Love Christmas , but hate the way its been hi jacked by commercialism?

Feel powerless to do anything about the darkness that engulfs the real reason for the season?

Can I introduce you to a way to be a shining SILENT WITNESS this Christmas? You’ll love it and be excited by its simplicity and proven effectiveness! Let me share with you how I stumbled on this inspiring idea which came out of the night my son was attacked a few years ago on Halloween night and we had a tangle with the ‘powers and principalities’ that was eye opening.

My oldest son was walking home to his wife and two young children after work, talking to me on his mobile.He was telling me how he felt; he had just been released from hospital after being diagnosed with life threatening Type A diabetes. Suddenly he started calling out, ‘Help me dad, help me – I’m being attacked’ and then the phone went dead.

My wife and I rushed out to try and find him, and nearly got mown down by three guys sweeping down the road at speed on bikes. We found our son, by the side of the road badly shaken and with bruised ribs and took him in and called the police. When they arrived they told us he was the seventh incident in half an hour. The previous incident had been a hold up of a man coming out of a take away pizza; a gun had been held to his head for him to hand over his pizza. The 3 police men said, ‘it’s lawless out there’; even they were frightened.

That was it! We needed to proclaim the PRINCE of PEACE is here. We needed to minister PEACE to our streets and estates in Clapham

So started our CHRISTMAS PEACE project which grabbed the imagination and involvement of our church:

• We started showing people coming out of Tesco’s a lovely poster card ‘Someone Up there likes you’ (from CPO) Everyone wanted one!!! We ran out!
• We started putting up Jesus, Prince of Peace posters and banners (also from CPO)
• We bought lots of beautiful Peace Doves, illuminated Christmas lights, from Silent Lights and put them in trees, front windows, schools, shops…everywhere. What an alternative to Rudolph! And every night they began to silently speak, and speak, and speak, and speak.
• We began 21 Days of  Prayer and Fasting to punch some holes in the darkness over Clapham in the lead up to Christmas
• We invited the community to nominate local ‘good’ people ‘of peace’ to receive a ‘Bringing Back the Love’ peace award at a gala Christmas tea, attended by the Mayor of Lambeth. What a thrill to see local postmen, barbers, homehelps,shop keepers in church being honoured
• We went out with food to the homeless, sung carols to old folks, gave parties and presents for children and young people;
• We flooded the community with the presence of the Prince of Peace, and as the Peace doves shone throughout December, peace returned to our streets again.

It was beautiful. The atmosphere had been changed. It had cost us almost every penny the church had. But that was what we give for – ‘to make a difference’. And we had.

In February, with the Peace lights taken down, sadly the violence returned with a vengeance, as we faced a spate of teenage gun violence culminating in the deaths of 3 young boys, aged 15, 16 and 21.Clapham was on the front pages.

Back to square one? Not quite. Scripture tells us it’s an ongoing ‘wrestling match’ (Ephesians 6), but we know we can outlast the enemy because he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world.

We won’t give up. We are encouraging Christians everywhere to shine the light this Christmas and put a ‘SILENT WITNESS’ in their front window over Christmas and help change the atmosphere where they live. Imagine if everywhere people went they kept seeing these attractive PEACE DOVES? They are so much better that Father Christmas and Rudolf!

If you’d like to join in and help pierce the darkness this Christmas please let me know and I can get you a lovely PEACE DOVE (£35) or an ANGEL (£60) that you’ll be able to use year after year –  powerful ammunition for us in the battle! Or you can go to http://www.silentlights.co.uk and order direct.

Lets pierce the darkness!