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Advent and Christmas 2024


Sunday 22 December - Fourth Sunday of Advent
Carols by Candlelight
6:00pm at All Saints'

A traditional service of carols and readings by candlelight to celebrate the approaching birth of the Lord Jesus.
Seasonal refreshments served after the service.
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24 December - Christmas Eve
Family Mass
4:00pm at All Saints'

Vigil celebration of Christmas for the whole family with interactive reading of the Christmas story, carols singing, and Holy Communion.
Seasonal refreshments served after the service.


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"Midnight" Mass
11:00pm at All Saints'

Traditional service for Christmas Eve with carol-singing, music, readings within the celebration of Mass.

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25 December - Christmas Day
Dawn Mass
8:30am at St Thomas'

Early Christmas service of Holy Communion.
Christmas Day Mass
10:30am at All Saints'
Sung Mass with carol singing and Blessing of Presents.
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Christmas Octave - 26 to 31 December 
Weekdays at 10:00am at All Saints'
Thursday 26 Dec, Saint Stephen 
Friday 27 Dec, Saint John 
Saturday 28 Dec, The Holy Innocents
Monday 30 Dec
Tuesday 31 Dec
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Sunday 29 December - Sunday of the Holy Family
Said Sunday Mass
8:30am at St Thomas'

Early service of Holy Communion.
Sung Parish Mass
10:30am at All Saints'

Sunday Mass with hymns and refreshments.
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1 January 2025 - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Sung Parish Mass
10:30am at All Saints'

Mass at the end of the Christmas Octave to celebrate Mary, the Holy Mother of God.
This service is followed by breakfast.
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Sunday 5 January 2025 - Epiphany of the Lord
The Epiphany is transferred to today from Monday 6 January.
Said Sunday Mass
8:30am at St Thomas'

Early service of Holy Communion.
Sung Parish Mass
10:30am at All Saints'

Mass to celebrate the Visit of the Wise Men to the Lord Jesus and the Solemnity of the Epiphany.
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Epiphany Carol Service
4:00pm at All Saints'

A special celebration of the Epiphany of the Lord with singing, readings, and the blessing of chalk used in the New Year home blessings.
Refreshments served after the service.
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About the Seasons of Advent and Christmas
Advent
This is a season of expectation, as the Church prepares for fours Sundays to celebrate the coming (Latin “adventus”) of Christ in his incarnation, and also looks ahead to his final advent as judge at the end of time. The readings, hymns, and liturgies not only direct us towards the celebration of Christ’s birth, but they also challenge our reluctance to confront the theme of divine judgement:
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Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for favoured sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending
Swell the triumph of His train:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
God appears on earth to reign
.
       - Charles Wesley
 
The characteristic note of Advent is therefore expectation. The anticipation of Christmas under commercial pressure has also made it harder to sustain the appropriate sense of alert watchfulness, but the fundamental Advent prayer remains ‘Maranatha’ – ‘Our Lord, come’ (1 Corinthians 16.22). Church decorations are simple and spare, no flowers are used, and purple is the traditional liturgical colour. The Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete or ‘Rose Sunday’) has been observed since medieval times with a splash of colour in the restrained atmosphere of Advent. The lighting of candles on the Advent Wreath, at Christingle services, and during “Carols by Candlelight” helps to focus on the coming of Jesus as the light of the World.
Christmas
The celebration of Christ’s incarnation at Christmas is one of the two poles of the Christian year. The wonderful mystery of God’s dwelling among us in the fullness of humanity, as Emmanuel (God-with-us), foretold by the prophets and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, provides the material of the feast:
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Salvation’s author, call to mind
How, taking form of humankind,
Born of a virgin undefiled,
Thou in man’s flesh becam’st a child.
     - tr. J.M Neale

Christmas is much more then than just a joyful celebration of Jesus’ birth. The Christmas liturgy recalls us to the central truth of the Word made flesh for our salvation.
In the Church this holy season of Christmas is celebrated for twelve days (“The Twelve Days of Christmas”), beginning to count from 25 December and ending with the Feast of the Epiphany on 6 January.
All Saints' Parish Church
Bedford Road, Houghton Regis
LU5 5DJ

St Thomas' Church
and Parish Office
Lowry Drive, Houghton Regis.
LU5 5SJ
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  • Home
    • Contact Us
    • News
    • Safeguarding
    • Survey
  • The Parish
    • People
    • All Saints' Parish Church
    • St Thomas'
    • Choir
    • Bells
    • Schools
  • Our Faith
    • Learning
    • Prayer Resources
    • Rosary
  • Worship & Prayer
    • Easter
    • Mass
    • Walsingham Cell
  • Life Events
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Weddings
    • Funerals
    • Confession
    • Anointing
    • Home Blessings
  • What's on
    • Coffee Mornings
    • Knitting Group
    • Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage
  • Giving
    • Parish Giving Scheme
    • Lagacies
    • Restoration
    • Memorial Path