Nine Lessons & Carols

Led by the Cathedral choir, this service consists of alternating scripture passages and music which tell the story of God’s history with humanity. Let the music wash over you and fill you with the sense of God’s love for the world.

What is a service of Lessons & Carols? 

Nine Lessons and Carols is a special pre-Christmas service developed in 1880 by the Bishop of Truro in Cornwall, who went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. The service consists of nine bible readings—or lessons—interspersed with Christmas carols. The readings tell the story of humanity up to the birth of Jesus. The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has become a tradition as a pre-Christmas liturgy with the most famous version being broadcast from King’s College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve.

You are invited to join in the prayers and singing of the hymns, as we make our offering of prayer and worship. Much of this service is sung by the choir. However, as the choir offers its music, we are released from the need to form our own words and phrases. When music and words come together and enrich each other, our senses and intellects, our hearts and minds are drawn closer to God, who is present in our worship.