Christmas Carnival fills the church

On Sunday 26 November Harpenden celebrated its Christmas Carnival and High Street opened its doors and welcomed over a thousand people from our community.

With an army of volunteers, a mountain of mince pies  and the eagerly awaited return of The Journey we offered warm hospitality on a cold afternoon.

In Church we had craft activities on offer and a warm and less-hurried place to sit and relax for a moment. Our refreshment volunteers worked tirelessly to keep everyone supplied with mince pies and hot drinks.

Our local Ukrainian Community once again offered us a taste of a Ukrainian Christmas offering traditional food and decorations.

We rounded off the afternoon celebrations with carol singing in the church.

Over 1000 hot drinks served
900 Mince pies
Over £1,390 raised for charity

Throughout the afternoon we were continually being told how much people appreciated everyone’s efforts and welcome. One person commented on what a wonderful welcome we offered and that she so appreciated how much we had laid on: “I’m not local, but if I were, this would be my church”.

Everything we offered during the afternoon was free but we welcomed donations for local church charity The Haven. We were overwhelmed with people’s generosity and will be sending £1,390 to help them continue to support young people with mental health challenges.