Parish Carols & Midnight Mass

Here are details of our Christmas Services at St Stephen Walbrook, to which all are welcome:

Parish Carols by Candlelight – Wednesday 14 December, 6.00pm

‘Carols for All and Blessing of the Crib’ by Candlelight. A traditional candlelit Carol Service. The great occasion when neighbouring businesses and friends of St Stephen Walbrook come together to celebrate Christmas. Music will be led by the St Stephen's Voices with organist Joe Sentance and there will be much-loved carols to sing, including 'Once in Royal David's City, While shepherds watched their flocks by night, See amid the winter's snow, Away in a manger and Hark the Herald Angels sing'. Choir carols include 'Sir Christemas' and Bethlehem Down'. The service will also include ‘Sir Christèmas’ – Matthias, ‘Bethlehem Down’ – Warlock, and ‘Gaudete’ - arr. Jenkins. Last year, the church was packed so do arrive early to ensure you get a seat. Mince pies and mulled wine.

Midnight Mass – Saturday 24 December, 11.30pm

Join us for the first Communion of Christmas where St Stephen’s Voices and organist Joe Sentance will lead us with ‘Missa Brevis in D, K194’ – Mozart and ‘Sussex Carol’ - arr. Ledger. The service will be followed by mince pies and hot drinks.

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William Matthias - Sir Christèmas.

Seeing More Clearly with the Eyes of Love

Yesterday saw the presentation at St Martin-in-the-Fields of ‘Seeing More Clearly with the Eyes of Love’, a new liturgy for voices based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, composed to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream contains two significant references to the New Testament: Bottom’s misquoting of St Paul (‘The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen…’) and Bottom’s declaration taken from the Letter to the Ephesians (‘I assure you: the wall is down that parted their fathers’). In this ‘Liturgy for Voices’ these references are woven together with other excerpts from the play, words from the biblical poem ‘Song of Songs’, and elements from the traditional Christian liturgy to enable those present to explore Shakespeare’s own theme of clarifying the vision which belongs to love. The liturgy also includes five newly commissioned pieces from contemporary poets based on characters in the play: Laurence Sail (Titania), Michael Symmons Roberts (Demetrius), Sinead Morrissey (Puck), Micheal O’ Siadhail (Helena) and Jenny Lewis (Bottom); and the whole is intended to present an aspect of ‘Civic Shakespeare’, reflecting on the potentially transforming effect of love in civil society.

Andy Goodliff has posted a reflection on the experience of being present for this liturgy. He says:

"I like the ambition of the liturgy, the way we journeyed through the play and also the pattern of worship. I loved the music, composed by Myra Blyth (who for her many talents, did not know this was one). The music was suitably Shakespearian in sound, but also had echoes of Karl Jenkins and his The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. The final piece, which worked as a means of Blessing and Dismissal was wonderful. The intercessions were powerful and brought the themes of love and God into the concerns of our day."

‘Seeing More Clearly with the Eyes of Love’ was a fascinating interweaving of new and old texts, voices, music, responses, symbolic action and performance.

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Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace.