This is one of the liturgy pages for the Methodist Church's Hush the Noise Advent and Christmas campaign 2024. A full list of the services can be found here. A PDF containing all the services can be downloaded here.
Carol Service
Bible reading
Carol services appeal to a broad range of people, including many unaffiliated people, and for some folks it will be the only church service they attend all year. For this reason, it makes sense to include all the key passages that tell the Christmas story as part of your service. For example:
Isaiah 9:2-7
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 2:1-7
Luke 2:8-20*
Matthew 2:1-12
John 1:1-14
*We recommend that any spoken message in the service focuses on this passage – the shepherds and the angels – in order to draw out the theme of the Methodist Church’s Christmas campaign, ‘Hush the Noise’.
Songs and hymns
Choose carols that are well known, using tunes and words that are likely to be familiar to unaffiliated people. Traditional is good, as this may connect with people’s memories of childhood Christmases, and unaffiliated people can get just as grumpy as church folks about messing with tradition! For example:
Hark! The Herald-Angels Sing (StF 202)
O Come all ye Faithful (StF 212)
Silent Night (StF 217)
O Little Town of Bethlehem (StF 213)
Once in Royal David’s City (StF 214)
In the Bleak Midwinter (StF 204)
If in doubt, ask unaffiliated friends and family which carols they know.
Background notes
You can refer to the Christmas Day service notes for exegetical material on Luke 2.8-20. When preparing to preach at your carol service, hold in mind unaffiliated people with a loose grasp of the Christian story as your key audience. This may be the only time in the year that some of your visitors hear a sermon or equivalent spoken message, so keep it short and simple, and focus on good news. You might want to show the Hush the Noise film.
Questions for discussion
- When have you had an experience of hearing the angels’ song – in other words, a moment when God has seemed very real to you?
- What kinds of things drown out the angel song for you?
- What helps you ‘hush the noise’?
Prayer ideas
- Write or draw on a piece of paper the things that help you ‘hush the noise’. Then turn the paper into a cone shape and glue or sellotape it to make a simple ear trumpet
- Make a paper angel saying “shh” to hang on your tree
The good news to get across
The angels are always singing a song of praise to God and love for the world God made. Often in daily life we don’t hear it because the ‘noise’ of life drowns it out, but occasionally we experience moments when the song breaks in. The shepherds heard the song of the angels while they were working, doing an ordinary job in a dark field.
When have you heard the song of the angels? And how might you best tune in so that you can hear it more clearly?
Ways people can respond
Take a couple of minutes now to hush the noise.
Think about how you might tune in to the song of the angels and live a life of love and peace.
Prayer of blessing
The angels are still singing.
Hush the noise, hear them sing, repeat the song.
And the blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be yours/ours, now and always. Amen.