LEDBURY Methodists have been extra busy in the run-up to Christmas, to bring festive good cheer and also to raise funds for charity.

In fact, voices from the Ledbury Methodist Church congregation have been much in evidence, and local people have responded generously to the good causes the carollers are supporting.

The Revd. Phil Warrey, minister of Ledbury Methodist Church said: “Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Christmas carols, and Ledbury Methodist Church duly provided customers at the Co-op with two performances of favourite festive carols recently.

“They were raising funds for a local good cause, the Acorns Children’s Hospice, and collected over £212.”

Mr Warrey added: “People were very generous, and we were grateful to the Co-op, who provided free mince pies for us to hand out to shoppers.”

With the mince pies came little knitted angels, a gift from church members, to hang on family Christmas trees.

Methodist voices have also been in action elsewhere in the town this last week.

Mr Warrey said: “They led the carol singing at the monthly ecumenical gathering at Coffee #1 last week and, together with fellow Christians from the Anglican, Baptist and Catholic churches, entertained people with a light-hearted look at Christmas in prose and poetry. “But perhaps their finest hour, according to the Baptist church who had invited them to perform at their last Messy Church event, was a spirited and original rendition by the Puppet Group of ‘Joy to the World’, – delivered with enormous energy by an outrageously colourful set of animal puppets!”

Local churches are not the only groups raising the seasonal rafters this Christmas.

Ledbury Community Choir members have been busy rehearsing for their Christmas concert, set to take place at The Market Theatre on Thursday, December 20, and on Friday, December 21, at 7.30pm.

A spokesman said: “This is the final pinnacle in the choir’s busy calendar of events with this year being their twentieth anniversary.”

There will be “a wonderful eclectic mix of Christmas music to help the choir go out on this special year with a bang!”