The Christmas celebrations kicked off for Kemsing and Woodlands with 3 crib services this afternoon.

At 2pm we had "carols for tiny tots", a quiet service designed with pre-schoolers in mind. We build up a live-action crib scene whilst telling the Christmas story and singing popular carols. We were all reminded that the greatest gift of all is not to be found in the various presents people brought to the baby Jesus, but the gift he gives us - himself as a grown man who was later to live and die for us.

At 3.45pm we had our main "crib service", where around 300 people packed every corner of Kemsing Church. 6 children from Kemsing Primary school read from the Bible with beautiful clarity, and we sang some of favourite carols. Old-timers will be glad to know that angel wings and trumpets still featured this year! We thought about how the Christmas Spirit we all need to get into is not simply a matter of being kind to each other, but of receiving Jesus as God's gift to us to renew our friendship with God.

Finally, at 5.30pm, Woodlands have their "carols around the crib by candlelight". We build up a model crib scene, whilst telling the Christmas story. The crib figures were hidden around the church, and the children found them and brought them up at the right points.

Happy Christmas everyone, from all of us at Kemsing and Woodlands churches!