I pondered whether to attend the Gingerbread Evening as I didn’t have a guest to invite, and living in Bracknell it felt a bit of a trek back and forth in the dark after a long day at work (and secretly I am useless in the kitchen!). But my daughter, a keen cook, saw the flyer and wanted to go, so I thought….why not, a bit of quality mother and daughter time, as well as getting to know other members of St Mary’s. And there was also a chance I might have a secret talent, previously untapped, at making a Gingerbread House for the first time. I am quite ‘crafty’ when it comes to paper and sticky back plastic, but icing and biscuit is another matter.
I was pleasantly surprised to arrive and see everything set up in the church itself and it looked so pretty, lots of people had already arrived, and the tables were set up with festive decorations, candles were lit around the church, and from the moment you entered the door, you were presented with plates of canapes, sweet treats and cheese boards, washed down with lashings of mulled wine and other fruity punch drinks. Everyone was chatting and getting to know each other and there was a good mix of church family and guests all having a lovely time. What a treat and I was so glad I came!
Victoria Henshall was our musical leader for the evening and entertained us with some beautiful keyboard playing and Christmas humour as well as leading us in Christmas Carol Karaoke with everyone joining in singing. I am pleased to say the windows survived the caterwauling from my table and I am no threat to outperforming Mariah Carey!
Heather Fielding gave a beautiful testimony, describing past Christmases growing up and there was not a dry eye in the house listening to her and hearing how Jesus has worked in her life. After such an emotional talk, we pensively continued making our houses and everyone was very industrious building gingerbread master pieces, and I can inform you, St Mary’s is full of some incredibly talented Gingerbread House makers; some of the creations were just breath taking.
As for me, I had great fun, met some lovely people, and discovered I will never win a Blue Peter badge for my Gingerbread House making. My supporting wall collapsed from word go, my ‘glue icing’ was stuck to everything, including my hands and the handbag of the person sitting next to me, the sweets mainly ended up in my mouth and my roof was holding on by sheer gravity, and little else. I was very proud of my chimney skills until the chimney was sadly demolished at the point of gift wrapping!
As the evening ended, we were presented with a lovely little book called ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’ by Andrew Wilson which is all about what makes Christmas feel special for you. The book takes us to the first Christmas to show that what can make our Christmases truly special is Jesus, the light of the world. Andrew Wilson explains how Jesus makes a difference to the darkness of this world, and how he can make a difference to our lives too.
‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8: 12
The house did survive the journey home, but I awoke the next morning to find it firmly collapsed beyond repair, probably due to my central heating! But I can tell you it was delicious, and I am still in a sugar coma after eating it pretty much in one go as it tasted so good. Once I started, I could not stop!
As we approach Christmas, I pray our hearts will be filled with joy and gratitude for the gift of salvation and the love and blessings we share in Christ.
And next year…………I think I will stick with making paper chains!