Christmas at St John’s Wood
The right preparation
Our preparation for Christmas starts with our observance of the season of Advent. This is the start of the Church’s year and a time of expectation when we look ahead not only to our Christmas celebrations but also to the time when Christ will come again at the end of time. During the season of Advent, we try to keep a sense of alert watchfulness. We look forward to singing the great Advent hymns. One highlight of this season is our St. Lucy service based on the Swedish Lucia tradition with music sung by the sopranos of our Choir reflecting on themes of light and darkness.
Our famous Crib Service
One of the traditional highlights of our Christmas celebrations at St John’s Wood is our Crib service. This is a service for all ages. We tell the Christmas story in a dramatic and informative way aided by some truly outsized angels. Carols are chosen by popular acclaim. It is a fun service, full of Christmas joy. It is a sharing of the joy of the Shepherds and Angels at Jesus’s birth.
The most joyful mystery
As well as the Crib service, and our liberation of the sheep from Kent & Son’s butchers of St John’s Wood High Street, we also celebrate Christmas with:
- A traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols
- An informal carol service of popular classics
- A Christmas Eve Midnight Mass and Christmas Day Choral Eucharist.
We aim to celebrate the fullness of Christmas joy which comes from the fullest appreciation of the wonderful mystery of God coming to dwell among us as a child.