The spirit of Christmas all year long

The decorations are put away. The gifts exchanged, sorted and stored. But does the spirit of Christmas have to end?

The angels in announcing the birth of Jesus to the shepherds sang out, ‘Peace on earth and good will to all!’

Once again in 2017, the Salvation Army in Harpenden held its free Christmas Day party for the lonely and needy. It is a wonderful event with Christmas dinner, gifts, and carol singing—a real celebration.

The Salvation Army have to manage two sets of people for the event.

One is the people wanting to come and receive the meal, many needing lifts.

The other is the volunteers offering to help drive, serve the meal and help with the party. Usually the list of volunteers is longer than the list of people wanting to come.

I think that is amazing, so many folks willing to give up part of their own Christmas celebration to come and serve others.

The volunteers come from all over the area. They are church folk and folk who simply want to serve the community, both wishing to extend good will to those who are alone and disadvantaged.

Christmas often evokes a spirit of giving and generosity.

In the busyness of our lives, January to November 2018, let’s remember to make time to serve others and help those in need.

Let’s keep the Christmas spirit alive all year long, offering goodwill to all.

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