Christmas carols and comedians 

Baptist ministers in Liverpool have organised a Christmas event that will combine carols with comedy

 
Comedians and Carols features a range of four comedians (three of them Christian) and will be interspersed with the singing of carols.
 
One of the comedians in the line-up is Allan Finnegan, minister of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Netherton.
 
‘I’ve been doing stand-up for a few years now,’ he explained. ‘I have been looking for ways to blur the lines between my church and comedy roles and this is a good way to do it.
 
‘The night is literally what it says: a comedy night where we sing carols in-between. We consider it a great event to invite friends and family too in a neutral setting, in this case the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool city centre.  
 
‘It’s very low-level evangelism. This hopefully will give us a chance to invite people to our other Christmas activities.’
 
Allan was part of similar events last year with Christian comedian and writer Paul Kerensa last year and thought it would be great to do locally.  
 
Most of the line-up are Christian except for Daliso Chaponda, a Britain’s Got Talent finalist. However, he comes from a Pentecostal background, ‘and has some funny reflections on that,’ Allan says.
 
The event itself is hosted by Liverpool City Region Baptist Hub (LCR Hub) which is a Gathering of Baptist Churches from across the LCR who are seeking to connect, support and work closer together to best serve our region. There is a core group that currently consists of five churches (Emmanuel, Hope, Kirkby, St Helens & Toxteth Tabernacle) but the group is seeking to increase this network.
 
Allan and the organisers decided they would like to support a local charity, so all proceeds are going to Claire House, a Children’s hospice that does excellent work for seriously and terminally ill children.  
 
‘We are hoping we can have a fun night that acknowledges the real meaning of Christmas, and raises so much needed funds for Claire House,’ he continued.