Alberton Methodist Church spreads Christmas joy

Just a week before Christmas, Alberton Methodist Church took to the streets to spread love and Christmas joy.

The congregation got together and decided to do things differently, unlike in the previous years.

In the past years, the church would host its annual Christmas services and give out food parcels.

This year, they conducted a Christmas parade on the evening of December 12.

From motorbikes to cars, the community members convoyed with decorated cars to celebrate Christmas and to spread love. They carolled in greater parts of Alberton, as Santa, whose real name is Bruce Strachan from Mulbarton, gave out sweets to the little ones.

About 100 cars motorcaded in areas such as New Market, Randhart, General Albertspark, Raceview, New Redruth, Florentia and Verwoerdpark.

According to Past James Dunn of Alberton Methodist Church, there may be a second Christmas parade right before Christmas.

He said they were not doing this because they wanted to get their name out there, but to spread the spirit of Christmas.

“Children need to smile and if we can make them smile, that is what the church needs to be doing. Everyone needs to be happy during this time. We want to let everybody know we can make a difference. This is a season of giving. Let us give and make it fun,” said Dunn.

He reiterated that as a congregation, they are also running a campaign, giving out food parcels and visiting orphanages during the week and handing out Christmas presents.

Dunn also thanked local SAPS for their professionalism and for also endorsing their parade.

Father Christmas, who was seated in his sleigh with a group of ‘elves’, told the RECORD the motorcade aimed at bringing joy to the community.

“It’s always nice to put a smile on children’s faces and our biggest thing is giving them joy and laughter. I’m very involved in the community and I have been a Father Christmas for about 40 years and it’s always a nice thing to bring fun to children,” he said.