Advent & Christmas 2021

We love to celebrate Christmas at STC!  We hope you can join us at one or more of the gatherings below.  Scroll down to the bottom for FAQs.

Christmas Eve, 24th December

  • 3.30pm Christingle – A joyful all age celebration to remember Jesus – the Light of the World.  We’ll be making our own Christingles during the gathering, singing carols and learning about the work of the Children’s Society…all with the help of a giant inflatable human Christingle!

**NOW ONLINE ONLY!**  150 Christingle craft packs will be available to collect from the church between 10am-5pm Thursday 23rd December and 1pm-3pm on the day so everyone can join in with the online livestream.

  • 11pm Midnight Communion – A quiet, reflective service with communion and carols in candlelight. Join us as we take some space to welcome Christmas Day. We ask that everyone takes a lateral flow test before attending this gathering. NOW TICKETED with limited seating – book here

Christmas Day, 25th December

  • 10.30am Christmas Morning – 1 hour. All age celebration, celebrating the birth of Jesus. Onsite and now online.

We ask that everyone takes a lateral flow test before attending this gathering. This will now be a ticketed event, they are available to book here.  This is now FULLY BOOKED. 

Sunday 26th December – Boxing Day

  • NO gatherings!

Sunday 2nd January – Epiphany

Online only.

  • 10.30am Gathering – 45 minutes. Whole church celebration marking 12 days after Christmas, celebrating the Wise Men’s visit to Jesus. NOW ONLINE ONLY – no onsite gathering.

Gatherings return to 9am and 11am from Sunday 9th January; and to 7pm on 16th January
We will update this page as soon as possible with news of which gatherings will be onsite or online.

FAQs

  • Will there be new Covid measures in place in light the Government’s statement on Wednesday 8th December? Yes. For any event or gathering held indoors, mask wearing will now be mandatory again (unless exempt) and we’ll also be encouraging everyone (secondary school aged and above) to take a lateral flow test before arriving. We will continue to have 2m social distanced seating on the balcony, provide hand sanitiser on arrival and ventilate the building well (please wrap up warm as it can get a little draughty now the weather is colder!).
  • Can we sing? We can still sing, although, we ask you to please wear a mask while singing (except outdoors).
  • Do I need to book to come to a Christmas gathering? In light of covid we have made changes to our Christmas gatherings: Christmas Eve – 3.30pm Christingle is now online only; Christmas Eve – 11pm Midnight Communion now requires booking; Christmas Day is fully booked but please join us online; Epiphany Sunday is now online only.
  • What will the seating be like? For most Christmas gatherings the chairs will be set out in rows, distanced at 1m between each row. This means you’ll be able to sit together with your whole household. There is also socially distanced seating at 2m on the balcony.  We are now reintroducing our ‘red card’ system at all our onsite gatherings. You will be handed two red cards upon arrival to place on an empty chair either side of your household to keep some social distancing between households.
  • Can children attend? Most Christmas gatherings are suitable for families and children, particularly those labelled ‘all age’ or ‘whole church celebration’ above.  (However, we ask parents to make sure that children remain with them as much as possible during the gatherings.)
  • Are we allowed to socialise around the gatherings? There will be opportunity to connect with other people outside before and after the gatherings. There will now be no refreshments at any of our onsite Christmas gatherings.
  • Can we use the toilets? Yes, the toilets are open for use as usual.
  • What happens if we arrive late?  Even if you have booked a seat, please arrive early so we can ensure there is as little disruption or mixing during the gatherings as possible.
  • Are all the gatherings and events going to be online (live-streamed)? Not all of the gatherings will be live-streamed. Please see above for which ones you can watch online.
  • If I am not fully vaccinated, how does it work with test & trace? There will be a QR code available to scan that we encourage those who aren’t fully vaccinated to continue to use so that they can be notified through the app if there is a need to self-isolate.