We are delighted to offer two Christmas card designs featuring St Peter’s church, both images taken on a gloriously snowy day last year by our super photographer parishioners Melissa Johnston and Dave Baxter. Thank you both for giving us permission to use your photos.
The front cover wording is ‘Christmas Greetings’ and the wording inside is ‘Wishing you Peace, Love and Joy’
The Christmas cards are on sale now – £1 each. Place your orders with Roz Folwell by email r.folwell@btinternet.com or phone on 01858 545160. Thanks to Roz for kindly organising these beautiful cards and overseeing the sales and production.
The Langton Churches and Welham (see Christmas Day) – This listing also includes carol services and the Nativity/Crib service. All services on Sundays except where indicated. We look forward to welcoming you!
Advent and Carol Services
4th December, Holy Communion 6pm Thorpe Langton, Martin Hathaway
4th December, Family Evening Service 6pm, Tur Langton, Jonathan Dowman 5.30pm Refreshments
11th December, Holy Communion, 10.30am, Church Langton, Martin Hathaway
18th December, Carol Service, 6pm, Tur Langton, Jonathan Dowman
18th December, Carol Service, 6pm, Thorpe Langton, Philip Norwood
21st December, Carol Service, 7.30pm, Church Langton, (Wednesday) Martin Hathaway/Maxine Johnson
Christmas Worship
23rd December Nativity, 4.00pm, Tur Langton, Jonathan Dowman (Friday)
24th December, Midnight Communion, 11.30pm, Tur Langton, (Saturday) Martin Hathaway/Maxine Johnson
25th December, Holy Communion, 9.00am, Welham, Ian Gemmell
25th December, All Age Worship, 10.30am, Thorpe Langton, Maxine Johnson
New Year – 2023 – No services on January 1st – Happy New Year!
8th January, Holy Communion, 10.30am, Church Langton, Martin Hathaway
COVID GUIDANCE: All services are now live in church, observing the current UK Government guidance: Masks/face coverings are now optional, but we ask that if you have symptoms, please do not attend. Please check updates onLeicester Diocese’s website
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.
Church Langton
ST. PETER’S CHURCH LANGTON 12th December – Communion Revd Martin Hathaway 10.30am 19th December – Carols, Readings and Communion Revd Martin Hathaway 10.30am
Tur Langton
ST. ANDREW’S TUR LANGTON 12th December – Carols/Nativity Maxine Johnson 6.00pm 24th December – Midnight Mass Revd Martin Hathaway 11.00pm
Thorpe Langton
ST. LEONARD’S THORPE LANGTON 19th December – Carol Service Canon Philip Norwood 6.00pm 25th December – Family Communion Revd Martin Hathaway 10.30am
Shangton
ST. NICHOLAS SHANGTON 19th December – Carol Service Tim Tregunno, Chaplain to Oakham School 6.00pm
Christmas worship in the Langtons and Shangton Benefice
St Peter’s woolly nativity
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
St Peter's Church, Church Langton 