Churches across the Diocese of Winchester have been getting out and about to involve local communities in festivities and share the message of God’s love this Christmas. Here are a few stories from around our church communities, with many more events taking place in the days to come! Check out some of the inspiring ideas…
All Saints Church, Milford on Sea
Hundreds of people attended community carols in the car park of All Saints Hall, Milford. The joyful singalong was followed by mulled wine, hot chocolate, mince pies and gingerbread biscuits.
Revd Tasha Anderson said, “As a benefice we are intentionally increasing our focus throughout 2025 to reach out. The Christmas season is one of the best opportunities to lead into this. Our community car park carols grew out of Covid times when singing inside the church was not possible and we have kept it going. Our worship band, school children and community choir lead us in singing carols together around fire pits followed by mulled wine, hot chocolate and invitations to join our Christmas services and Alpha course in January.”
Derek from All Saints Church shares: “In December 2021, my wife Beverley introduced me to our Vicar, Tasha, at the Community Car Park Carols event. When Beverley suggested Tasha might convince me to attend church, I confidently said, “You’ll never get me into church.” Tasha calmly replied that I would come when ready, which I laughed off. Three years later, I’ve been baptised in the sea, confirmed, co-lead the church maintenance team, and serve as a verger. God works in extraordinary ways!”.
Avon Valley Churches
Every year, the church family of Hale & Woodgreen launch their Christmas Tree Festival at St Boniface Church. The trees are all decorated by various local groups and businesses, with a voting system in place for the public to determine the ‘Best Tree’ – something that raises much-needed money for important local causes.
The Christmas Tree Festival goes beyond all the lights and colourful tinsel as it seeks to help not just the local community, but also those much further afield. One such tree is the Trussell Foodbank tree – spindly and unadorned, it emphasises the cost of living crisis – as one visitor put it: “Bare, just as many peoples’ cupboards are”. Below the tree are labelled boxes, slowly being filled with generous donations of food, sanitary supplies, and other necessities for those in need. Elsewhere in the church, another tree, created by the local Craft Club, is decorated with hats knitted by its members – hats destined to be donated to the homeless, the Sailors’ Society, and to Ukraine.
Nearby, in the newly refurbished bus shelter, this year’s ‘Bus Stop Nativity’ was constructed – created by villager Pippa Hutchinson and friends. A mix of needle felting, knitting and crafting has culminated in a full Nativity Scene, complete with 8 figures, multiple sheep, and even two robins perched on a real bird’s nest on top. The Nativity story may be an old one, but the sentiment remains. In these difficult times it’s often challenging to remember that God is with us through the dark days as well as the light ones, and this Bus Stop Nativity helps us to remember to make space in our hearts for those who face an uncertain future.
St Bartholomew’s, Three Saints Benefice, Winchester
St Bartholomew’s Church in Winchester started “Beer and Carols” over a decade ago in the nearby pub The Hyde Tavern, with the previous vicar playing his guitar. It has grown over the years and become a regular event in the calendar. Parishioners join with members of the community to share a drink and time together and to sing their favourite carols. A collection was also taken for the Disasters Emergency Committee Middle East appeal.
Revd Karen Kouseff said, “This is a pub with a village feel so it’s good to come here and for the church to be seen in the community. It’s very informal and fun. Church is not just about being in the building. We are a church in the community and for the community. We also use this as an opportunity to raise money for charity as Christmas is about giving.”
Organiser Rose Burns said, “This is just a lovely way to get the whole community involved in an act which is praising God and having a joyful celebration of Christmas. It’s part of the church’s mission to make religion relevant to all people and it’s such an inclusive event. To have it in the local pub, which is often the centre of the community, is lovely and a great way to involve everyone.”
Bright Waters Benefice
Over 300 people attended a special ‘GOATivity’ service at All Hallows Church in Whitchurch last Sunday. People dressed in nativity costumes and there were some very special guests.
