Then it began: the choir, dressed in all black, conducted by Fraser Gartshore, entered the stage. After a welcoming speech delivered by Reverend Geoffrey Johnston, the choir sang “Once in Royal David’s City.” After the first verse, the audience stood and sang too, filling the church with music.

The traditional service “Nine Lessons and Carols” is primarily celebrated in Anglican and Presbyterian communities in the UK on Christmas Eve. The name originates from the schedule of the celebration: nine bible verses and nine Christmas/religious songs are alternately read and sung. Edward Benson, the late Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced this special service in 1880. In Cambridge, “Nine Lessons and Carols” was celebrated for the first time in 1918. Since 1928, the BBC also broadcasts the service from Cambridge.

After the song was over, Johnston invited the parish to remember all those in need: the poor and the helpless, the marginalized and the oppressed. This was followed by the “Our Father” prayer, which every parish member should recite in the language that they felt comfortable in. The choir sang “A Virgin most pure” before the recitation of the first bible verse about the disobedience of Adam and Eve. The parish alternately read from the old and new testament and sang Christmas songs together.

The Bonn/Cologne parish does not receive German church taxes or funding from the UK, so members were asked to donate a small amount during the service for the parish’s pastoral work. The evening ended with the song “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.” Following the worship, the audience was invited to celebrate the occasion with mulled wine (Glühwein) and mince pies.

The Anglican Chaplaincy for Bonn and Cologne is a parish of the Church of England. Services are every Sunday at 9.30am in English at St. Paulus church in Beuel, Siegburger Straße 75. (Orig. text: bei, Translation: Geena Kloeppel)