A Reading church is organising special services to celebrate the Christmas season, and they are all open to the public.
Christ Church, on Christchurch Road, is marking the season of Advent and say that everyone is invited to its events.
Carols Under The Clock Tower – Wednesday, December 18
An informal carol singing event will be held outside the church and underneath its beautiful tower. A crib, featuring a nativity tableau of the infant Jesus with his parents, the wise men, and the shepherds will be set up for people to gather around.
Everyone is invited to join in singing some favourite carols, followed by hot chocolate and other refreshments.
This takes place from 6pm.
Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols – Sunday, December 22
The traditional service that fuses readings from the Bible that tell of the events of the first Christmas with some of the most famous carols of all.
Singing will be led by the church choir, and there will be songs that the congregation can join in with.
These services are hugely popular and often there is not a seat left when it starts.
This event starts at 6pm.
Christmas Eve services
Christmas Eve is on Tuesday, December 24.
Traditionally, it’s a day when many people attend Christmas services, and Christ Church is organising several across the day.
A communion service will be held at 10am. The morning service is specially set up for people who want to remember Christmas and then get on with their day.
At 11pm, the church will open its doors for those who want to sing carols.
Fifteen minutes later, at 11.15pm, the church will hold a Midnight Mass.
This traditional service for many marks the start of their Christmas and includes more carols for people to join in with.
Christmas Day
A Christmas Day communion service will be held at 10am on Wednesday, December 25.
The event is suitable for families wanting to mark Christmas Day.
St Stephen’s Day
In the Church, December 26 isn’t Boxing Day: it is St Stephen’s Day, named after the first martyr of the Christian faith.
In the Bible, Stephen was accused of blasphemy and stoned to death.
As a result, many churches use the day to remember him and others who face persecution for their beliefs.
Christ Church is holding a communion service at 10am.
Read more: Christmas Tree sale and carols at Caversham Court Gardens
More about Christ Church
The team at Christ Church say they are a friendly, multicultural community, spanning all ages and an excellent choir.
The church is part of the Church of England, and was built in 1861 by architect Henry Woodyer.
It was enlarged in 1874, and in this refurbishment the tower, spire, south aisle and vestries were added to the building.
Today, it offers traditional styles of Christian worship and liturgy, along with choral music. Across the year, it hold choral evensong services at 6pm on Sundays.
Its repertoire includes music by Byrd, Tallis, Palestrina, Purcell, Mozart, Wesley, Stanford, Howells, Duruflé and contemporary composers – including members of the choir.
Christ Church says it welcomes new members to the choir, adults and children.
Junior members can work on Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) awards to develop their musical understanding. Christ Church also runs a programme of Choral and Organ Scholarships to support and develop young musicians.
Full details of these are on the church’s website.
It also says it is an inclusive church – one which celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate. As such, it is part of the Inclusive Church network of churches, groups and individuals uniting together around a shared vision: www.inclusive-church.org
For more details, log on to: https://christchurchreading.org.uk/cchurchweb/
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