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Follow the Star: Calm and Bright
Last December, thousands of churches extended ‘Join the Song’ from the Church of England to Follow the Star to their local church.
This year’s theme – Follow the Star: Calm and Bright – draws on the world-famous carol, Silent Night:
“Silent Night! Holy Night!
All is calm, all is bright...”
Throughout Advent, the campain will primarily focus on how to find calm during this busy period, with reflections offering people a chance to pause during the busy season and tips on how to prepare for a calm Christmas. Then through Christmas, there will be a focus particularly on Bright, with a series of daily reflections from Christmas Day to the Eve of Epiphany.
Find out more about the campaign on the Church of England website.
Resources and Webinars
The Church of England has been working with dioceses and parishes to develop a range of resources to help churches, choirs and singing groups, communities and schools to join the 'Calm and Bright' campaign this Advent and Christmas:
- Pre-order the Reflections Booklet, Prayer Bookmark, and Family Prayer Card from Church House Publishing. Preview sample pages here.
- Purchase the 'Calm and Bright' Advent Calendar.
- View the logo and design guidelines including colour palettes and approved fonts. The lgogs are avaliable for download for both digital and print on the Church of England website under 'Resources for Churches'
- Access music, social media graphics, PowerPoint assets, posters and other free tools and resources from A Church Near You (registration required).
- Explore webinars catered to Advent and Christmas, blogs, bitesize videos and a digital content planner from Digital Labs to support churches in using the digital resources available
- Access a directory of resources for use at home, church and school, provided by members of the Parachurch Organisations Network of the Growing Faith Foundation. View here.
- (Coming soon) Family activities, pop-up nativity plan and online Advent reflections for all ages via the Follow The Star app.
- Watch Christmas episodes from the Cheeky Pandas: These free resources feature cartoons, songs and Bible stories to help you engage the children in your church with the Christmas story. The videos are avaliable here.
- Watch a special webinar on the campain. Digital Labs have created an accompanying blog.
- Under 18 webinar on how your church can engage children and young people avaliable here.
- View an interactive webinar on how to create a Christmas Digital Planner.
- Watch a webinar on how to maximise opportunities for giving over the Advent and Christmas period here.
Seasonal messages from the Bishop of Chelmsford
- The Right Reverend Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford has recorded a Christmas message which you can watch here. A transcript of this message can be found here, please feel free to make use of the message in parish magazines and similar publications where it is helpful to do so.
- The Right Reverend Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford has recorded a New Year's message which you can watch here. A transcript of this message can be found here, please feel free to make use of the message in parish magazines and similar publications where it is helpful to do so.
Advent and Christmas Video Sermons
Our weekly video sermons are written and recorded by clergy and lay ministers for people who want to watch online or for ministers looking for sermon ideas.
In this section we will be adding our weekly sermons for the Advent and Christmas season.
To have the latest weekly sermon delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up to the mailing list here.
Advent Sunday
Revd Canon Sebastian Harries, Chelmsford Cathedral Precentor, has recorded our video sermon for Advent Sunday, Sunday 1 December.
Watch the video or read the transcript here.
The Second Sunday of Advent
The Revd Philip Ritchie, Mission and Ministry Adviser Colchester Area Team and Area Dean of Harwich, has recorded our weekly sermon for the second Sunday of Advent, Sunday 8 December.
Watch the video or read the transcript here
Resources for children, young people and families, collated by the Diocese of Chelmsford Mustard Seed Team
- Excellent pinterest board on Advent and Christmas by Mary Hawes.
- Advent summed up in 2 minutes. Video avaliable here.
- Advent information & resources avaliable from Re-Quest - Click on the resource tab then type in 'Christmas' in the search bar.
- All-Age Advent Service from ROOTS in four parts.
- Muddy Church has a range of 'Wondering and Wandering' resources to encourage us to get outside this season: Winter and Christmas Resources.
- The Salvation Army has created resources for toddler groups and family carol services including instant nativity scripts.
