Pateley Bridge Christingle service is postponed
One of the main Christmas events in Pateley Bridge has been postponed because of covid concerns.
The annual Christingle Service, which has been held at the parish church of St Cuthbert for more than 30 years, has been put on hold until next year.
Organiser Joyce Liggins told the Stray Ferret:
“It’s disappointing, as we were all set for Christmas Eve, but we decided to postpone, because of the covid situation.
“We are now looking to re-schedule, possibly for the first week in February.
“It’s a shame, because many local people view the service as their start to the festive season and the church is usually packed.
“Over the years, the service has also raised funds for the Children’s Society and while we can’t go ahead on Christmas Eve, we hope that people will still support the society.”
Donations can be made through a newly set up JustGiving page.
Last year, with a covid lockdown in place, a virtual Christingle service from St Cuthbert’s was posted on Facebook and £750 was raised through donations.
Since 1968, Christingle services have been held across the UK to raise money for the Children’s Society charity, which helps vulnerable young people.
The Christingle tradition has, like the bringing of an evergreen tree into a house, its roots in Germany and dates back to the 18th century, when it was introduced by Moravian Bishop Johannes de Watteville.
Read more:
Pateley Bridge maintains Christingle tradition for charityDespite the COVID-19 lockdown and its limitations on the festive season, the special spirit of Christmas is being maintained in Pateley Bridge this year.
The annual Christingle Service, that has been held at the Parish Church of St Cuthbert for more than 30 years, is going virtual and can be seen online at 6pm on Christmas Eve.
In the meantime, a video showing how Christingles are made, has been posted on the St Cuthbert Facebook page.
Organiser Mrs Joyce Liggins told the Stray Ferret:
“Many local people view the Christmas Eve service as their start to the festive season and the church is usually packed.
“In normal years the congregation make up their Christingles during the service with a candle and an orange and they make their donation to the Children’s Society in a box provided.
“Unfortunately, with the coronavirus crisis, we cannot hold the service this year, but we didn’t want the charity to lose out, so Gillian Yeadon and I asked St Aidan’s students Jasmine, Eve and Amy to sing for us and with the help of The Rev. Darryl Hall and Sue Hickson, who did video recordings, we were able to capture two Christingle events.”
An image from a Christmas past of St Cuthbert’s in Pateley Bridge (photograph courtesy of Geoff Liggins)
The Christingle tradition has, like the bringing of an evergreen tree into a house, its roots in Germany and dates back to the 18th century, when it was introduced by Moravian Bishop Johannes de Watteville.
Since 1968 Christingle services have been held across the UK to raise money for the Children’s Society charity, which helps vulnerable young people.
Read more:
In 2018, St Cuthbert’s was one of 6,000 locations throughout the country to support the society’s #Christingle50 campaign, which raised more than £1.2 million.
Anybody who would like to support the Pateley Bridge Christingle this year and donate to The Children’s Society, can obtain a Christingle Collecting Candle or go to the fundraising page and give a donation online.
Collecting candles and Christingle kits can be obtained from joyce.m.liggins51@gmail.com
Donations can be made through our online fundraising page at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Joyce-Liggins1