A Festival of Lessons & Carols

As winter darkness gathers, we will settle in candlelit warmth at Saint Paul’s Church to share the music and prophecies of the season. An Immaculate Reception of sherry and sweets will follow, fireside, in the Parish House, and childcare will be available. Please join us for a festive evening sure to warm you from the inside out.

King’s College, Cambridge, first offered its renowned Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve 1918. That ‘original’ service was, though, adapted from an earlier (1880) Order conceived by E.W. Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, for use in the wooden shed that served as his cathedral. A revision of the Order of Service was made in 1919, involving rearrangement of the lessons. From then on, the service has begun with the hymn ‘Once in Royal David’s City,’ and the backbone of the service – the lessons and the prayers – has remained virtually unchanged. From time to time, King’s College receives copies of services held in venues as distant as the West Indies or the Far East, demonstrating how widely spread, varied, and beloved the liturgy has become!