Bergakyrkan in Åkersberga once gave away around 10,000 candles in the community. Each household received a candle with a nice greeting from Bergakyrkan tied to the candle. There was also an invitation to a Christmas concert. The little greeting was enormously appreciated by many.
Giving away a candle can be done in many different ways. The Church of Sweden has given away candles on streets and squares during All Saints’ Day in various locations.
Advent and Christmas remind us that the great light – Jesus Christ – is coming. It is an excellent opportunity to use the symbol of light to illustrate this. Here are some practical suggestions.
1. Buy candles – wrap them with a nice message and hand them out in some open squares or at the store if the community is smaller. This can happen over a few Saturdays before Christmas.
2. Do the same thing but to all households that are neighbors to the church.
3. Reach out a little further and hand out candles to all households.
