'Drop down dews from Heaven, and let the clouds rain down justice'. These are beautiful words from the prophet Isaiah which point to the coming of Christ, God descending from the Heavens and uniting Himself to Earth. This mystery of our faith is so deep that it is hard to get our heads around it, but the liturgy, the Church's great work of prayer and worship, has a way of helping us to enter and participate in this experience. Early in the morning, whilst it was still dark, towards the shortest day of the year, and the longest night, parishioners gathered in the church for a candlelit Mass, the Rorate Caeli Mass. The flickering of the candlelight, the stillness of the morning, and the celebration of the Mass, captured in an intense way the mystery of the Incarnation, the Eternal Word becoming flesh, in silence, in Bethlehem, in Workington.

Through the course of Advent we prepared to receive this mystery with ever greater awe and wonder. The Preface of the Nativity speaks of how 'In the mystery of the Word made flesh a new light of glory has shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that, as we recognise in [Christ] God made visible, we may be caught up through him in love of things invisible'. Our preparations this year were transformed by some wonderful choral experiences, first with the Oswald Singers, who are our fantastic local choral society, and then with the arrival of  the Adamas Voces Choir. Vaughn Richardson is Adamas's Director and he had been playing the organ for a wedding in the Summer in Workington and was the first to propose the idea of a festival of music with Compline, a Sung Mass and an Advent Carol Service, making use of the fantastic acoustic in Our Lady's & St Michael's church and the Hill organ. Adamas Voces is made up of singers from the breadth and length of the United Kingdom with some singers travelling from as far away as the Outer Hebrides, from the West of Wales, and from East Anglia. What united them, though, was their love of music, and the parish and wider community were spoilt with a smorgasbord of heavenly delight. Music certainly lifts the soul and the school concerts and the carol concerts of this season, and the angelic voices of our parish choirs helped us all to draw that bit closer to the mystery of what we are celebrating. 

In our parish we are blessed by many people who transform the churches with splendour, assembling the cribs, decorating the church, arranging flowers, putting up the Christmas trees, cleaning and polishing the brasses, and making sure all is the best it can be. We also have a fantastic team of altar servers. Our parish Master of Ceremonies is also President of the Guild of St Stephen in the United Kingdom, and alot of effort goes into training up our fantastic team of altar servers. Before the excitement of Christmas, all of our servers were invited to a prayer and pizza night. Once again we gathered in the quiet of a candlelit side chapel, dedicated to Our Lady, and sang and prayed together before working our way through boxes of pizzas and some fun games. Our serving team ranges from those who have served faithfully for 70 years and those who are only just beginning. In total, we have about 23 altar servers at present, and they, without even being aware of it, ensure the solemnity and dignity of the sacred liturgy and help others to lift up their minds and hearts to God. On the feast of St Stephen, Boxing Day, three of our servers, Chinedu, Olivia and Dominic all received their medals for dedicated service.

Of course Christmas is not something to keep for ourselves, but throughout Advent many people were involved in reaching out to others who might be struggling at this time. Parishioners donated a great number of toys so that children who might not receive presents this Christmas could receive gifts. These were delivered to schools in Workington, Harrington, and Mirehouse so that they could be distributed. Also Christmas boxes filled with homemade cakes and confectionary were presented to almost one hundred housebound people. Included with the boxes were handmade Christmas cards made by the children from St Patrick's Catholic Primary School. And all of our schools put on a number of nativity plays and carol services to celebrate the season and to share something of its joy with the wider community.

On behalf of the whole parish, the clergy would like to thank all those who have made Christmas such a special time. Our faith is such a gift and to celebrate it well is one way we can express our love of God and of our neighbour which is at the heart of our church's mission.