Christmas at St Paul's Cathedral
This film goes behind the scenes at St Paul's Cathedral for their most magical time of year - Christmas. What is it like for the people who make the magic happen, and how do they cater for the 45,000 visitors that come through the cathedral's doors during the festive season?
Rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London destroyed its predecessor, St Paul's Cathedral is known as the nation's church and has become an iconic symbol of London - home to the royal wedding of Charles and Diana, Winston Churchill's funeral and the Queen's 90th birthday service. Every Christmas, the cathedral puts on a magnificent array of 17 special services and concerts, from the Advent Procession to carol concerts, Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself. This programme watches as the spectacular events of the festive season unfold and goes behind the scenes as the Christmas trees are winched into place and the golden copes are repaired. From the clergy to the choirboys, the show discovers the gargantuan efforts that go into making Christmas happen at St Paul's and meet the dedicated people who turn these traditions into a reality.
The film introduces Canon Michael Hampel, a member of Chapter (the cathedral's governing body) and the man tasked with running Christmas at St Paul's. From the Advent Procession to the big service on Christmas Day, it is Canon Michael's responsibility to make sure every event in the St Paul's festive calendar is the best it can be. With a background in amateur dramatics, stage management comes naturally to Canon Michael. Central to the festivities are director of music Andrew Carwood and the 30 choristers that make up the cathedral's world-famous choir. The choristers board at the cathedral school, starting at seven years old and finishing around 13 when their voices start to change. They include 12-year-old Benjamin, who will be spending his last Christmas at St Paul's and hopes to sing the big Christmas solo.
Father James Milne was once a choirboy at Edinburgh Cathedral and is now a minor canon and the sacrist at St Paul's. His tasks this Christmas include finding the celebrities who will read at the Celebration of Christmas concert. Despite his busy schedule, he still finds time for his model train collection. Esther Anstice is one of the cathedral's virgers - the stage managers who make everything go smoothly behind the scenes. From counting wafers to hanging up vestments, distributing service papers to preparing candles, there is no task a virger won't do. Esther is also passionate about the history of St Paul's, revealing her personal collection of historic postcards of the building. Alongside the clergy, virgers and choristers, the show also meets other members of the cathedral's 150-strong staff who keep Christmas on the road, including the 'works' team, who haul three Christmas trees gifted by the Crown Estate into position and assemble the crib scene. In the bell tower are the Broderers, a team of volunteer seamstresses who repair the historic garments worn in services, and a team of flower arrangers put together the Advent wreath. The film also meets the refugees from the cathedral's affiliate charity, the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants, and Phyllis Bankale, one of the cathedral's longest-serving worshippers, who comes from Nigeria and has been visiting the cathedral since 1956.
The first big event in the St Paul's Christmas calendar is the Advent Procession, in which the congregation is plunged into darkness and a candlelit procession with 100 schoolchildren gradually brings light into the cathedral. It is a dramatic service - but it poses particular logistical challenges for the team organising it. The glitziest carol service at St Paul's is the Celebration of Christmas. With an orchestra, celebrity readers and over 2,000 guests, this is a major event for the team. There are celebrities to book, and just one chorister will be chosen to sing the prestigious Once in Royal David's City solo.
Midnight Mass takes place on Christmas Eve. It is a massive logistical undertaking as the cathedral staff need to ensure there are enough wafers and wine to cater for over 1,000 people expecting to receive communion during the service. It is also a challenge for the cathedral's choristers, who are up well past their bedtimes. The big Christmas Day service is the jewel in the crown of the cathedral's Christmas celebrations. On Christmas Day alone, over 10,000 people will pass across the St Paul's threshold, and the service is expected to be of the highest standard. After the service is complete, the 100 staff members that work on Christmas Day have well and truly earned themselves a rest.
All Saints, Church St. Paul's Walden Funeral Service of Victor Alan Burt 1943 - 2015
A Celebration For The Life Of Victor Alan Burt at All Saints, Church St. Paul's Walden
©Visual Tribute Services 2012
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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
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St Paul's Church, Wokingham
Showing the architecture of St Paul's Church in Wokingham. As a wedding departs, see aerial views of the church on a spring day.
Music - bensound.com
Note: The people and building featuring were under the control of the pilot.
Church of England Christmas 2017 - Christmas Day (#GodWithUs)
Watch the final of our three Christmas 2017 films looking at what happens at Church of England churches during Advent and Christmas! The third shows a Christmas service taking place.
Share in the joy of #GodWithUs in your local church this Christmas. Find your nearest church services or events this December at
Sign up for reflections at
Our films were shot at All Saints High Wycombe in Oxford.
Elizabeth way family funeral service | Our Family Caring For Yours | Oldham | Mossley | Manchester
Mossley - Tel: 01457 839247
Oldham - Tel: 0161 633 8270
When your loved one is in our care, you can be involved as much or as little, as you decide, in caring for them.
We have a beautiful, warm resting place until the day of the funeral and you are welcome to visit as often as you wish by prior appointment. You will experience a calm and peaceful setting with everything that you need to hand. We will be there for you as you need us.
The fundamental role of a Funeral Director, above all else, is the safe care of the person who has died. We take our role very seriously and, without any doubt, consider our mortuary care services to be the best there is. Our commitment and dedication in this area of our service, means that you can be assured that your loved one will be cared for in the best possible way, by a caring and extensively experienced member of our family.