- Many churches and other venues will be delighted to be opening up for Christingle Services again this December. All the resources you might need to plan and run a service in a range of settings are now available. Christingle resources can be found here.
Services across Essex and East London
AChurchNearYou.com lists details of services for Advent and Christmas across the Diocese of Chelmsford.
How to update your 'A Church Near You' page
Chelmsford Cathedral Services
All services are free to attend. Seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis so please do arrive in good time.
If you have any questions about Christmas at Chelmsford Cathedral, please email hello@chelmsfordcathedral.org.uk
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Advent Procession - Sunday 1st December at 6pm
Start the Christmas season by candlelight with readings and music sung by the Cathedral Choir.
The service will be followed by mulled wine and mince pies provided by the Friends of Chelmsford Cathedral.
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Midday Carols - Friday 13th December at 12pm
Sing your favourite carols on your lunch break, or pop in while you’re Christmas shopping, and enjoy mulled wine and mince pies!
The Cathedral Choir’s Sopranos will be singing a number of sacred and secular festive favourites, and the carols will be accompanied on the organ by Chelmsford Cathedral's Director of Music, who will also play some seasonal, fun organ pieces.
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Christingle - Sunday 15th December at 3:30pm
Perfect for young children, find out why the Christingle, a little lighted candle in an orange, helps us tell the Christmas story.
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Carols by Candlelight - Sunday 15th December at 6pm
Sing your favourite Christmas carols by the light of the Christmas tree in the beautiful surroundings of the Cathedral.
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Midday Carols - Friday 20th December at 12pm
Sing your favourite carols on your lunch break, or pop in while you’re Christmas shopping, and enjoy mulled wine and mince pies!
The Cathedral Choir’s Sopranos will be singing a number of sacred and secular festive favourites, and the carols will be accompanied on the organ by the Chelmsford Cathedral's Director of Music, who will also play some seasonal, fun organ pieces.
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Carols by Candlelight - Friday 20th December at 7pm
Sing your favourite Christmas carols by the light of the Christmas tree in the beautiful surroundings of the Cathedral.
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Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols - Saturday 21st December at 6:30pm
A highlight of the Cathedral’s Christmas celebrations, join this wonderful service consisting of nine special readings, music sung by the Cathedral Choir and well-loved Christmas carols for everyone to sing together. A glorious traditional Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
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Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols - Sunday 22nd December at 6:30pm
A highlight of the Cathedral’s Christmas celebrations, join this wonderful service consisting of nine special readings, music sung by the Cathedral Choir and well-loved Christmas carols for everyone to sing together. A glorious traditional Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
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Christmas Jumper Carols - Monday 23rd December at 11am
A family-friendly sing-a-long of all your favourite Christmas carols. Wear your Christmas jumpers and be ready for some festive fun!
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Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols - Monday 23rd December at 6.30pm
A highlight of the Cathedral’s Christmas celebrations, join this wonderful service consisting of nine special readings, music sung by the Cathedral Choir and well-loved Christmas carols for everyone to sing together. A glorious traditional Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
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Crib Service - Tuesday 24th December at 3pm
In this family-friendly, interactive service children are invited to dress up as characters from the nativity and help retell the Christmas story.
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Midnight Mass - Tuesday 24th December at 11:30pm
A traditional Choral Eucharist with the Cathedral Choir to welcome Christmas Day. Incense will be used during this service.
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Said Eucharist - Wednesday 25th December at 8am
Book of Common Prayer Eucharist on Christmas Day.
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Christmas Morning All Age Eucharist - Wednesday 25th December at 9.30am
Joyful family service for Christmas morning.
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Christmas Day Choral Eucharist - Wednesday 25th December at 11.15am
Join the Cathedral Choir to celebrate Christmas Day in a special service led by the Bishop of Chelmsford. Incense will be used during this service.
Environment Advent Calendar
Our Diocesan Environment team has produced a 2024 advent calendar full of good news stories related to the environment.
Find out what some churches are doing to make their churchyards and buildings more environmentally friendly and how one church reduced its energy bill by 40%.