Associate Priest Revd Russell Smart said, “We invited The Three Bees Project based in Andover to bring seven of their therapy goats to act out the nativity story for us. We did it at our morning service and had over 200 people at All Hallows. We repeated it later that day at 3pm and had around 110 people. Those who came were able to meet the goats and cuddle them afterwards! They are very friendly! We were also able to take donations and raise money for this mental health project.”
Parish of the Resurrection
The Parish of the Resurrection has joined with The Butts Church and Harvest Church to organise “Pop Up Carols on a Green Space near you”. Over a fortnight carols will be sung at 16 different locations around the town with people invited to come and join in, including on housing estates, outside the sports centre, a village hall, care homes and a local pub.
Revd Andrew Micklefield, Vicar of the Parish of the Resurrection said, “Pop-Up Carols is an ecumenical initiative in Alton – a way to engage with different people who might not normally come to a church based Christmas Carol Service. We leaflet areas of the town inviting people to gather at a particular time, simply to sing some carols and get to know each other, sometimes they are offered mulled wine and mince pies. Many people have enjoyed this opportunity and new friends have been made.”
St James’ Church, West End
St James’ Church in West End has been organising a Christmas Tree Festival since 2006 and it’s now a biennial event involving many local organisations and schools. They design and create their own tree decorations or festive hangings. In the first year, 24 community groups took part and the festival has grown in popularity. Hundreds of visitors came to see the spectacle during the weekend.
Revd Linda Galvin said, “This year we saw 34 groups contributing a wonderful variety of decorations, each different but echoing the theme of ‘Peace on Earth’, something we all long for. Each tree was worthy of praise, as we offered ‘Hands United in Peace’, flew ‘Peace Doves’ and smiled at ‘Angels with Happy Faces’. Some groups were particularly interested in providing eco-friendly decorations, such as St James Primary School, and it’s amazing what you can do with an empty milk bottle and a few toilet rolls! As well as the beautiful trees, there was a weekend of musical entertainment from our local school choirs, including Woodlands, Greggs School and Harefield as well as a magnificent closing concert by Hedge End Rock Choir. The one thing that is said about St James’ Church is there is always a warm welcome and our refreshments team certainly made sure that everyone was well catered for, but these events are never about one particular group of people – but a community pulling together to offer something a little special to share with others.”
Mission to Seafarers, Southampton
The Bishop of Basingstoke and Bishop of Southampton joined the annual carol concert at the Ocean cruise terminal in Southampton. It was organised by Port Chaplain Revd James Mosher from the Mission to Seafarers along with the Port of Southampton. The Southampton Philharmonic Choir was accompanied by the Southampton Youth brass band. The Mission provides spiritual care and practical support to the thousands of seafarers who pass through the city each year.
St Mary the Virgin, Silchester
A team from St Mary-the-Virgin, Silchester, led by retired Resident Priest, Revd Rob Young, created a nativity tableau in the grounds of the local church school. The scene was unveiled last week as the children performed their nativity play.
Revd Karen West said, “As proud parents and carers left the school on a cold winter’s afternoon, they were invited to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate (with marshmallows, of course!) as they viewed the scene and took away details of the Advent and Christmas services across the Benefice, including Thursday’s Live Nativity in Tadley, organised by the local association of Churches Together. The tableau will be the starting and finishing point for this week’s school nativity trail for Years 1 and 2 who will follow the star and meet the characters of the Christmas story as they travel the perimeter of the school field.”
(Photography: Pete Hughes)
New Forest Parishes
St Michaels and All Angels in Lyndhurst hosted an alternative Christmas tree festival. It was the first one to be held in the church since before Covid.
Organiser Rosemarie Tiffen explains, “It was organised by the three churches in the Benefice, namely St Michael and All Angels, All Saints and Christchurch. We invited charities, shops and organisations to design and decorate a tree using any material as we are aware of the cost of fresh trees. We had 25 trees as well as loads of angels made by children for an Angel Competition. There were refreshments as well as an excellent raffle and sales table and live music on the Saturday including children singing and acting. Any profit from the event will be divided between 4 charities, namely Water Aid, Honeypot, Mission to Seafarers and Friends of Lyndhurst Surgery.”
