Week beginning December 8th 2003

“Songbirds” Thank You : I have received the following Thank You note which I am printing in its entirety : “Songbirds Kids Club would like to thank all the parents, children, Preston Primary School, Preston Post Office and the whole community of Preston for collecting the bus tokens in the Hull Daily Mail. Unfortunately we did not win the bus but we had a good try!
Songbirds Day Nursery's new FREE term of Nursery Education starts on January 5th 2004 for 11 weeks for 3 - 5 year olds. There is another training course run by Hull College for anyone in the community to attend. – “Childhood Illnesses” starts in January for 5 weeks and costs only one pound. Please ring Susan Goodwin 01482 890441 for details.”

Victorian Carol Evening in Hedon : once again you are all invited to join the Mayor and Mayoress of Hedon, Cllr. Ann Suggitt and her daughter Jennie, for a Victorian Carol Evening in the Town Hall, St. Augustine’s Gate, Hedon. I went to last year’s sell-out event and can highly recommend it - carols by candlelight, with the ancient Town Hall decked out with evergreens and golden decorations and led by a choir in Victorian costume – I’m sure that this year’s will be just as good as last year’s, and that once again it will be just the sort of thing to get everyone into a REALLY Christmassy mood! The atmosphere was wonderful and the company excellent (to say nothing of the mulled wine, savoury nibbles and mince pies!) This year it will be held on Friday December 19th, starting at 7.30 p.m., and tickets will once again cost £5 (which includes all the wine and food!) They are available from the Town Hall office (tel. 01482 898428) which is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. All proceeds will go to the Mayor’s Charity Fund.

More mince pies : why not drop in and enjoy coffee or tea and mince pies in Hedon and support another good cause by doing so? An open invitation is extended to drop in at Holly Garth, The Boulevard, Hedon, any time between 10.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. on Saturday December 13th and Sunday 14th . Refreshments will cost £1 and all proceeds are to go to the Hull Animal Welfare Trust.

More carol singers wanted… and whilst we’re on the subject of carol singing, the parishioners of Preston church have arranged to visit the Victoria House Disabilities Trust on December 17th to entertain the residents with Christmas carols and festive cheer, and are trying to recruit more singers. If you are free on that evening (it’s a Wednesday) please contact me and I will give you a contact number; if you live in Preston and know who to contact, go ahead – singers of all ages will be most welcome!

Christingles : I have had a few puzzled looks when I tell people about the coming Christingle services in the local churches. "What is a Christingle?" you may ask. A growing number of churches hold Christingle services at or around Christmas. These services derive from a Moravian custom of distributing lighted candles to children on Christmas Eve : the Christingle itself is an orange, decorated with a red ribbon, sweets and nuts, in which is placed a small candle. The orange represents the world, the ribbon Christ's blood, the sweets and nuts the fruits of the earth and the candle, the Light of the World. Christingle services have become increasingly popular since they became associated with The Children's Society in 1968. It is estimated that over a million children take part in these candlelit services across the country each year, and they are a lovely way to celebrate Christmas for all the family.
This year, St. Augustine’s Hedon’s Christingle service is on Sunday December 14th at 3.00 p.m., St. Andrew’s Paull’s is combined with their carol service on Sunday December 21st at 3.00 p.m. and All Saints’ Preston’s is also on Sunday December 21st but at 4.00 p.m. This year the donations at all these services are in aid of The Children's Society "Shining light into darkness" Project, which is concerned with helping young victims of bullying throughout the U.K.

A Christmas Candle? In keeping with tradition (well, it’s been there for three consecutive Decembers now!) BP have once again lit their Christmas Candle for us here in Paull. It’s becoming so much part of our Christmas festivities that it is actually earning a place in local legend, although opinion is divided as to whether it’s there to help Santa find his way or whether it’s actually the flare stack on his toy workshop. Whichever is the case, there were some anxious children in the village when they turned it off on Christmas Eve last year, as they were afraid Santa would either run out of toys or get lost (depending on which version they’d been given.) So far this year it’s still blazing away merrily, so hopefully Santa will be able to stockpile plenty of presents before it goes out – and of course he will have made himself a super-duper Giant Everlasting Torch to light his way on Christmas Eve!

Church Services for Sunday December 14th 2003
Hedon : St. Augustine’s Parish Church : Sung Eucharist at 9.30 a.m., Christingle Service (see above) at 3.00 p.m.
Hedon Methodist Church, Church Lane : All Age Worship at 10.30 a.m., evening service at 6.30 p.m.
Saints Mary & Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Baxtergate, Hedon : Daily Mass times : Sunday 10.30 a.m., Monday 9.15 a.m., Tuesday 9.15 a.m., Wednesday 7.30 p.m., Thursday 9.15 a.m., Friday 7.30 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m.
Hedon Pentecostal Church meets every Sunday at 10.30 a.m. in the Jubilee Room of the Alexandra Hall, St. Augustine’s Gate; a Sunday School is also held at 10.30 a.m. every Sunday.
Paull : St Andrew’s Parish Church : Holy Communion at 11.15 a.m.
Paull Methodist Church, Main Street : Christmas Carol Service at 3.00 p.m. – all welcome
Preston: All Saint’s Parish Church : Holy Communion service at 9.30 a.m.
Preston Methodist Church : morning service at 10.30 a.m.