Christingle and Nativity Story Telling
This week we were delighted to welcome the Year 1 children from William Hulme’s Primary School into St Edmund’s for a joyful Christingle experience. The church was full of colour, curiosity, and excitement as the children made their own Christingles—learning through hands, hearts, and imagination about Jesus as the light of the world. They listened with rapt attention as the Christmas story was beautifully told by Iona and Elizabeth, and the space became alive with wonder, questions, and smiles. It was a gentle and holy moment, reminding us how powerful simple storytelling can be.
Earlier in the week, I also visited St Mary’s Church of England Primary School in Moss Side to share the Christmas story with Reception and Nursery children. This time, we told the story playfully through an adventure: a “story thief” had stolen pages from my children’s Bible, and a precious story was lost! The children eagerly searched the room, gathering in the missing pages. The teachers joined in, and together the lost story was recovered and joyfully retold.
It made me wonder: is the Christmas story becoming a lost story? Which parts get forgotten, softened, or overlooked? And what other biblical stories have slipped from our shared culture? As a church, how will we help people of all ages rediscover these life-giving stories of hope, light, and love?
Revd Tom
What's on at a Glance?
Sunday 14th December
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3nd Sunday of Advent
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Readings: Isaiah 35.1-10, Canticle: Magnificat (Luke 1.46-55), Matthew 11.2-11
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Services: Simple Communion -
- 9.30am St Edmund's
- Nativity at St Edmund's at 10.30am service
- Grace Community Urdu Carols starting at 2pm at St Edmund's
- Churches Together Carols - Alexandra Park Cafe at 12.30pm- Click for invite>>
Christmas at Cafe Church - Click here for invite>>
You are warmly invited to our Christmas get together where we will have live music, warm good food, fresh coffee, home baked cakes, scratch choir, loads of good cheer and welcome. Friends and family come and join us.
Monday
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Morning Prayer at St Edmund’s - 9.30am
Tuesday
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Morning Prayer at James' - 9.30am
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Place of Welcome at St James' - 10am
Wednesday
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Coffee Morning - 10.30am:
Our final meeting for 2025 on Wednesday will be a Communion, chat, Christmas activity and party. We would love to see you. We re-start on Wednesday 7 January 2026.
Thursday
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Grieving Together Cafe - St James' - meets again now on 8th January
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The Chosen Bible Study at St Edmund's - 7.30pm: Christmas party and the Chosen Christmas episode. The group meet in a home setting this week.
Next Sunday - 4th Sunday of Advent
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Simple Communion - 9.30am St Edmund's
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10.30am worship at St Edmund's and St James'
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Morning service readings: Isaiah 7.10-16, Psalm 80.1-8, 18-20 and Matthew 1.18-end
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Christmas Carols by Candlelight - Our benefice-wide traditional carol service by candlelight, with readings and carols. A beautiful way to pause and prepare for Christmas. Click for invite>>
Keep up to date at any time by checking our calendar - click here>>
Christmas:
Saturday Opening at 'Taste & See': Your Local Christian Bookshop
We will be open on the following EXTRA DAYS for Christmas Shopping.
10:30am - 2:00pm Saturdays 6th & 13th December
Free Mince Pie or small orange
Also open 10:30am - 2:00pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday as usual.
We look forward to welcoming you.
42 Brook Road, Flixton, Manchester, M41 5RY. Tel: 0161 747 5672
(We are close to Trafford General Hospital – bus 256 from Manchester comes down Moorside Road and stops at the top of Brook Road - the next stop after the hospital)
Prayer Pointers for this Week
For weary places to bloom:
Pray that God would bring joy, courage, and new life to places and people who feel dry, discouraged, or forgotten, that deserts may rejoice and sing.
For eyes to see and ears to hear:
Pray for openness to God’s work among us, especially where hope has grown dim, that the blind may see, the deaf may hear, and hearts may be awakened.
For humility and holy reversal:
With Mary’s song, pray that the proud be unsettled, the lowly lifted, the hungry filled, and God’s justice made visible in our community.
For faithful voices in our time:
Pray for courage to speak truth like John the Baptist, to prepare the way for Christ with honesty, patience, and hope—even when the path is hard.
For lost stories to be found:
Pray that the stories of Scripture, especially the Christmas story, may be rediscovered and retold with freshness, creativity, and joy for every generation.
For children, schools, and storytellers:
Give thanks for moments of wonder in our schools and churches, and pray for all who help children encounter faith through imagination, play, and love.
For our Christmas gatherings ahead:
Pray that every service, event, and welcome this season would become a doorway to hope, healing, and joy, as Christ comes among us once again.