Carol services fill the church

22nd December 2009, posted by Nic Arkley

Sunday 20th December saw the church fill with people 'flocking' to this year's Christmas services (excuse the Christmas pun). Seats were filled both morning and evening as families gathered for a live nativity story in the morning and people of all backgrounds worshipped together for the candlelit evening service.

At the 10.30am Christmas Family Story, Jon Langford narrated as some of our younger members dramatised the story. Associate Minister Rev. Richard Morgan provided a series of reflections on the different parts of the story and a lively band led the seasonal selection of songs, both tradition and contemporary.

In the evening, we welcomed over 480 people for a traditional Carols by Candlelight service, which included Biblical readings telling the story of Christ's birth, a selection of traditional carols and choral items sung by our Christmas Choir, and a talk by St Paul's Rector Rev. Andrew Cullis, reflecting on the true message of Christmas, which reveals itself even in the face of commercial advertising campaigns: Christmas starts with Christ.

Many thanks go to all those involved in this year's services: to the children involved in the morning nativity, to the choir who led the worship so beautifully in the evening, and to all those who worked so hard 'behind the scenes', making preparations and serving on the day.

Photos from the evening service can be seen in the gallery on the right.