A CAMPAIGN has been launched to get people singing this Christmas.
With festive church services likely to be severely curtailed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it is hoped that people will take to their doorsteps on Christmas Eve to become a carol singer.
Currently, churches are closed for services, but even when lockdown lifts there will only be room at the inn for no more than 30 people – and communal singing is currently not permitted.
But with millions of people attending Christmas services, including midnight masses, Christingles and nativities, churches want to ensure that there is at least some opportunity to sing the Christmas story.
In neighbouring Reading borough, the 13 churches that comprise Churches Together in Caversham, are inviting every home to come out and sing at 6pm on the night before Christmas, and it is hoping that the idea will catch on across the country, including Wokingham.
“We are producing a Christmas card that we are sending to every house in Caversham – 16,000 addresses in the RG4 postcode area,” said the Revd Andy Storch, curate at St John the Baptist Church. “The card will wish people a Happy Christmas: comfort and joy at a time when both are sorely needed.
“Second, the card will tell the Christmas story in the words of the timeless carol O Little Town of Bethlehem, printed inside.
“Third, it invites us to return to our doorsteps, as we did for the NHS clap, at 6pm on Thursday, December 24 – Christmas Eve – to sing that carol together.
“For those staying indoors, or wanting accompaniment, a professional-level rendition of the carol will premiere at 6pm on the Caversham Churches YouTube channel.”
The Churches Together in Caversham website www.cavershamchurch.org.uk
