The Christingle service at the Church of the Holy Spirit Rye Harbour is such a delightful one because the children are encouraged to take part in their own special way. This year we had a band of little helpers who decorated the altar area on Sunday, December 15 and laid out the knitted characters in the crib.
It was endearing to watch as they ran up and down the church to let their nanni know what they were doing. Linda Estrada takes the service with a little help from the Bruces and not everything quite goes to plan which adds to the charm. Linda is a real favourite at the harbour church and makes all the services special. The video says it all.
FourScore, four local singers, sang carols while the congregation filled the church and led the singing during the service, finally sending everyone off with a rousing rendition of We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
The oranges for the Christingles were kindly donated by Johnson’s Fruiterers on the Harbour Road. This is a family-run greengrocer’s and this is its twenty-fifth Christmas. Brett Johnson began his business in 1991 in the High Street. His vision is to provide high quality goods for the community. It is an Aladdin’s cave of delights. Please consider buying locally and support this generous business which prides itself on offering locally-sourced fruit and vegetables as well as a variety of local products.
We were thrilled to welcome back many of the friendly faces from previous years and a few new ones, too. As people left they stopped to say it was a delightful service and the highlight of their run-up to Christmas.
Image Credits: Kt bruce , Iain Cebunka , Lucy Green , Lucy Green .