Advent officially starts tomorrow and, to mark it, Jane and I have declared open house in our neighbourhood with (homemade) mince pies, mulled wine and mulled juice on offer. The house is unusually tidy for this time on a Saturday afternoon and now we have to wait to see if anyone comes round to visit as a result of the conversations we have had and the invites we had dropped round to those who live near us.

Hopefully we’ll get a few takers. Even though the bright sunshine doesn’t seem entirely in keeping with the season, it is at least dry outside and “fresh” rather than “horrible”. I expect we will have some mince pies left but I hope that this will be an expression of peace and goodwill that will contribute to community spirit in the neighbourhood and thus an expression of part of our Christian mission as we prepare for the season leading up to Christmas.