Advent and Christmas Blessings to all! Some do Advent calendars, opening the doors day by day, with perchance a choccy inside, some do Advent candles, wreaths or acts of kindness each day. Here’s a little alternative to open our December and January edition – with grateful thanks as ever to Gillian and Margaret for all they do in connecting us.
A is for ADVENT – Of course it is! It literally means ‘to come’, so the preparations we make for celebrating Jesus Christ coming into this world are all a part of Advent.
B is for BREAD AND WINE – What’s the first thing you do on Christmas Day? Our Emmanuel Christmas Eve Midnight Communion (11:15pm) means that on that holy night, we’ve celebrated Christ in our midst both then and now.
C is for CAROLS – Do you have a favourite? Why? Is it the music, the words, poetry or something that takes you right back to a particular Christmas? Sing and enjoy!
D is for DECK THE HALLS – Emmanuel’s halls! What a great team we have making the church look fabulous – trees and tinsel, displays and crafts, all ages sharing in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
E is for EASTBOURNE’S CIVIC CAROL SERVICE – Our Mayor Margaret Bannister will hold this service at St. Mary’s at 4pm on Saturday 13th December which I’ll be sharing in with Mother Arwen. Prayers for Margaret please as she visits, supports, thanks and encourages all the people she will meet this season.
F is for FIGGY PUDDING – Connected to, but different from, Christmas pudding. I have never met anyone who actually has eaten this. I don’t believe it actually exists, and don’t let anyone
tell you any different.
G is for GIFT SERVICE – Rev. Andy Melvin is taking ours this year on Sunday 14th December and what a wonderful collection it will be of gifts for people in need this year. Keep an eye out for specifics needed nearer the time.
H is for HAINES – Did you know Haines Funeral Directors hold a memorial every year for the families they have worked with? This year Father Kevin and I are leading it at Our Lady of Ransom at 7pm on Thursday 4th December. Well done Haines for their compassion and initiative in this worship and remembering.
I is for INCARNATION – God the Creator of all things might feel cosmic, distant, beyond human comprehension and unknowable. But God incarnate somehow in Jesus? Who breathes, laughs, weeps, dies even…God near to us because God becomes one of us. That’s a God who’s love becomes knowable.
J is for JOHN LEWIS ADVERT – People look out for this every year, the anticipation is enormous, the middle classes are on tenterhooks! Is Advent a Christian Advert for Jesus’ birth?
K is for KINGS – Tradition has it that there were three, but only because there are three gifts. I rather like the image of there being a few dozen kings – the world’s rulers coming to worship Jesus.
L is for LOVE – As in ‘Love Came Down at Christmas’ (see also ‘Incarnation’). A great Christina Georgina Rossetti poem and carol.
M is for MARIS PIPER – In my humble opinion the finest type of potato with which someone else can make delicious roasties.
N is for NATIVITY – IMHO you can’t have a Christmas celebration without a nativity in there! Emmanuel’s is at 11:00am on Wednesday 17th December, when Jenny Wren will put on a fabulous display for all the families and we’re all invited.
O is for ORANGE – Unless you have an allergy to oranges and citrus come along to Emmanuel’s Messy Church Christingle on Sunday 14th December at 3:30pm. Crafts, foods, and fun. Who will be a huge inflatable orange this year I wonder?
P is for PIE – I have a love for all things pie, but it never extends to counting them. Good job, because I might be shocked at the sheer numbers consumed.
Q is for QUIRINIUS – a Roman ruler whose name pops up in the birth narrative in Luke’s Gospel. The Hebrew people hated censuses – see 2 Samuel 24 for why. That’s why I don’t count how many mince pies I have had.
R is for ROASTIES – I don’t want to labour the point (see MARIS PIPER) but it really is important to get these right.
S is for (The) SOUND OF MUSIC – After last year’s confession of mine that I have never watched this, someone at church gave me a DVD of it. One day…
T is for THROWING CHOCOLATE OBJECTS AT PEOPLE DURING WORSHIP – Quite a mouthful in every sense…but I seem to have established a Christmas habit along these line! What will it be this year?
U is for UKRAINE – One Christmas Fayre is never enough, so on Saturday 13th December the Eastbourne Ukrainian Community will take over the church for the day for a Ukrainian Fayre. Thanks be to God their fellowship and celebration, may peace come to their home and all the people there.
V is for VISIT – Christmas is full of visits! Mary to Elizabeth, Angels to shepherds, Kings to Jesus, Gabriel to Mary. What about us? How about all the people who’ll get a small houseplant this year as a token of love and connection? Thanks be to God for visits!
W is for WINDSCREEN WASH – You can spot a last minute present a mile off: if you get five litres of this, you know someone has left it until only the garage is open.
X is for XMAS – I am allowed this contraction! X is the first letter in the Greek for Christ: ‘Χριστος’ – so it’s fine for people make Christmas into Xmas.
Y is for YAWN – which leads us nicely on to…
Z is for ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ – certainly what I intend to be doing at the end of our Advent and Christmas season, and I suggest we all do the same!
Rev. Paul Tabraham
Excerpt taken from Emmanuel Magazine December 2025. The magazine, published ten times annually, features articles contributed or authored by our members. It includes a delightful blend of testimonials, devotions, book reviews, prayers, jokes, upcoming events, and more. Grab your copy of the latest magazine at the church foyer. If you prefer to receive a copy by mail or email, feel free to reach out to us.