St Columba’s Church enjoyed a very successful weekend on 13-14 December.  Hundreds of people visited the church to see the exhibition of the famous Knitted Bible, and/or to sit down for some warm refreshments.  The display of 33 scenes from Bible stories ran right round the worship area, starting with “In the Beginning” and “Adam and Eve”, and taking us through Old Testament characters such as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samson, Daniel and Jonah (who was in the process of being swallowed by the whale).  New Testament tableaux included the Nativity, the wedding in Cana, the Good Samaritan, the feeding of the 5000, the raising of Lazarus, Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the crucifixion, and a final breakfast on the beach.

The needlework was done over several years by our sister church, St George’s, Hartlepool, and it regularly travels the country for display in various places.

The exhibition raised some £500 in donations for the Great North Air Ambulance Service.

At worship on the Sunday morning, we had a Victorian carol service, at the same time that the town’s Victorian Christmas market was in full swing outside in Northumberland Square.  We heard about how some of our Christmas traditions formed in the Victorian era – including Christmas trees and many of the carols we sing today.  With each carol we sang, we also heard a story of how it came to be written, or what the context was.