We’re all familiar with Advent calendars – now Anna Chaplain Joan Grenfell, based in Newcastle, has compiled an Advent A-Z that she’s sharing as part of her ministry to older people in the north-east.
Joyce was commissioned as an Anna Chaplain in 2019. Unable to visit care homes during the first coronavirus lockdown ealier this year, she reflected on what her ministry would look like when she would eventually be given access again.
‘I can’t breeze in as if nothing has happened. Something very significant has happened. I will want to say that the light of Christ can never be extinguished, and that there is nothing, neither virus, nor death, nor fear, nor anxiety, nor social distancing, nor anything else in all creation, that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.’
In September, as restrictions in the north-east tightened once again, she started writing ‘thoughts for the day’ to assure residents and staff that they weren’t forgotten.
Now her Advent A-Z is bringing Christmas cheer, reminding older people and their carers of what the festivities are really all about.
