NEWSLETTER
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Mandy's Musings
As our Travelling Nativity makes its way around the families in our three villages, I wonder if it comes across any other Nativity scenes in the homes it visits? We know the figures of the Nativity story so well and they create a scene in our minds. Central is Mary and Joseph looking down at the tiny baby in a manger of hay. Flanked on either side are the shepherds and various animals. Sometimes the Three Kings are represented - although historically they visited the child Jesus much later in a home. This scene is one of the most famous in history and is recreated in different ways all through our land and the world - in plays, with figures, in Advent Calendars, on Christmas cards and many other ways. We will not have to look far this Advent season to see a representation of the Nativity scene. And for that I am very thankful. I am glad it is still a powerful image in our ever more commercialised and self orientated Christmas. For me, the scene is about the mystery of God's love. It is about how the God of the whole universe came down and became a human being to grow and live amongst us, His beloved creation. And in that scene, even if we can't grasp the spiritual mystery of how it was possible, we have Love at the very centre. In 1223, St Francis wanted people to experience afresh God's love for them at Christmas time and it is widely believed that he created the first ever Nativity scene in a cave in Greccio, a rustic village some 80km north of Rome. On Christmas Eve, Francis held a Mass in which the Nativity scene was re-enacted - villagers playing the parts, a rag doll for the baby and even an Ox and an Ass - a striking forerunner of Nativity plays and services that we see today. In Francis' time, he wanted people to be brought into a fresh understanding of how much God loved people. He thought that the societal traditions and liturgies of the day were too distant and not relevant to people's lives. By enacting a REAL nativity, he hoped to bring people closer to God. Not too much different from today is it? During this season, I hope that we will all be able to share our love for our families and all those around us, but when we next look at a Nativity scene, I also hope that we will be struck by the way God has shared His love for us, and that we are his beloved.
Every blessing,
Mandy
Coffee and Chat
7.45 pm, Thursday, 18 December
10 The Limes, Harston.
Bring a prose and/or poetry reading suitable for the festive season of Christmas. There may be an alternative to 'Coffee'!
In Conversation 2026
Save the dates
7pm for 7.30pm, All Saints’, Harston
28 January 2026, Tom Heap
26 February, Simon Woolley
25 March, Julie Spence
5 June, Evelyn Glennie
Food Hub
Wed & Sat 11.30-12.30pm in Harston Baptist Church email: harstonfoodhub@gmail.com
Harston Community Food Hub has two separate sections that operate in different ways and have different aims.
FOOD BANK
The ‘Food Bank’ provides emergency food support to residents of Harston and the surrounding villages (mainly Hauxton, Foxton, Newton, Haslingfield, Barrington and Shepreth). It is part of a network of food banks that operate in South Cambridgeshire. Bags of non-perishable food are made up using food donated or bought with donations. Support from the food bank is intended to help people through a crisis.
FRESHFOOD LARDER
The ‘Fresh Food Larder’ distributes fruit, vegetables and bread and is part of an initiative that helps to avoid food waste. Donations of surplus stock are picked up from local supermarkets and farm shops by volunteers (often the night before) or brought in by local growers. Whilst much of the food is collected by people visiting the food bank, food from the fresh food larder is available to everyone no matter where they live or the circumstances they are in.
Trumpington Memory Cafe
Every third Wednesday of the month,10am-12 noon at The Pavilion, Paget Road, (opposite Anstey Way), Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 9JF
Run jointly by Trumpington Parish Church and the Rotary Club.
A place where people with varying forms of memory loss can visit with their carers and support each other and have fun. Call 01223 840268 to book a place and please give your name(s).
Free admission to Ely Cathedral
All electoral roll members are eligible for a free pass to Ely Cathedral. If you would like one, please fill in this form and ask Mandy or a churchwarden to sign it. You can then present the form at the Cathedral to get your pass.