2008

Posada is an old Mexican tradition where young people dressed as Mary and Joseph travelled from house to house asking for a room for the night and telling people about the imminent arrival of Jesus in the weeks leading up to Christmas. On Christmas Eve they would visit the local church to re-enact the nativity and place figures of Mary and Joseph in a crib. You can read about this in our feature article Views on the News for December 2007 and in our Posada 2007 website feature.

Modern day Posada uses nativity figures of Mary and Joseph who travel from place to place. This gives each 'host' the chance to create their own celebration in their home or place in the community, worshipping and reaching out to their communities with the real message of Christmas, making room for Jesus in their lives.

Our church was part of Posada in 2008. The maps below show the route our Posada figures followed before arriving at Teddington Baptist Church for our Posada service at 10.30am on Sunday 21 December 2008.

The various places who have given Mary and Joseph a home have kept a diary. Some of the entries in the diary are as follows:

Home 1: It is a nice picture (of Mary and Joseph) to have in our home. I made our hall look nbice because it was a beautiful picture with bright colours. - The Knill-Jones Family

Home 2: We enjoyed the visit from the Posada and the childrne acted out a nativity play. Mary and Joseph visited the reception class at St Mary's and St Peter's. The story of the Posada was explained and they all liked the beautiful colours. Thank you. - The Dunlop Family

The Loft: It has been an absolute pleasure to see the reaction from our customers. We think people stopped and thought about the true meaning of Christmas. Home 3: It was a pleasure to have the Posada in our home. Using our nativity set as we all took part in telling the story: the children placed the figures in the stable. It is such a blessing to remember why we celebrate Christmas, its true meaning. - The Rock Family

Sofa Workshop: It has certainly brightened our windows and made them a bit more special! People did stop to take a look and to read the notice next to it. Merry X-mas! The Halifax: They felt so welcome last year at the 'Halifax' they came back to stay for the weekend.

Home 4: Mary and Joseph came to visit Lynn's Bowel Cancer Campaign in their new ofice. They met Claire Linden and Caroline Meakes. Later they went back to the Crowthers' home to spend the night. Caroline Meakes enjoyed meeting them so much she has invited them to stay at her house next week. Who Let the Dads Out?: Who let the Dads Out? hosted Mary and Joseph when they met for their Christmas party.

Home 5: Mary and Joseph came on a journey with us to High Wycombe to see our friends. We talked about the Christmas story and had a lovely meal together. We then lit the candles up to 13 - because it is now the 13th December! Mary and Joseph loved spending the day with us and we all enjoyed spending it with them and remembering why we celebrate Christmas. - The Stead Family

At Costa Coffee

Home 6: Today has been really hectic and started badly as our electrics went and our kind neighbour came to check on the problem for us. This meant we couldn't get to the church to collect Mary and Joseph, so a big thank-you to the very kind man who brought them round to us so quickly. The day continued to be hectic and a bit stressful, so after the kids had their bath, it was so special and peaceful to sit down and talk about Mary and Joseph and the Christmas story. We read two nativity books and it was lovely to see that Theo who is now two, was really taken by the story and all the pictures in the books. Both boys thanked Mary and Joseph for coming to stay and said goodnight to them, and Theo gave them a bit kiss, unprompted!

Tomorrow the travellers are moving on to the Stafford household, and Sam was amazed to learn that his classmate Abigail will be looking after them next. It has been really lovely to look through this book and read other people's comments and see their pictures. Sam and Theo were at the Who let the Dads Out Christmas Party yesterday so we enjoyed seeing them in the photo. Many thanks and merry Christmas. - The Howard Family

Home 7: Today Mary and Joseph came to stay at the Stafford house, Abigail (Like Sam previously) was also delighted to hear that her pre-school class-mate was being host to the Posada! Bethanie (age 9) needed a 'Mary' costume for her School Christmas Carol Concert so here is a photo of her all dressed up, with Abigail (age 4) as an Angel. When the girls returned home from School we made some paper angels to hang on our Christmas tree and they heard that it was the Angel Gabriel who announced the news of Jesus' birth. We loved having the Posada in our home as it gave us the perfect opportunity to reflect on why we celebrate Christmas. - The Stafford Family

Home 8: Mary and Joseph visited the McPhee house today - Alexander was very excited to see them, as, along with Baby Jesus, they are his favourite people at the moment and we read about them many times a day! On this day, they joined in a chaotic playtime with some of Alexander's friends but had a nice quiet relaxing afternoon and evening. After a kiss and hug goodnight from Alexander, they watched some football on the telly! We're enjoyed having them to stay, and found them to be a reason to pause for thought during our hectic day. - The McPhee Family

Home 9: I never realised how much excitement and enthusiasm the arrival of the Posada would bring to the Meakes household. It got the Meakes children talking about Mary and Joseph and the meaning of Christmas. Although Mary and Joseph had come to stay for the night, they actually came on a daytrip to the Royal Albert Hall to a Carol concert - well without them there would be no carol concerts! Having the Posada in our home was lovely and it really feels like Christmas has finally arrived! Merry Christmas! - The Meakes Family

Posada Celebration: The Posada came back to Teddington Baptist Church to take part in the Posada Celebration Service on the morning of Sunday 21 December before setting off on the last few stages of the journey around the neighbourhood. Christmas Day is not far away when the Posada will complete its journey and arrive back at TBC again.

Posada figures	Week 1 - 1 - 7 Dec	Week 2: 7 - 15 Dec
Week 3: 15 - 25 Dec

Posada is a Church Army Resource.