The first Christmas party of the developing Appletree Community within our diocese was held in early December. The Appletree Community is taking shape as a small intentional community grown around a few individuals with complex and profound support needs, enabling all to flourish.

“We held a service within the party, with a story about the Christmas star coming to Appletree. We gathered around a star and prayed, sang carols, gave thanks to God for each other and all the blessings of our lives. Then our dear friend and retired priest, himself father of a profoundly disabled son, gave us a blessing.”

The support was totally ecumenical: SEC friends, Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic, and people with no religious affiliation.