Advent & Christmas at St Stephen’s

In addition to our regular services, during Advent and Christmas we will be holding special seasonal services to which everyone is welcome either in person or online; services from St Stephen’s will be live-streamed and available to watch on our website and YouTube channel afterwards.

Sunday 3rd December 2023
ADVENT SUNDAY

  • 10.30am Sung Eucharist
  • Join us as we mark the beginning of Advent sharing Communion together and singing traditional hymns with our choir.
  • 6.00pm Advent Carol Service
  • A service of readings, Advent hymns, and anthems sung by our choir as we wait with anticipation, moving from darkness to light of the coming of our Lord.

Sunday 10th December 2023
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

  • 10.30am Sung Eucharist
  • We gather as a community to continue our journey through Advent.
  • 3.00pm Church Decoration
  • Join us to decorate St Stephen’s for the Christmas season. Everyone is welcome!
  • 6.00pm Choral Evensong
  • Join us at the end of the day for a quiet service of Choral Evensong, sung today by the tenors and basses of our choir to ancient plainsong melodies.

Sunday 17th December 2023
THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

  • 10.30am Sung Eucharist
  • We celebrate the Eucharist together as we wait for the coming of Christ.
  • 6.00pm Christmas Carol Service
  • A traditional service of readings telling the Christmas story with Christmas carols sung by our choir and for all to join in with.

Friday 22nd December 2023

  • 9.00pm Carol Singing at Ye Olde Beverlie
  • An evening of carols with the community at our local pub, Ye Olde Beverlie. Booking a table is advised – click here to go to their website for contact details.

Sunday 24th December 2023
CHRISTMAS EVE

  • 10.30am Crib Service
  • A service for children, singing well-known carols and hearing the Christmas story.
  • 6.15pm Community Carol Singing (Canterbury City Centre)
  • Join people from across Canterbury as we sing carols together in Rose Square, led by the Salvation Army Band and our own St Stephen’s Choir.
  • 10.00pm First Communion of Christmas
  • A traditional service of Communion marking the first moments of Christmas Day as we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ.

Monday 25th December 2023
CHRISTMAS DAY

  • 10.30am Festal Sung Eucharist
  • A Christmas Day celebration of the Eucharist, with carols.

Sunday 31st December 2023
THE FIRST SUNDAY OF CHRISTMAS

  • 10.30am Sung Eucharist
  • We continue to celebrate Christmas, and on this day we specifically remember the Naming of Jesus, which in the Jewish tradition happens a week after the birth of a child.

Sunday 7th January
THE EPIPHANY

  • 10.30am Festal Sung Eucharist
  • We remember the coming of the Magi, bringing gifts to the infant Jesus.
  • 6.00pm Festal Choral Evensong
  • A traditional service of Choral Evensong from the Book of Common Prayer, as has been used in the Church of England for over 400 years.