Reading my comments from last year’s Christmas message, I was hoping that things were starting to improve – now I am not so sure! 2020 will certainly go down as Annus Horribilis not only for our group of villages, but the country and the world as a whole. We certainly do not want too many of them in a one hundred year period! We all go through a bad patch from time to time for whatever reason, but for all of us to be thrown into a maelstrom not of our making, is a rare thing indeed.

2021 began as a year of great hope for a return to normal life, which it has, but with one hand tied behind our backs! We try to get our lives back on track, only to find we end up in countless dead ends of red tape and officialdom – and all for our own good! Will this be the new norm? We pray not.

If we feel our lives have not returned to anything like normal, we can look to someone who is a constant source of continuity and comfort. For all his run-ins with officials, Jesus understood that life is not easy, but is made a whole lot easier by being at peace, knowing that you have a Father who loves and cares for you. The saying, ‘a problem shared, is a problem halved’, is never truer than when praying for guidance and support throughout difficult times. We have certainly needed to find peace in this chaos, I know I have.

In Church Langton in 2020 and also 2021, we have been blessed by the arrivals of new babies to several of our young families. Speaking as a child of the village myself, it’s been wonderful to see these precious new lives begin, as mine did, in this most beautiful and peaceful part of the world, and to welcome them into our family community.

At this Christmas time, when we are reminded that humanity was saved by a baby and the peace, joy and love shone around; I pray that you let that love rub off on you, so you see life maybe, in a way you once did, or as a revelation.

Maxine Johnson,
Lay Reader

Service pattern for Christmas for our churches
The Langtons and Shangton

We are delighted to invite you and your families to attend in person – following current Covid-19 guidelines for England.

A special date for your diaries in 2022:
We are delighted to invite you to enjoy and sing!
Handel’s ‘Messiah’
Performed by Knighton Chamber Orchestra and Community Choir on
Saturday 14th May 2022 at 7.30 pm.
In aid of St. Peter’s church building fund
Tickets: £5 to sing; £15 to listen
Book tickets: or register your interest by email to r.folwell@btinternet.com

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