Arms Wide Open - SEVEN Carol Services

This year King's Church is running 7 carol services, this includes 4 whole church evening events and 3 site based morning events.  This is all running within the theme of Arms Wide Open which I think is such a strong theme that links the Message (preaching), the Moment (the carol services) and Mercy together.  The 4 evening carol services will be of the usual very high standard including traditional carols, children or Youth performance, drama and readings.  In fact this year we have asked some guests to do a reading at each service.  Sir Steve Bullock, Heidi Alexander MP and Keiran Lang who is the Young Mayor of Lewisham (and also attends King's Church) have all agreed to doing a reading.  As per previous years there will be short section near the end of the carol services that profiles the Jericho Road Project.  This year I am excited that I will be bringing a prayer and a short explanation of the project.  There will be a 'retiring' offering for the project as well.

So please do attend the carol services, Friday 7.30pm, Saturday 5pm and Sunday 5pm and 7.30pm.

Please look at the King's Church Arms Wide Open website which is looking great.  (Ben and Brett have done a brilliant job on the promotion of Arms Wide Open!)

Today I am meeting Heidi Alexander MP, who is supporting our promotion of Caring Christmas Trees.  We will send out a press release later today!  I am very pleased with how the sales are progressing.  The economic downturn is very real so I am delighted that we are on course to slightly improve our sales total of last year and I am hoping that we will raise about £4000 for the project.  Lewisham Life have mentioned us in their latest edition and I understand that in their enewsletter next week there is another mention.

Finally the Arms Wide Open Hampers project has seen such a fantastic response.  The community of King's Church has risen to this with arms wide open.  We have given out about 230 boxes in the last 2 weeks and I am expecting that we will collect about that number of full hampers in the next 2 weeks.  Boxes are to be returned by Sunday 11th December.  I am loving the stories of people from King's going into their offices and explaining that their church is collecting hampers and then the staff are deciding which items they will bring in.  I have increased the number of outlets for the boxes so now we are working with the social services teams working with at risk children, those on police protection and the young children teams, Lewisham Refugee Network, The Bridge School of English and the King's Church Pastoral care team. 

This Christmas the arms of King's Church are reaching out further than ever before.