Elspeth Kernebone
5 December 2023
A small Melbourne parish is shining the light of hope this Christmas quite literally, with a staggering display of Christmas lights.
St Agnes’ Black Rock is aiming to be the brightest place in the area for Christmas. It has spiral lights, it has Christmas trees, it has reindeer. It makes people gasp.
The church’s aim is to engage with the community through what the community is engaging with at this time of year.
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And people can’t walk past the church. Vicar the Venerable Jennifer Furphy said the lights made people gasp, and stop in their tracks.
It’s opened up conversations for her and parishioners with people who have seen the lights about the hope they symbolise.
Mrs Furphy said the spectacular brought light into the gloom of climate change, war and economic struggle. She and her husband lurk with intent near the lights at night, to chat with admirers about hope.
“It’s a really dark year, it’s a really dark news with the wars, and climate change, people are very subdued this year. So we want to say regardless of all of that darkness we think that there is some hope for the world, because of God’s love. Jesus came to bring hope to the world,” Mrs Furphy said.
“It’s bringing light into the darkness of the gloom of climate change, the gloom of the wars, and the economy.”
Mrs Furphy said having lights on the outside of the church symbolised that it was coming to where the community was. She said St Agnes’ was a small church, with an elderly congregation, but its congregation had a passion for the love of God, and a love for other people.
Mrs Furphy said the church would also run a Blue Christmas service to help reflect why the season might be a difficult time, for people who were having a difficult year.
She said it linked in with theme of finding light in the darkness, this year’s focus.
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