Christians together in Linkinhorne were delighted to welcome the children of Upton Cross school to St Paul’s Church for a presentation entitled “Experiencing Christmas”.

The church was transformed by worship leader Sue Green into six areas with presentations to be explored.

The children came in class groups throughout the day. Firstly, they looked together at the Preparation for Christmas which included considering different Advent calendars and a large Advent wreath. Sue explained to them the meaning of the candles on the wreath.

Then the children divided into smaller groups to go to four other displays: “The Announcement”, which was set in Mary’s house; The Journey which looked at the trip Mary and Joseph had to make from Nazareth to Bethlehem; “The Shepherds”, which looked at the appearance of the angels to the shepherds telling them of Christ’s birth; and then “The Promise”, where the children learned about Old Testament promises of the arrival of a Messiah and about the Magi, who knew a King was to be born from looking at the stars.

The children were invited to imagine how the various characters might have felt as the story unfolded.

Finally, the children all met together again and Sue recapped what they had heard and reminded them of the precious gift mankind received at Christmas.

The children all seemed to enjoy themselves, certainly, the volunteers who gave each presentation; Michelene Norris, Norma Draper, Maxine Browne, Jan Viret and the new families’ worker for the Callington Cluster of churches, Katie Stephenson, did. The children’s questions and comments were really encouraging.

They were interested in the story of the birth of Jesus, and it showed.