring their children to church on a Sunday so it’s a great way to share the Christmas story.”
Jane Durham, Rector of the Wheathill Priory Benefice added, “It’s been brilliant working together with people from the local community and churches. It’s a great opportunity to tell the Christmas story to local families. This is the first time running an event like this and we look forward to working together again in the future.”
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