As darkness fell and with lights switched off, candlelight shone on the faces of excited children as they and the congregation at St Mary's formed a circle within the church to celebrate the annual Christingle service and to sing the well loved carol 'Away In A Manger'
Due to the weather numbers attending were lower than normal but the joy and fellowship was unmistakable. The service was conducted by Val White, the talk given by Becky Doble, Peter and Frederike Reed with readings by Cheyenne and Erika Jordan. The service is organised on behalf of the Children's Society to whom the collection will be sent.
The Christingles consist of an orange to represent the world, cocktail sticks to represent the four seasons along with fruit and sweets for harvests, a red ribbon for Christs blood and the candle to show Him as Light of the World.