Companion contemplatives are welcome to join us at St Barnabas, Brooking for our annual Midwintertingle at 4.15pm on Sunday 22nd December (for about 30-45 minutes). Then long distance friends can join us for a virtual version at 5.30pm on Zoom. For the virtual gathering you will need to come prepared with either a Midwinter or Christingle (as above and click here for my DIY instruction video on fb!) or simply a small candle or tealight in a holder + something to light your candle. For more details and to receive the Zoom link, please contact Sam.
For those who have not been part of our Midwintertingle before… We acknowledge the inspiration of the Moravian Church, one of the most ancient protestant churches, dating back to 1457, who created the Christingle tradition in 1747 with a red ribbon wrapped around a candle to celebrate the light of Christ at Christmas. Later the candle and ribbon were combined with an orange to create more contemporary Christingles as popularised by the Children’s Society.
We take an approach that is more accessible to people of any sacred or secular orientation and use local apples with a candle within a simple, contemplative ceremony that includes silent time to appreciate the darkness, before the first midwintertingle is lit and the light passed from person to person as we gather together, to mark the growing light of the sun in the days following midwinter and all that both the beauty of the dark and the returning light may symbolise for us at this time.
Please note: This is an inclusive language event, both in terms of sacred & secular traditions & in terms of gender.