Two Christian songwriters from Ashburton have released a Christmas single in aid of the Fishermen’s Mission.

Mack Robinson and Nick Axford both attend St Andrew’s Church in Ashburton and Mack is a lay minister for the Ashburton and Moor Mission Community.

Their single, Andrews Song (The Night that Christ was Born), is a haunting folk melody that imagines the nativity story from the point of view of a young St Andrew and his brother, Simon Peter.

‘The song imagines that Andrew and his brother might have been young boys on their father’s fishing boat the night that Christ was born; only understanding the significance of what they saw and heard many years later,’ explained Mack, who wrote the lyrics. ‘The music is loosely based on an old winter folk song, The Snow It Melts the Soonest,’ he added.

St Andrew is the patron saint of fishermen and the song was released on St Andrew’s Day (November 30) in partnership with the Fishermen’s Mission, a UK charity which helps fishermen and their families in need. All proceeds from the song this Christmas will go to the Fishermen’s Mission.

‘As well as looking at the Christmas story from a new angle, we hope that this song will benefit today’s fishing crews, who work so hard in such dangerous conditions,’ said Mack, a former sailing instructor.

‘We hope Andrew’s Song gets people thinking about the journey of these two brothers, from a Galilean fishing boat on a star-filled night to being invited to join Jesus in His mission 30 years later,’ Mack added. ‘Hopefully it might prompt people to consider what God might have in store for their lives.’

Andrews Song is not the only Christmas single with links to the area launched this year. Last week, Teignmouth RNLI, along with four other South Devon RNLI stations, announced their support of the single, Pull Away, written by Devon songwriter Chris Hoborn.