Message from the Pastoral Care and Eldership Team (PaCET) for Sunday Meeting 30th November 2025

Dear Friends,

Preparations for Christmas seem to start earlier and earlier, and sometimes the anxieties of getting things right and not forgetting anyone who expects a gift or card can be quite overwhelming. Churches which use a calendar with special holy days marked off (like Easter, Whitsun or a saint’s day) usually keep Advent as a time of spiritual  preparation for Christmas.  The word comes from the Latin adventus which means arrival and the four weeks before Christmas are used as a time of preparation awaiting the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, believed by Christians to be ‘Son of God’, or god incarnate.

Although I have never had a baby, I know a good deal of preparation always precedes  a birth: space in the home, a cot or crib, maybe a crochet blanket made by a grannie, and a variety of baby clothes of different sizes. Antenatal classes also prepare the mother for the many new activities which will now be part of her life. These days the dad is also included in all of this. It is a critical time with appropriate feeding being essential for physical development, including the brain, especially during the first five years of life.

Preparing for Christmas also takes time and thought if we are to benefit at all from its message of love and peace. It could be said that it’s like coming to Meeting for Worship with hearts and minds prepared, but that’s quite a challenge in this busy world.

Caroline Pybus
Quakers value diversity. We share this Friend’s message in the hope it will speak to others.

Pastoral Care and Eldership Team: Patricia Cockrell, David Hitchin, Sharon Krummel, Tim Pitt-Payne, Theresa Samms, Emily Slater.