Services with special music

Throughout the year we have a programme of services with special music celebrating important events in the church’s year. Here are descriptions of some of them.

Harvest Thanksgiving Service – first Sunday morning service in October at 10am

An all-age service with a comprehensive music group singing both traditional Harvest hymns and newer songs celebrating and reflecting on creation.

harvest bread

Advent Sunday Evening 6pm

‘O Come Emmanuel’ – This is a special sequence of readings and music for Advent Sunday evening, to help us prepare for Christmas by reflecting on and recapturing the hope that the coming of Christ brings. Both our choirs sing together at this event and this year we are hoping that St Nicholas Camerata will also be taking part.

 Along with music, silence, and readings, it uses darkness & light to help us focus on the expectation of Christ coming, not only as Judge, but as Saviour to usher in the Kingdom of God.
advent hope joy peace

Christingle Service – 2nd Sunday before Christmas at 4pm

A special children’s service at which the Junior Choir sing and everyone who comes has the opportunity to make a Christingle as part of the event. What is a Christingle?

 christingle

Service of nine lessons and carols – Sunday before Christmas at 6pm

One of our most popular services of the year which includes traditional carols, special choir items, with a brass instrumental group accompanying some of the music. Mulled wine and mince pies are served at the end.

Christmas candles

Family Carols – Christmas Eve at 5pm and 7.30pm

This service has been so popular that we are now holding two similar services so that everyone can still enjoy Family Carols but we will be able more comfortably to accommodate everybody. The Junior Choir will also be singing at one of these services.

The Way of the Cross Service – Holy Week

This sequence of words and music for Passiontide has at its root the visits of early Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, who followed in the steps of Jesus from Pilate’s house to Calvary, stopping along the route to make several ‘stations’ for prayer and reflection.
The stations featured here are drawn from the selection in Common Worship: Times and Seasons. They take the Passion narrative of the Gospel of Mark as a basis, adding a further passage from St John’s Gospel.
Congregational items include established Passiontide hymns and contemporary worship songs while the choir sings music in a range of styles.