THE WORSHIPFUL MORN

 

The bells of Christmas ring out clear

On the special day across the land

Family and friends come together

With warm embrace or shake of hand

Then together answer the call to enter

The happy faces of young and old

Of those occupying every seat or pew

In the church bedecked in green and gold

Lifted the heart and warmed the soul

The glad ragged and dapper dressed

The cheerfully demeanoured little girls

And little boys with hair unmessed

All come together on Christmas day

To share the celebration and rejoice

To mark the birth of the baby lord

Love and peace heard in every voice

As in harmony the congregation sing

Heartily in praise of Christ the King

CHRISTMAS MORNING

 

Heralding the special day

As sweet undisturbed the cherubs lay

Early as Christmas day is dawning

The birds sing out on Christmas morning

Halleluiah, halleluiah cheer

Christ the savior’s day is here

And as awakes every little dear

One by one the lights appear

Yellow light piercing the darkness

Like stars populating heavens blackness

Until every house across the land is lit

To make a constellation to quite befit

A celebration across the earth

To celebrate the Christ Childs birth

Then with giggles and boisterous shout

The whirlwind kinder sets about

The present sack with great delight

Throwing paper to the left and right

And when they see the gifts inside

They’re open mouthed and wide eyed

Then peace restored after the early rout

The church bells call, the bells ring out

Good morning they seem to say

Merry Christmas on this special day

With purposeful step and a happy heart

We make our way to play our part

To give hearty praise and uplift

Rejoicing at the first Christmas gift

THE FEAST DAY OF SAINT ANDREW

 

The feast day of Saint Andrew

Is Scotland’s National Day

When the Scottish people

Celebrate Saint Andrew's Day

ONE OF THE TWELVE - ANDREW THE APOSTLE

 

One of the twelve

Andrew the Apostle

The son of John

Brother of Simon

From the village of Bethsaida

On the Sea of Galilee

Originally a fisherman

Turned to a fisher of men

By Jesus of Galilee

Witness of the ascension

Who spread the gospels

Far and wide

Martyred by crucifixion

At the city of Patras in Achaea

 

Feast day 30^th November

 

THE BLESSED SEASON

 

God richly blesses us

The Good Lord fulfils us

And bestows love upon us

This and every Christmas

BLESSED DAY

 

It was the day when Jesus Christ was born

That long, long ago first Christmas Morn,

The child whose coming had been foretold

A child more precious than diamonds or gold

God’s great gift to us on that blessed day

That most glorious first Christmas day

CHRISTINGLE (ACROSTIC)

 

Candles

Holly

Red ribbon

Incense

Sweets

Tinsel

Inspiration

Noel

Gold

Light

Eternal

CHRISTMAS

Christ the lord

Holy birth in Bethlehem

Regal child in David’s city

Infant of God

Sent from heaven above

To die for us

Messiah in a manger

Angelic miracle

Saviour of man

CHRISTINGLE MINGLE

 

It is the season that makes my senses tingle

The time of year when the sleigh bells jingle

And we come together for the Christingle mingle

When the Clauses and the Grinches intermingle

And happy clappy’s and traditionalists comingle

As we celebrate the service of Christingle

A TIME OF MIRACLES

 

The cynics say of miracles

That they are a scarce commodity,

If they happen at all

But to my mind

There is nothing more miraculous

Than the birth of a child

It may be the most common placed

Of miracles

But it is miraculous

Nonetheless

BELLS AND SMELLS

 

Bells and smells

Bells and smells

Christmas all the way

Oh what fun it is to sing

Of the holy Christmas day

THE GREAT STAR OF LIGHT

 

The great star of light

Graced the nativity

Where the holy family,

Mary and her child

And the Noble Joseph

Dwelt in the humble stall

 

The beasts in the stable

The Kings of the east

And shepherds from the hill

Witnessed the gift of love

Given by a gracious God

To the sinful world

THE HERALDS OF THE LORD

 

The heralds of the Lord

Sung in one accord

Speaking of a child

So meek and mild

A halo on its curls

A gift to the world

A beacon in the night

Exuding loving light

THE CHURCH IS FULL

 

The church is full

On Christmas day

From miles around

They came to praise

And share in the joy

Of the blessed gift

Given to the world

To heal the rift

BLESSED IS THE HOLY SEASON

 

