More will sing about Jesus than roar on Pompey
More people will celebrate Christmas in local Church of England churches than will roar on Pompey over the holiday period.
Up to 50,000 worshippers will cram into Anglican churches in south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mark Jesus’ birth. That’s twice the capacity of Fratton Park – which means church congregations will be larger than the crowds for Portsmouth FC’s vital holiday fixtures against Liverpool and Arsenal added together.
And that doesn’t even take into account the thousands who will also attend carol services across the region this Sunday (20 December) to sing traditional carols.
The comparison with Pompey’s crowds means that it’s fitting that 5,000 worshippers will turn up
at Fratton Park for a special carol service at 7pm next Monday (21 December).
Pompey legend Linvoy Primus, who has just announced his retirement from the game, and the evangelist J John will be the special guests at the event organised by Linvoy’s charity Faith and Football. The Salvation Army band will lead the carols, and pupils from Miltoncross School in Milton, Cottage Grove Primary School, Southsea, and St George’s C of E Primary School, Portsea, will also sing.
There will be mulled wine and mince pies available free of charge, and free car parking available at the stadium from 6pm. For details, ring the Faith and Football office on 023-9277 6823.
Portsmouth Cathedral will once again hold three identical carol services – at 3pm on December 19, and at 7.30pm on December 22 and 23 – to fit in more than 2,000 worshippers. Portsmouth Cathedral Choir will lead the singing for the Services of Nine Lessons and Carols. The cathedral will also hold two identical crib services for children on Christmas Eve, at 3pm and 4.30pm.
Worshippers in Emsworth are preparing for Christmas by organising a Living Advent Calendar for the whole town. There’s something happening every day from December 1-24, helping families to think about the season as they count down to the big day.
The events include hands-on activities, such as making Christingles and Advent candles, baking gingerbread men, and writing Christmas cards to send to prisoners.
Father Christmas is standing outside the Co-op store on two Saturdays – not distributing gifts, but collecting them from shoppers for homeless people and prisoners. There’s also Advent meditations, a Nativity walk, and Christmas story-telling.
Advent was given a modern twist at St John’s Church, Rowlands Castle, this year. They laid out an Advent ‘labyrinth’ around the church for the second successive year. It involves worshippers using an MP3 player to guide them around a series of prayer installations, each of which helps them to think and pray about the Christmas story.
This year’s event, from 10-13 December, was a ‘Sat-Nativity’, where the journey to the nativity scene in the stable was done in the style of following a sat-nav device. Dozens of visitors were able to reflect on the Christmas story by lighting candles, eating dates, gazing at a portrait of Joseph by local artist Carol Madgwick, and finally seeing the nativity scene.
Among the visitors were 50 Year 5 and Year 6 pupils from St John the Baptist C of E Primary School in Rowlands Castle (above). Some of their teachers were so impressed, they returned that evening to sample the labyrinth experience again.
And the Portsmouth diocese will also feature on the Church of England's online Advent calendar on 22 December. The website – www.whywearewaiting.com – has been put together to showcase the Church’s commitment to preserving the environment and tackling climate change. It includes videos, podcasts, Bible passages and prayers.
