ADVENT UPDATE
Advent and The Christmas Journey
Advent is now upon us! A time to prepare and contemplate the coming of our saviour Jesus. A beacon of hope amongst all the difficulties of any year but especially this year.
But Christmas can only be a source of hope if we know the ‘real reason for the season’. So many children in our schools only know the ‘Christmas of Santa and shopping’. Some families can afford that and have a lovely time each year but there are always families who struggle with debt and the expectations of giving material presents. A time of hope becomes a time of added anxiety and pressure. But for all these families (whether they can afford Christmas or not), they are missing the wondrous gift and hope that God has sent.
To focus on Santa and to aim for material wealth leaves people empty and sometimes broken but to focus on Jesus gives us an ongoing hope for the future, whatever our circumstances. It is a hope founded on the promises of an unfailing God. A hope that leaves us full and allows us to be who God created us to be. A hope that inspires us to look outwards instead of inwards. A hope that leads to peace and a release from the constant pressures of this world.
That is why we have launched the online Christmas Journey in association with Lift the Lid and Scarborough Christian Fellowship - to show children the true meaning of Christmas and to let them know that there is another dimension to the celebration that is Christmas. You can see the trailer here:
At the time of writing, we have thirteen, out of twenty-six Scarborough schools signed up to participate in this project. That’s far more than were able to partake last year. God is bringing good out of a bad situation. All five episodes will be available to view publicly after the 11th December, 2020.
Assemblies
FISS have written and produced two, online assemblies this term. It has been a steep learning curve for our filming and editing skills, but hopefully, we are improving and speeding up! Subscribe to our YouTube channel for future resources:
https://www.youtube.com/
Prayer Drive
Just before lockdown, Catherine and Christina were able to do a prayer drive where they visited as many schools as they could and prayed outside each one. Schools were informed of the plan but they made no contact with them while they were there and did not go onto school property. However, each school was sent a photo of Catherine and Christina outside and a copy of the prayer that was said. Everything was Covid risk assessed. We managed to get round sixteen schools and hope to do the same for the other ten, very soon. It was a lovely way to connect with the schools at a time when we are not able go in. This is the prayer:
Why not consider saying this prayer for YOUR local school?
New website planned
A new and updated website is planned. This will be a priority in the new year and will provide an option to sign up to email newsletters and updates.
Easy fundraising
Please sign up for Easyfundraising to support FISS:
https://www.easyfundraising.
It is enables you to raise money as you shop online with no cost to yourself. By downloading a reminder tool onto your browser, it will remind you whenever the donations are available. Thank you.
FAITH IN SCARBOROUGH SCHOOLS WISHES YOU A PEACEFUL AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS. MAY THE GIFT OF THE CHRIST CHILD BRING YOU JOY THIS CHRISTMAS TIME.