Blessed is the holy season

Jesus Christ is the reason

Let the garlands be unfurled

For a gift of love unto the world

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

 

This is the happy season

Of peace and goodwill

And joy to the world

Let good rule over ill

Merry Christmas world

From here to Brazil

Joy to the entire world

For peace is Gods will

STALKS AND STEMS

 

On a bed of haulm

In a stable bare

The son of God

Is laying there

ITS NOT THAT I’M ANTI SOCIAL

 

I won’t come to the pub

Thank you all the same

Not in celebration

No thanks I will refrain

 

I will go to church

Thank you all the same

To celebrate the day

That the Lord came

ON A STILL CLEAR NIGHT

 

The shepherds rested in the firelight

When they were woken on a still clear night

By heavens choir hastening them

To go forth unto Bethlehem

The heavenly choir

Sang of Gods desire

To give the world his son

His one and only one

The choir continued to sing

And announced the birth of a king

CHRISTMAS IS A GIFT

 

Christmas is a gift

A gift to the world

Of infinite grace

A special gift

Of redemption for all

Don’t cast it aside

THE SALVATION ARMY BELLS

 

The sound of Christmas really tells

In the ring of the Salvation Army bells

Calling out into the dark

Calling out to the heart

Ringing out in the throng

Singing out a heralding song

Give a little, not a lot

Give a little for their lot

They have little, but are not less

Give your coins and let them bless

A tale of generosity tells

In the ring of the Salvation Army’s bells

CHRISTMAS CANDLES

(Sung to the tune of Sixteen Candles)

 

Christmas Candles, make a lovely light

But not as bright as the light of Christ
(as the light of Christ) (Oh)
Light up the candles, for all the world to view

For every candle says, Happy Christmas to you

(Happy Christmas to you)

 

THE FEAST OF ST MARTIN OF TOURS

 

St. Martin's Day,

Or the Feast of St. Martin,

Martinstag, Martinmas

Or Martin le Miséricordieux

The Feast of St Martin of Tours,

Is a time for feasting celebrations

On November the 11^th

When the autumn wheat fields

Were sown for the following year

And the annual slaughter

Of well fattened cattle

To produce "Martinmas beef"

And it was also the time

When hiring fairs were held

Where farm unemployed labourer’s

Could find new work

 

Feast Day November 11^th

ST MARTIN OF TOURS

 

Started out as a Roman soldier

But was baptized as an adult

And then became a monk

It is understood that he was a kind man

Who led a quiet and simple life

The most famous legend of his life,

Was when he was still a soldier,

It is the story about the time

That he cut his cloak in half

To share with a beggar

To protect him during a snowstorm,

Which saved the beggars life

That same night he dreamed that Jesus

Was wearing the half-cloak

Martin heard Jesus say to the angels,

"Here is Martin, the Roman soldier

Who is not baptised; he has clothed me"

CS LEWIS CAME TO GOD

 

CS Lewis came to God

The long way round

But because of this

His faith was sound

 

And he knew the truth,

He called Christ’s birth

The central event

In the history of the earth

A WINTER’S TALE

 

It was in sixteenth century Germany, or so the legend has it, in a town called Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt.

That the founder of the protestant church, Martin Luther, was the first to decorate a Christmas tree with lighted candles.

Apparently when he was walking home through the forest one dark and frosty winter’s night, his attention was drawn to the myriad of bright stars that he could see sparkling and twinkling through the branches of the fir trees.

The beauty of the nights display had a great effect on him and he proceeded home very excited.

When he arrived home, he relayed to his family what he had seen and what had excited him so and almost immediately he set about decorating his Christmas tree with candles and then to his families surprise he lit them.

Goodness only knows what his family thought that he was possessed possibly.

And what of the other people in the town what did they think of him and his antics.

It probably caused more consternation than the reformation.

THE FIRST NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Bethlehem,

Joseph was searching for a room for them

He searched and he searched all-round the town

But nowhere to stay for them could be found

So, they went to a stable and in a bed made of hay

The Christ child was born on the first Christmas Day

SING IN PRAISE

We stand around the Christmas tree

And sing to the Christmas melodies

We thank the lord for what we are

Standing beneath the Christmas star

To celebrate the Christ child's birth

When he came to us to save the earth