The local Church of England Chaplaincy of Ss Peter and Paul, Torrevieja will be celebrating Christmas with a number of special services at La Siesta Ecumenical Church, Calle Granados, Torrevieja.
“Celebrating the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the year of the Pandemic has meant a bit of a re-think in the way we do things,” said Father Richard A. Seabrook SSC, the local English-speaking Priest, “but nevertheless we look forward to a joyful celebration of Our Saviour´s birth.”
With the background of the Pandemic, the necessary restrictions of the Comunidad Valenciana and the guidelines of the Church of England, the Chaplaincy hopes that the special services will still be able to focus people on what Christmas is all about in the eyes of the Church. “We can´t have a Midnight Mass this year because of the toque de queda (curfew) and, in any case, it seems a little unfair to ask people to carry out a deep clean of the church at 1 a.m!” said Father Seabrook.
“But,” he said “we can offer our traditional Nine Lessons and Carols and Mass of the Day on Christmas morning, albeit with a maximum number of people set at thirty-two.” The Valencian regulations allow a 30% capacity at the moment.
Father Seabrook continued “It has been such a horrible year and for many, many people this will be a first Christmas without a loved one because of the Pandemic. Many people feel lonely and anxious. Lots of people haven´t seen their loved ones for ages and can´t visit at Christmas.”
He hopes that these traditional celebrations of Christmas will give joy and hope to those who come to the services to find, as he says, “The light of God shining in the stable of Bethlehem, the light of God shining on the darkness of the world at this time.”
Father Seabrook paid special tribute to all those who have worked so hard in the Chaplaincy in the past year especially “the loyal team of helpers and cleaners who come, week after week, to ensure that our worship is Covid-19 safe.”
“I look forward to welcoming those who come to our special services to celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord.” said Father Seabrook.
The services are as follows:
Monday 21st December 1800 Nine Lessons and Carols
Friday 25th December 1030 Mass of Christmas Day
Sunday 27th December 1400 Mass of the Holy Family
Please contact Sue Maude (wardenlasiesta@gmail.com) if you would like to go to any of the services.
