At the start of December, a merry band of women got together adorned in Christmas jumpers to get in the festive spirit. Some were tentative, others were quietly confident, but all were ready to get stuck in: building houses made of gingerbread! Planning permission had been sought and received, all building materials had been sourced, the venue had been decorated and the seasonal refreshments had been prepared.

We received high-quality training from the very crafty Lesley Walker (Pastoral Associate at Hamilton Road Presbyterian) before undertaking this mammoth task, and she was on hand to offer wise words of advice at every stage of the construction process. Some houses seemed to build themselves, whilst other workers struggled to get their walls standing straight. We were thankful for an abundance of royal icing to help lay a firm foundation – as well as cover up any mishaps under the pretense of having an “extra” layer of snow. For many, the roof was the trickiest element of the whole process, with some chimneys not even surviving the procedure! Nonetheless, the community spirit was strong and the more capable were very willing to assist those struggling in their plight.
After the roofs had been built and all houses were standing strong, we began decorating them – and this was where some excelled, demonstrating their artistic creativity with candy canes, strawberry shoelaces, and sprinkles galore!

Lesley shared with us at the end of the evening, reading from Matthew 7 about the wise and foolish builders:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

She reminded us that if our lives are not built on the foundation of Christ, they will not stand strong when faced with storms, and they will not stand at the end of time. At Christmas, we remember how God made himself man, so that we could see and know him, so that we could hear his words and follow him. Because of Christmas, we have the blessing of knowing the Truth – but we also have the responsibility to act on that knowledge. We cannot plead ignorance!

Trinity Women have been getting together to go deeper into God’s word and to encourage each other in our walk with Christ. Ladies of all ages are more than welcome to come along to our meetings – for more details email [email protected]