Christmas Eve candlelit Carol Service for all ages followed by mulled wine/ juice and mince pies

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Join us to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ at our traditional Midnight Mass service.

Come and join with members of the congregations from Blockley, Bourton on the Hill and Ebrington for a benefice communion service celebrating the festival of the Epiphany (the coming of the Wise Men ) as we look forward to the new year.

After the service, refreshments will be available - a chance to catch your breath, relax with friends or meet new people.

We look forward to welcoming you!

JOIN US FOR PLOUGH SUNDAY AT EBRINGTON - TIME 9:30 AM DATE 5th JAN
On 5th January at 9:30 am we will be joining with Ebrington congregation and friends from Blockley for a special service for Plough Sunday which is traditionally held in Ebrington. It will be a family friendly “service of the word” with prayer and readings as we ask God to bless the land and those who work with it.

For people wishing to receive Holy Communion there will also be a traditional said Communion service at St.Lawrence at 6pm.

Some background information on Plough Sunday published by the Diocese of Winchester.

Plough Sunday is thought to be a very ancient festival, abandoned at the Reformation and then revived by the Victorians. Traditionally it was celebrated on the first Sunday after Epiphany, which falls on 6 January, and then ploughing began the next day, Plough Monday. Since Victorian times many farms have owned their own plough, so a representative plough was brought into church for a blessing, but in the medieval period, when there was only one plough in each village, the village plough was drawn through the streets to be blessed at the church, and was followed with much food, drinking and revelry. For medieval farmers it was an important occasion. The village plough was cleaned and decorated, it was then dragged to the church to be blessed and for prayers for a good harvest before the start of the new season’s work. During the service the ‘plough light’ - a candle kept lit in the church throughout the year - was paraded ceremonially. After the blessing, the plough was pulled through the village again, led by a Fool and a boy dressed as a woman called a ‘Betsy’. The procession stopped at as many pubs and friendly houses as possible for revellers to demand drinks. Pennies were also collected along route as a contribution towards keeping the plough light going in the church throughout the year - though others say it could have been to boost the kitty for “ale” that evening at the tavern. It would appear that anyone not paying a penny was likely to find a furrow cut across their land by morning! The day ended with a village feast, ale or beer flowed, and the traditional centrepiece was always a large Plough Pudding - a suet pudding stuffed with sausagemeat, bacon, onion, and sage. The recipe is readily available on the internet for anyone who wishes to give it a go. Modern farming practices have changed, of course, and the widespread sowing of winter wheat means that much farming is now carried out in the autumn, but how marvellous to have two opportunities to celebrate the work of our farmers – both at Harvest Festival and on Plough Sunday

All welcome to our service of Holy Communion with hymns.

Children are always welcome in our church. Our monthly service specifically for all generations is the Open Door Service held on the first Sunday of the Month at 9:30am. In January it is being held in Ebrington to celebrate Plough Sunday.

The grief and pain of life do not have to be left at the church door at Christmas, but can sit alongside the hope and light at the heart of the Christmas message.
A Blue Christmas service is a gentle, reflective worship service for people who are grieving or have lost loved ones. Sometimes known as "The Service of the Longest Night", it is held in Western Christian churches during the Advent season, on or around the Winter Solstice, looking forward to the return of light after the darkest period.