Easter Day Service 2017 - Live from Hereford Cathedral (BBC ONE | 16.04.2017)
Easter Day Service 2017 - Live from Hereford Cathedral (BBC ONE | 16.04.2017)
A traditional Eucharist for Easter Day, live from Hereford Cathedral. The service is introduced by the dean, the Very Rev Michael Tavinor, and led by the bishop of Hereford, the Rt Rev Richard Frith. The Mass setting is Rheinberger's Messe misericordias Domini, sung by Hereford Cathedral Choir, and well-loved seasonal hymns include Jesus Christ Is Risen Today and Thine Be the Glory.
The history of Saint Peter and Saint Paul's church Headcorn
A brief history of Saint Peter and Saint Paul's church Headcorn
Church of England Christmas 2017 - Nine Lessons & Carols (#GodWithUs) teaser
Watch the first of our three Christmas 2017 films looking at what happens at Church of England churches during Advent and Christmas! The first shows a Nine Lessons and Carols service taking place.
Share in the joy of #GodWithUs in your local church this Christmas. Find your nearest church services or events this December at
Sign up for reflections at
Our films were shot at All Saints High Wycombe in Oxford.
Royton Whit Walks 1970s - St Pauls Church
Royton Whit Walks 1970s - St Pauls Church
filmed by Donald Simpson
St Paul's Methodist Church, Swinton - Video 3
Yet MORE Whit Week Walks .... but this time some other churches are included.
St. Edmund's Church Falinge Rochdale
Rehearsals For our Patronal Festival Choral Evensong on Sunday the 20th November St Edmund's Day . Thursday the 17 . With part of the choirs of St. Paul church Norden, St. chads parish church Rochdale , with Philip Lowe Director Of Music Rochdale Parish church getting quite a tune out of our rather poorly Hill & Son 1872 tracker organ .
Saint Edmunds church closed for worship in 2007 and was made redundant in 2009 , after years of campaigning was finally rescued by the churches conservation trust in late 2012/13 vested in their care .
The churches conservation trust care's for 350 historic churches in England with over 1000 yrs of church history in their care .
They couldn't do this without the help of volunteers and donations . visitchurches.org.uk
St Edmunds Falinge group of volunteers working with the churches conservation trust twitter.com/@StEdmundsRoch
St Edmund's is open every first and third Saturday of the month & for private tours , regular events please contact the CCT or the friends
1619 Project Church Bell Ringing Commeration
In August 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived at a coastal port in the British colony of Virginia. The people on board were sold to colonists, marking the beginning of a more than two-century-long institution that would radically alter and continue to inform the identity of a young nation.
August 2019 was the 400th anniversary of that ship’s arrival. To commemorate this historic moment churches across the country rang their bells for four minutes on August 24, 2019.
EP “Six Noëls pour Trois Voix Hautes”: St Mary’s RC Cathedral Edinburgh 1964 (Arthur Oldham)
This 7” EP of Christmas music, one of only two recordings of this choir in existence, was privately pressed on the Waverley Label in 1964. For more photos and detailed information on the choir, visit the Archive's website.
1. Venez, divin Messie
2. Il est né le divin enfant
3. Il n'est rien d'impossible
4. Joseph, chaste et digne époux
5. Dans cette étable
6. On ne craint plus dans l'univers
St Paul's Methodist Church, Swinton, Video 2
More Whit Week Walks plus Sunday School trip to Parbold, Scout Gang Show etc
The Minster Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Reading
Just before the Civic Carol Service started.
20180510 190016
Salisbury Cathedral Bells
St Nectans Parish Church Hartland Devon England UK
While in Hartland with my daughter Penny, we decided to visit this very old church they have there, and this was a really nice church, one of the best i have ever been in.. Here is what is said about this church online... The Church of St Nectan is the parish church of Hartland, Devon, England. Sometimes referred to as the Cathedral of North Devon, it is located in the hamlet of Stoke, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the town of Hartland. It is dedicated to Saint Nectan.. Saint Nectan was one of many Celtic hermits and missionaries associated with early Christian sites in south-west Britain, South Wales and Ireland in the fifth and sixth centuries. A well 100 metres from the church is the reputed site of his hermitage.. The history of the area is obscure; however, the first recorded building here was a collegiate church served by twelve secular canons founded ca. 1050 by Gytha, Countess of Wessex (mother of King Harold). Traditionally the church was founded in thanksgiving for the preservation of her husband's life in a storm at sea; a better tradition associates her husband Godwin, Earl of Wessex and holder of the royal manor of Harton, with the foundation..Nothing is known of the earliest building nor whether it was rebuilt or enlarged when the collegiate church was replaced by a house of Augustinian regulars at Hartland Abbey in the twelfth century.. The current building, believed to date from 1360, replaced the earlier church on the site, of which only the font still remains and is thought to date from 1170. The 128 ft tower, rising in four stages, claimed to be the highest in Devon, has for centuries been a landmark to sailors at sea. It was built about sixty years after the rest of the church and it contains a peal of six bells, last rehung in 1952, weighing practically 3 tons. The arch of the tower, open today, once housed a musicians' gallery where the 'church orchestra' of fiddles, double bass, flute and clarinet played for services...
Christmas Day Eucharist Christmas Morning from Oldham Parish Church
This is primarily for the benefit of Oldham Exiles who are living abroad and couldn't watch this on Christmas Day. Happy memories, people.