All are welcome to join us for these special services as we celebrate again the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, to us this Christmas.
Leading up to Christmas, St Mary’s will continue to provide public worship every weekday: Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer (9:30am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday), as well as our Holy Eucharist on a Wednesday evening at 7:30pm and various other special services. We will also be adding Compline, a short service taken from the ancient monastic tradition, on Tuesdays at 9:00pm (6th, 13th, 20th) – a gentle, quiet way to end the day.
Here are a few highlights as we move towards and keep our celebration of Christmas:
Sunday 4th December, 4.00 pm
Christingle Service
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. They 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.
Sunday 11th December, 5.00 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 short reflective service as a chance to remember in prayer those whom 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 in memory of loved ones whom we wish to remember at this time of year. Envelopes, if you want to sponsor a light, can be found in our church now.
Thursday 15th December, drinks at 6.00pm, carols from 8.00pm
Beer & Carols at The Cricketers
Warm up your voices and dust off your descants…. the unmissable Beer & Carols is back!
Hosted by the Cricketers of Redbourn, compèred by Rod & Louise McPhee, with David Beaman on piano, this promises to be a fabulous evening, as always.
Sunday 18th December, 7.00 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 carols for 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.
Christmas Eve, Saturday 24th December
Candlelit 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 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 characters of the nativity story arriving to visit the baby Jesus lying in the manger.
Christmas Eve, Saturday 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. Whether you come to St Mary’s regularly or not – you can be assured of a warm welcome – for you and your family and friends.
Christmas Day, Saturday 25th December
Holy Communion, 8.00 am
We offer two services on Christmas morning, the first being the traditional Communion service 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 will sing well-known carols and hear a sermon for all ages. Come and mark the true meaning of Christmas with us at St Mary’s this year.
St Mary's Church, Redbourn 