The Bletchley and Milton Keynes congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a Christmas Carol concert with generous donations for the Milton Keynes Foodbank which was attended by around 250 members, friends and guests.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
John Marshall, manager of the Foodbank, was delighted with the impressive donation and said they were not used to such a large contribution coming from a single source. He wrote, "Your support enables us to continue our support of those who are in need at our busiest time of year and ensure that no child or adult goes hungry in our city over the holidays."
The Christmas story was told by readers as a personal testimony of those sacred events, with words adapted from the scriptures. It was particularly poignant to hear the testimonies of Janie and David who had recently been delivered of their first child, a son, demonstrating in their communication the wonder of that event.
Under the direction of choir director, Debbie Carter, joint congregational choirs sang 'Oh Come, Oh come Emmanuel', 'Gabriel’s Message', and ‘With Wondering Awe’. Members Jim Joliffe and Liz Lomas flew back home from their work in the Middle East to perform a beautiful duet of 'Sleepsong - Lullaby from a Secret Garden' with voice, piano and flute.
Bishop Reeves of the Bletchley congregation gave the closing remarks and commented, "I love this time of year where we join with the world in remembering the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ. As we listen to the spoken words and sing sacred hymns about the saviour's birth we can feel the Holy Spirit testify of truth."
On the night everyone brought along donations for the Milton Keynes Food bank resulting in a huge mountain of tinned and dry goods."