Christmas Day sermon - text version
Leeds University chaplain, the Rev Matt Ward (below), knows it’s important to meet up with his Emmanuel Café Church regulars on campus. Usually a chat over a latte or a cappuccino does the trick, but Matt has to find other ways to keep in touch when term comes to an end in December.
After students have headed away from uni, and their fresh expression of church, for the
Christmas break, Matt prepares for the festive challenge - to capture the Nativity in a standard 160-character text and send it to Café Church supporters on Christmas Day.
“Café Church runs in 10-week bursts during uni terms so we always miss the major festivals,’” says Matt. “That’s a bit of a challenge for a church community but there are still ways to celebrate ‘together’, even when we’re not in the same place at the same time.
“I thought a Christmas Day message would be one way of doing it, but what you can say about the Incarnation of Jesus within those sort of text limits? I haven’t attempted it yet in Twitter’s 140 characters. That really would be a challenge.”
The 2009 message is:
Christmas A time of being with family, gr8 or not Even in a manger Jesus is born in the heart of family.
Whatever 2day brings remember Emmanuel, God IS with us
Emmanuel Café Church is now in its fourth year at Leeds. Students meet from 5pm to 6.30pm on term-time Sundays in the Emmanuel Centre.
