Advent & Christmas Services & Activities

Christmas Bazaar
Saturday 25 November
10.00 am – 1.00 pm, St Andrew’s Church
11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN
(for the Wickford & Runwell Team Ministry – St Andrew’s, St Catherine’s & St Mary’s)

• School Choirs performing
• Guess the weight of the cake
• Tombola & Bottle Tombola
• Christmas Gifts & Crafts
• How many sweets?
• Cakes & Produce
• Name the Teddy
• Children’s Lucky Dip
• Meet Santa
• Refreshments
& Grand Christmas Draw

Mission to Seafarers talk & Sea Shanty singing
Friday 1 December 2023, 7.00 pm
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN

Hear Rev Paul Trathen, Port Development Manager for Mission to Seafarers, speak about the work of the charity around the world and hear Sea Shanties sung by local group The Crayhillbillies. Part of ‘Unveiled’, the fortnightly Friday night arts and performance event at St Andrew’s Church.

Advent Coffee Morning

Saturday 2 December, 9.00 am - 12 noon

St Catherine’s Church Hall 

Homemade cakes, Tombola, Bric-a-Brac, Raffle, Refreshments etc.

Advent Services

• Mondays in Advent: Advent Night Prayer with Reflection, 8pm in St Catherine’s (4, 11, 18 December)
• Sunday 10th December: Advent Carol Service, 6.30pm in St Catherine’s
• Wednesday 13th December: Messy Church, 4pm in St Andrew’s
• Sunday 17th December: Parish Carol Service, 6.30pm in St Andrew’s
• Friday 22nd December: ‘Blue Christmas’ service, 6.30pm in St Mary’s for those who are grieving and for whom a Happy Christmas will be difficult

A Service of Lessons and Carols

Tuesday 5 December, 6.30 pm

St Catherine's Church

Beauchamps High School
Invites you to
A Service of lessons
and Carols
Everyone Welcome
Free Entry
Tuesday 5th December 2023
St. Catherines Church,
Southend Road, Wickford

Take Note in concert
Saturday 9 December, 3.00 pm
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN

Take Note are an all-male a Cappella group of up to 12 singers formed in 2015. They sing many genres of music across many eras in four-part harmony. Their wide-ranging repertoire includes traditional male voice choir numbers, popular songs from the 50s and 60s sung in close harmony doo wop style, comedy items and other a Cappella arrangements that they think will appeal to their audiences. This concert is a fundraiser for St Andrew’s Church. No tickets required. Donations requested on the day.

Messy Nativity

Wednesday13 December, 4 p.m. for 2 hours

St Andrew's Church, 11 London Road Wickford, SS2 0AN

​Messy Church is a way of being church for families and others. It is Christ-centred, for all ages, based on creativity, hospitality and celebration.

Film Night: It's a Wonderful Life. 

Friday 15 December 2023, 7.00 pm
St Andrew’s Church, 11 London Road, Wickford SS12 0AN

The story of dejected & desperate George Bailey, who's spent his whole life in the small town of Bedford Falls, but longs to explore the world. Reaching rock bottom, he starts to believe that everyone in his life would be better off if he had never been born. An angel shows him how important a role he's had in the lives of friends & family.

Sunday 24th December, Christmas Eve:

• Eucharists 9.30am St Mary’s, 10am St Andrew’s, 11am St Catherine’s
• Christingle Service 2pm, 3pm, 4pm in St Catherine’s
• Crib Service 2pm and 3.30pm in St Mary’s
• Crib Service 5pm in St Andrew’s
• Midnight Mass 11.30pm in St Andrew’s, St Catherine’s and St Mary’s

Monday 25th December, Christmas Day:

• Eucharist 9.30am in St Mary’s
• Eucharist, 10am in St Andrew’s
• Eucharist, 10.30am in St Catherine’s

Sunday 31st December:

• Joint Eucharist, 10.30am in St Mary’s 
• Songs of Praise, 6.30pm in St Catherine’s

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Graham Kendrick - The Candle Song (Like A Candle Flame).

Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

 

Here are the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Services in the Wickford and Runwell Team Ministry. All are most welcome.

See the Parish of Wickford and Runwell website for more information. To find out more about Christingle Services, see The Children's Society website.

Wishing you a blessed Christmas and a happy and healthy 2023. Love from Revd Jonathan, Revd Sue, Revd Steve, and our Licensed Lay Ministers, Emma and Mike.

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Graham Kendrick - Song For Christingle.

Christmas/Epiphany family-friendly session

Today we held our second family-friendly session at St Stephen Walbrook for families with young children.

Our theme was Christmas and Epiphany. We began with a star-themed Treasure Hunt exploring 'The Divine Image' exhibition and ending at our Crib. Then we enjoyed star-led craft activities including DIY constellation viewers and planispheres. Some lunch followed and we ended by telling the nativity and epiphany stories using our crib figures, singing 'Away in a manger' and praying the following prayer:

Loving Jesus, we come to you today because you came to us. God become human as a baby boy to share your love with us and know what our lives are like. We thank you for loving us enough to be one of us and we want to be one with you as a result. Amen.

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Anaïs Mitchell - Song of the Magi.

St Stephen Walbrook - Christmas Services

Click here for the link to the Christmas Newsletter for St Stephen Walbrook.

In particular, we warmly invite you to:

‘Carols for All and Blessing of the Crib’ by Candlelight

Our traditional candlelit Carol Service will be on Wednesday 16th December at 6.00pm and it is always a great occasion when neighbouring businesses and friends of St Stephen Walbrook come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The music will be led by our own choir of St Stephen Walbrook with organist Joe Sentance and there will be well-known carols to sing, including ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’, ‘While shepherds watched’, ‘The first Noel’ and ‘Hark the herald angels sing’.

During ‘Away in a Manger’, children will be invited to gather round the crib for its Blessing and there’ll be a carpeted area in the church for them to sit at other times. The service will be followed by mince pies, mulled wine and soft drinks. Last year, the church was full so do arrive early to ensure you get a seat.

Christmas Eve Midnight Eucharist

The first Communion of Christmas will be celebrated on Thursday 24th December starting at 11.30pm. The choir of St Stephen Walbrook and organist Joe Sentance will again lead the music and the setting will be Schubert in Bb. Mince pies and hot drinks will be served after the service.

We very much look forward to seeing you at one or both of the services but do please let us know you’re coming by email, telephone or post so that we have an idea of numbers for seating and catering. Thank you.

Please see our Christmas newsletter for details of other services during Advent.

We wish you a happy festive season.

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Christmas in London

I've just got a copy of the latest Step Outside Guide which is the seasonal Christmas in London - a family adventure day. The Step Outside Guides are little books that give you a BIG day out! With clear maps and instructions which let your kids lead the day out, they are guides to fantastic free-to see days exploring London which begin and end at tube stations!

In Christmas in London Jennie and Christopher Wren escort you on a detective trail, discovering elements from the story of the First Christmas, which you can stick on the stable scene. Which London Square is home to a shepherd and his sheep? Where can you find real gold, frankincense and myrrh? Let Jennie and Christopher show you!

As you travel, little wrens point out some of the beautiful golden ornaments on London’s buildings. They have stickers too, to decorate a Christmas tree in the book.

Then as darkness falls, you arrive at Trafalgar Square and enjoy the tree, the crib scene and a very special painting, before taking a sparkly bus ride along some of London’s most beautiful Christmas streets.

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The Pogues - Lullaby Of London.