A chance to hear the story of Christmas retold in reading, carols and anthems.

The St Bride’s Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Sunday 20th December at 5:30pm is a wonderful opportunity to hear the full range of readings in the now famous service devised for King’s College, Cambridge in 1918 by Eric Milner-White.

The congregation sings Christmas hymns ranging from Once In Royal David’s City to O Come, All Ye Faithful and we also have the opportunity to hear a number of contrasting pieces from the wide repertoire of Advent and Christmas music which St Bride’s Choir (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/music/st-brides-choir-and-singers/) sings.

Mince pies and mulled wine served after the service.

ADMISSION

The service is open to all, ticketless and free to attend. The service lasts approximately 1 hour.

A voluntary collection will be taken after the service – without your generous support these services could not happen. Suggested donation £15 per person.

Many of our Advent events are very busy; please reserve a spot for early admission to the church (30 minutes before the event) to avoid disappointment.

125 places will be held back for later admission via the West Door (15 minutes before the service starts) for those who arrive on the day without registration.

If you need assistance with this please contact the office on 020 7427 0133 or email stb@stbrides.com.

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St Bride's receives no state funding and is wholly reliant on – and deeply grateful for – the generous support of our visitors without which this service could not happen.

There will be a voluntary collection at the end of the service to support our work, our magnificent Wren church, and the internationally-acclaimed music-making you will hear. The suggested donation is £15 per person.

You can make a Donation on EventBrite when completing your reservation; or donate by cash or contactless at church; or via our JustGiving page (https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet).

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MUSIC

Music at the service features a new piece by the composer Sarah MacDonald – Christmas hath a beauty – which sets words by Christina Rossetti. This is a new commission by the John Armitage Memorial Trust (JAM), who have a very close connection with St Bride's.

Another recent composition, Ring out, ye bells by Sebastian Johnson will also be heard alongside more familiar repertoire, including George Guest's lovely arrangement of the Welsh lullaby Suo Gân.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Directions to St Bride's Church and information about accessibility are available on our Visit Us page (https://www.stbrides.com/visit-us/).

If you register for early admission please arrive 30 minutes before the service. Your place may need to be released to others queuing if you arrive later than this.

Description supplied by the event organiser.