Posada cerates community nativity

Christmas in Freckleton has become more than twinkling lights, it’s a season of shared stories, faith and community. With the help of Deacon Kim Gabbatiss, Minister with Pastoral Care at Freckleton Methodist Church in the Blackpool and South Fylde Methodist Circuit, local businesses have discovered new ways to celebrate Advent.

What began last year with carol-themed displays has now grown into something deeper with the introduction of the Posada, a travelling nativity that brings Mary, Joseph and the donkey into shops, homes and community spaces, inviting everyone to pause, reflect and rediscover the true meaning of Christmas.

The village shop keepers were keen to hear Kim’s plans for this Christmas. Last year she encouraged them to put displays in their windows based on favourite Christmas carols. Each day during Advent, shops would reveal a different carol to create a Christmas trail around the village.

For this Christmas, the church wanted to create a Posada. A Posada is a Spanish word which means 'inn'. Shops and businesses in the village would welcome the Posada, a box containing the figures of Mary, Joseph and the Donkey, for one day and one night. Kim has also added an Advent candle, some Advent reflections for adults and a Christmas storybook and colouring activities for children. There is also a journal in the box, inviting people to write their own reflections, questions, thoughts or prayers.

As Kim was out in the village delivering the Posada, she heard some of the wonderful personal stories that the box has reminded people of. One lady shared that when she was a child, Christmas was always about the presents under the tree, but then when her grandma died, she began to think differently about Christmas and about the people she loves. She asked if she could receive the Posada on her son's birthday. As a Chaplain, Kim feels so privileged that people share their stories with her and feels they are very precious.

Kim says, “As the Posada travels to the different parts of the village, I pray for those who receive the box and make the characters welcome, that they sense God with them, Emmanuel - God with us!”

Many places in the village have agreed to welcome the Posada; the chip shop, hair salons, sandwich shops and cafes along with organisations including the local choir, two care homes, a nursery and a playgroup. Church members have also welcomed the Posada into their homes.

“At one shop, I was expecting just to leave the box with the shopkeeper but, as I opened the box to reveal the characters, the shop-keeper began to share something of her story with me. It brought back memories of times with her own family. Her mum had died but she shared with me how her mum’s faith had been important to her mum as we lit the Advent candle.”

The chip shop posted a message on Facebook, along with photos, which exclaimed, “What a truly special evening to have the beautiful Posada box in our little chippy”. Meanwhile a hairdresser displayed the characters with Mary having her hair done while Jospeh relaxed.

“The community has really embraced the idea of the ‘travelling nativity’,” says Kim. “It has been a wonderful way of building bridges between church and the wider community and between the shopkeepers and their customers. There has been an excitement about receiving the box but a greater sense of joy in actually taking the lid off the box and discovering what’s inside.

Kim feels she has received as much, if not more than she has offered, and says “I sensed God’s comfort and compassion in the sharing of the conversations and the reading of the reflections with those welcoming the Posada Box. Jesus meets people where they are, physically and spiritually. The Posada has definitely met and ‘been with’ people where they are.”

The prayer which is shared by both the visitor and the welcomer is:

We prepare to celebrate, once again, the birth of Jesus,
a baby born over 2000 years ago, who continues to transform lives today.
We thank you God, for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Help us as we prepare to celebrate you and remember the real meaning of Christmas.
Amen.

“I continue to pray that God will continue to transform lives and remind people of the real meaning of Christmas,” says Kim.