Month: December 2021

As you may know, we have now entered into the month of Advent which transpires on the last Sunday of November, right up until Christmas Eve. It is the preparation period that leads up to Christmas, also known as the ‘coming’ which is where the Latin word of ‘Advent’ is derived from.

At CTK we have been preparing for Christmas with prayers and liturgies, we have also started lighting our purple Advent candles. You will notice that the candles have different colours and therefore different meanings.

The first candle symbolizes hope. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets.

The second candle represents faith. It is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

The third candle is pink and symbolizes joy. It is called the “Shepard’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is a liturgical colour for joy. The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday and is intended to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus.

On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance. This final candle is known as the “Angel’s Candle,” and symbolizes peace.

Finally, the white candle is placed in the middle of the wreath and lit on Christmas Eve. This candle is called the “Christ Candle” and represents the life of Christ. The colour white is for purity.

To learn more about Advent and how it is celebrated by the church, you can watch our Advent liturgy on YouTube led by CTK deacon Javier Elderfield.

We would like to wish you all a calm and reflective last few weeks of Advent and a very happy holiday season!

We have raised more than £3,500 for four charities as part of our Christmas Gift Appeal!

CTK, partnering with the Kent-based EKC Group, brought in over £3,500 with a GoFundMe campaign and charity art auction.

The money will be split between Porchlight, Demelza Hospice Care for Children, Refuge, and St Vincent de Paul Society.

The art auction – which ended on Friday – consisted of pieces donated by staff members and students, raising £621 by itself. Highlights included Heritage, a St Mary’s learner, who’s George Floyd diptych brought in £38 and a signed limited edition photographic print from award-winning Photographer and Lecturer at EKC Group’s Folkestone College, Zak Waters, which raised £100.

Meanwhile the GoFundMe, brought in £2,910 altogether. The top donations saw £1,000 given by Metric Capital OurTurn Global, £500 from David Kelly and £500 by DSP Drainage.

On top of these two efforts, CTK and EKC Group have organised a donation drive for gifts in aid of those less well-off this Christmas. In total, students and staff members have handed in approximately 2,000 gifts which have since been distributed to the charities.

This charity drive has been running alongside a number of charitable deeds at both College groups. At our sites we ran a “Jumpers for Jimmy” event, which raised money for the Jimmy Mizen Foundation, a charity to support young people across the UK by challenging them to be the change-makers & peace-makers in their local communities. Also, at Emmanuel, some of our learners organised a cupcake sale for Child Bereavement UK which is a charity that supports families and educates professionals when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement. Over at EKC the Animal Management students at Canterbury College created festive packages for their four-legged friends at Dogs Rescue and AA Dog Rescue.

We would like to thank everybody who donated to the Christmas Gift Appeal and hope that our contributions to these charities helped in some way to make the festive period better for those in our communities who are less fortunate.