Today is the Fourth and final Sunday of Advent and our focus this week is on the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother and the Theotokos (the God-bearer),

Our readings and liturgy direct us towards Christ's birth and we endeavour to do so with a sense of alert watchfulness, and our fundamental Advent prayer remains 'Maranatha' - 'Our Lord, come' (1 Cor. 16:22).

Our readings this week come from Micah 5:2-5a, Hebrews 10:5-10, and Luke 1:39-45.

Our hymns are, 'People, look east', and 'O come, O come Emmanuel'.

You may wish to have an advent wreath or candle to hand as we light this during our service.

A service booklet to accompany this service can be downloaded below.

The celebration of Christ's incarnation at Christmas is one of the highlights of the Christian year. Each year at Christmas we once again give thanks for the wonderful mystery of God's dwelling among us in the fullness of humanity, as foretold by the prophets and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Christ's nativity provides the occasion for this festival of the incarnation and has done so since the end of the third century. The Christmas Crib and Nativity plays can both be traced back to the tableau of Christ's birth that Francis of Assisi arranged when he celebrated Christmas in Greccio in 1223AD.

But today is just the beginning of the Christmas Season which continued beyond the twelve days to Epiphany, and just like the season of Advent and Lent lasts a full 40 days. Christmas Season ends with the Feast of the Presentation (or Candlemas) on the 2nd February.

Our readings today come from Isaiah 52:7-10, Hebrews 1:1-12, and John 1:1-14.

Our Carols (a mix of both traditional and modern) are, 'Joy to the world', 'Light of the world', 'O little town of Bethlehem' and 'O come, all ye faithful'.

You may wish to have an advent wreath or candle to hand as we light the final candle during our service.

A service booklet to accompany this service can be downloaded below.