Online Nine Lessons and Carols – Sunday 20 December 2020

One of the hardest things for me this year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, has been the ban on group singing. Who knows what Christmas will look like in 2020 and whether we will be able to come together in churches for our traditional carol services?

One thing is for sure: This Christmas will be different.

With this in mind, I decided I would try and find a way to bring that most traditional of Christmas services, "Nine Lessons and Carols", to anyone with internet access, in the comfort of their own homes.

And so an ambitious plan was hatched to pre-record a Covid-special Online Nine Lessons and Carols... 

I am delighted that The Rt Revd Simon Burton-Jones has agreed to open the service, with various other clergy members from around the area reading the Nine Lessons.

Cantiaci members met for a 2-hour window one Sunday in early October when group singing was temporarily allowed. Standing miles apart from each other, we worked hard in that short time and recorded the bulk of the programme. Then Lockdown 2.0 hit and subsequent recording sessions had to be cancelled. I’ve therefore had to be a little creative in order to complete the service and we’ve recorded a couple of pieces remotely each in our own homes and ‘stitched’ together the parts to produce the final article. A huge thank you to my husband, Rob Sanders, for his skill in artistry and editing, and his hours of work which have gone into making this project a reality.

Heartfelt thanks to Bishop Simon and all our readers:

Revd Canon Mandy Carr

Revd Bill MacDougall

Revd Heather Hughes

Revd Stephen Hills

Revd Douglas Robertson

Revd Sue Diggory

Revd Richard Worssam

Revd Canon Bryan Knapp

Revd Andrew Axon

Additional thanks to Revd Bill MacDougall and the Churchwardens of St Mary the Virgin, Chiddingstone for use of the church for recording purposes.

Special thanks to fellow singers Hatty Philips, Roland Millar and Toby Barrett.

Our Online Nine Lessons and Carols will ‘go live’ on Sunday 20 December at 6pm at https://youtu.be/Ytu7KGI0T-4

Donations

Cantiaci has, for the last two years, raised money on behalf of Hospice in the Weald through carol singing at Christmas time.

There will be no charge to view the Nine Lessons and Carols service. However, if anyone would like to make a donation, this will be split between the future work of Cantiaci and the Hospice in the Weald. 

Donations can be made online to the following account:

Account name: Louise Sanders

Sort code: 07-16-60

Account number: 66248816

Reference: Please use your name as the reference

I hope that the service will bring you some comfort and joy this Christmas time.

With best wishes,

Louise