We’d like to invite you to an evening with the Friends of St Mary’s on Friday 26thJanuaryat 7.30pm.
The Friends help fund the upkeep of Redbourn’s only Grade 1 listed building, St Mary’s Church. In the past they’ve held balls, barn dances and are key to Redbourn Classics.
The funds are only for the building and grounds – not what happens inside. If the building and churchyard are important to you, then we would love you to come along and hear how you could help support this important charity.
We recently had leak in the roof, and without the Friends of St Mary’s this would bring us even more worry. So, thank you to the Friends of St Mary’s and we hope some of you might be interested in joining – if only to put on some great social occasions for the village!
All are welcome to join us as we celebrate again the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, to us this Christmas.
Here are a few highlights as we move towards, and keep, our celebration of Christmas:
Sunday 30th November, 6.30 pm
The Advent Carol Service
Advent Sunday marks the start of a four week period of spiritual preparation as we ready ourselves to celebrate the great feast of Christmas.
Our Advent Carol Service offers a lovely way to mark the start of this season.
Through a sequence of bible readings and beautiful music sung by our choir, we will hear again the story of God’s people eagerly awaiting the coming of Jesus, waiting in darkness for the promised Christ-light to shine.
As well as music from our choir there will also be some of the great Advent hymns for us to sing.
Sunday 7th December, 6.30 pm
The Lights of Love Service
Christmas can be a time when we’re all too aware of our bereavements and those we miss. We offer this reflective service as a chance to remember in prayer those we love but see no longer, those we’ll miss at Christmas.
At the end of the service we process outside and light up our Lights of Love, festooned in a churchyard fir tree. These lights are sponsored in memory of loved ones whom we wish to remember at this time of year and envelopes, if you want to sponsor a light, can be found in our church now.
Sunday 21st December, 6.30 pm
Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols
Another musical offering in the run up to Christmas is the lovely Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. In this service we hear a sequence of bible readings interspersed with choir items and congregational carols for us all to sing – making this one of the quintessential services of the Christmas period and certainly one not to be missed.
Many of the organisations and institutions in Redbourn are represented in the reading of the Lessons – it really is a carol service for everyone to enjoy, it’s free and no tickets are needed. Do come along and bring family, friends and neighbours.
Sunday 21st December, 10.00 am
Children’s Nativity Presentation
Our St Mary’s young people have been working hard to prepare and rehearse a special presentation of the nativity story.
This will be presented during our 9.30am service, as well as a short drama to get us all thinking….. do join us!
Sunday 13th December, 4.00pm
Community Carol Singing
Hot dogs and bar open from 4.00
Come and join us round the piano for a great big community carol sing!
Call out your carol requests… dust off your descants… bring all the family for some festive fun hosted by Revd Rachel. Singing will be led by our professional carol singer and pianist… Damian and Micheila.
Sunday 25th January, 4.00 pm
Christingle Service
This year our Christingle Service will be later, in January! Come and join us for this ever popular and enjoyable service for people of all ages at this time of year.
The ‘Christingle’, is a lighted candle mounted in an orange. These are given out in the service in exchange for donations made in envelopes or “purses” for the work of The Children’s Society.
The Christingles are then lit, reminding us that Jesus is the light of the world and shines in the darkest parts of our world. Donations raised at our Christingle year after year enable The Children’s Society to work with thousands of children in this country who face life’s harshest challenges – children who may find themselves sleeping rough this winter; fleeing conflict and war; caught in a cycle of crime; or marginalised due to a disability.
We are delighted to welcome children from our schools and uniformed groups in Redbourn to raise money for these needy children. Do join us if you can.
Christmas Eve, Wednesday 24th December
Children’s Crib Services, 3.30 pm and 4.30 pm
One of the highlights of Christmas is without doubt witnessing the enjoyment and excitement through young people and our Crib Service on Christmas Eve will be a delight for all children young, and not so young!
We invite all the children to come in costume, dressed up as characters from the Christmas story to play their part as we tell again the story of the First Christmas with singing and prayer. We gather at our Crib to witness the stable gradually filling with characters as they come to visit the baby Jesus lying in the manger.
