St Nicholas in the Shire

I had the delight of preaching at Dormston Church. Tolkein used to stay in the village and there is a farm called Bag End Farm.
Dormston seems to have been part of the inspiration for "The Shire", that content tranquil home from which Bilbo Baggins and Frodo went off on their adventures.

The church is dedicated to St Nicholas, perhaps the world's best known and most misunderstood saint. Billions of people world wide have heard of Santa Claus but few know that Father Christmas was a bishop in ancient Turkey who loved children and was generous with his gifts.

This morning we thought about God's generosity in the people he gives to the church - Ephesians 4 is about that - and the ways in which we all can be God's gift to His church.