Lone Digger | Caravan Palace

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ANGNX8Zf86dBqwy2FN7eH...

‘This song puts me in a great mood! No matter what else is going on, it always makes me smile and move my feet!’

This is me | Keala Settle

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ANGNX8Zf86dBqwy2FN7eH...

‘This is such a cracking song - she can really wail!’

Jireh | Elevation Worship

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ANGNX8Zf86dBqwy2FN7eH...

‘This is one of my favourite songs at the moment. My favourite line from this song is ‘if He watches over every sparrow, how much more does He love you’. This reminds me that even though I may feel as though God isn’t seeing or helping with certain things, that He cares for everything and everyone, including me and He is our provider’.

Walking On Sunshine | Katrina & The Waves

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ANGNX8Zf86dBqwy2FN7eH...

Ok, a cheesy one from me today but when I used to dance in pantomimes as a teenager this was one of our opening numbers and anytime I hear it, it instantly takes me back to that place, of doing what I love. I hope you turn it up really loud, sing along and it brings you joy today too!

River | Joni Mitchell

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ANGNX8Zf86dBqwy2FN7eH...

‘This song ticks two boxes for me. Firstly, I love Joni and secondly, it’s a beautiful acknowledgement that, for some, Christmas can be difficult and it’s ok if the celebrations are tinged with regret or sadness or pain. This song holds the beauty and the difficulties together’.

O Come O Come Emmanuel | feat. Sleeping at Last

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ANGNX8Zf86dBqwy2FN7eH...

‘This is my first 'joy' song. It perfectly captures the essence of what joy feels like to me. Bittersweet. The music feels like it's acknowledging the pain in life, which makes the relief of that which brings joy that much greater. The joy comes from bringing respite to our suffering, while also validating it's harshness’

Higher Power | Coldplay

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ANGNX8Zf86dBqwy2FN7eH...

“This was one of the first songs I heard that had been written and recorded during the pandemic which felt like such an isolated and confined space yet in contrast this joyfully bursts forth with such boldness, energy and vitality! I love the way the song keeps building toward the final line ‘for so long, I’d been down on my knees then your love song, saved me over and over’.

‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’ (Luke 1:46-47)

This advent we are sharing songs which bring us joy! We’ll add a song a day to our Spotify playlist so keep coming back and let’s share some joy together!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ANGNX8Zf86dBqwy2FN7eH...

This is a day like no other day, an event like no other event. Everything that had been promised was fulfilled in this moment which changed everything for everyone!

The significance of Saturday can sometimes be missed in the Easter story. Yet in many ways this in-between day best reflects the place we find ourselves in the world and helps us orientate ourselves.

At first glance, nothing about what happened on this day 2,000 years ago can be considered ‘good’ and yet Christians believe that all history hangs on the moment that Jesus hung upon the cross.

I haven’t heard much about New Year’s resolutions this year - they seem to have been replaced by ‘New Year’s restrictions’ and just a week into 2021, some of us might be feeling as though we’ve already had enough news to last us a whole year! We’ve been thinking about a New Year’s revelation as we embrace the time of year in the church calendar which is known as ‘Epiphany’.

We came across this prayer by Sarah Bessey that really resonates with us …

2020 has been a year of great loss. Do you feel like you’re in a place of despair, or loss, or even death? We find these very themes in the nativity story …

This journey is full of questions, full of searching and struggle. But you continue on, into the night, because this journey feels significant, even if you do not yet fully understand why …

Josie shares her reflections on the theme of ‘do you see what I see?’ through the lens of her work with Restore, which is a project of Jacob’s Well working with vulnerable women in Derby.

What do you see in the nativity narrative? Some versions tend to put a sugar-coated shine on the story which makes it difficult to really see what’s going on …

Maybe there have been times this year when you have felt unheard or ignored. The nativity story reminds us that at times like this God hears and appears, its who God is and what God does ...