Christmas Eve, Wednesday 24th December
The First Eucharist of Christmas, Midnight Mass 11.30pm
This service, often known as Midnight Mass, is an absolute gem and is really the first of the main Christmas services. We gather at 11.30 pm to celebrate the Christmas story of God coming among us in the birth of Jesus.
This is a communion service with the blessing of our special crib, and includes lovely carols for us all to sing. Why not round off a lovely evening with family or friends, by coming along to join us for one of the most moving and wonderful services in the whole year? Whether you come to St Mary’s regularly or not – you can be assured of a very warm welcome – for you and your family and friends.
Christmas Day, Thursday 25th December
Holy Communion, 8.00 am
We offer two services on Christmas morning, the first being the traditional Communion services using The Book of Common Prayer.
All Age Eucharist, 10.00 am
Our main service on Christmas morning is a Eucharist, where God’s people, young and old, gather together to celebrate the joy of Christmas. We sing carols and offer a less formal sermon to suit all ages.
Come and mark the true meaning of Christmas with us at St Mary’s this year. Following our 10 am service, please join us for refreshments in the Transept, adjoining the Church.
In the time leading to Christmas St Mary’s will continue to offer daily public worship:
Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer (9.30am and 4.00pm Monday to Friday), as well as our Holy Eucharist on a Wednesday evening at 7.30pm and various other special services.
The Church will remain open from 9.15am until 4.15pm each day for private prayer and for all who wish to visit. We are particularly conscious of our ministry to visitors staying in Redbourn during the Christmas period and to those who don’t usually worship with us.
Come and see nativity crib scenes of all shapes and sizes in this fabulous exhibition of cribs belonging to Redbourn residents.
Crib scenes from Uganda, Cuba, Czech Republic, Thailand and Tanzania
Cribs made from crochet, Duplo, chess pieces and beer bottles
Cribs homemade in the 1960s and made specially for the Festival
Cribs with special sentimental stories behind them
Join in our Community Art project by adding an angel to our heavenly host. Make a sheep to join the flock. Buy beautiful Christmas gifts from our Charity Gift Stall. Refreshments served all day in the Transept.
Admission free, donations appreciated towards our Charity of the Year, Level Trust Luton.
And we are still very much in need of volunteer stewards to keep the cribs safe over the weekend – please do consider if you can sign up for a slot: Sign up to Volunteer as a Steward
Exhibition of Cribs
Friday 8th December, 4.00 – 8.00pm
Saturday 9th December, 10.00am – 4.00pm
Over 50 cribs will be on display. Get involved in the nativity dressing up zone and craft zone. Pause for tea, coffee and cake in the Transept. Buy beautiful Christmas gifts at the Charity Stall.
Community Carol Singing
Friday 8th December, St Mary’s Church
Hot dogs and bar open from 4.00 – 8.00pm
Carol Singing between 5.00 – 7.00pm
Come and join us round the piano for a great big community carol sing.
Call out your carol requests… dust off your descants… bring all the family for some festive fun hosted by Revd Rachel, Redbourn’s brand-new vicar! Our singing will be led by professional carol singer and pianist, Damian and Micheila.
Community Art: ‘On Angels Wings’
We would love to have a heavenly host of angels made by the people of Redbourn flying over the church for the whole season of Christmas.
Come along and add your angel… maybe write inside the name of someone you’ll miss this Christmas, a prayer, a hope or anything you like.
Pick up a blank angel from St Mary’s, or just come along to the Crib Festival to make one and add it to the crowd!
Activities for all the family
Nativity dressing up zone with stable scene
Craft zone – make a sheep to add to our flock
Activity sheet for the Crib Exhibition – can you be a crib detective?
Add an angel to our Community Art project
Hot dogs and carol singing at our Big Community Carol Sing
Our Charity: Level Trust, Luton
All proceeds from the weekend will be for our St Mary’s Charity of the Year, Level Trust Luton.
The charity supports families to overcome the cost of education – including school uniforms, winter coats, shoes, books, sports and IT equipment.
Their aim is that all children in Luton have the chance to love learning. 45% of children in Luton live in poverty – that’s over 26,600 children.
