Southwark Cathedral Carols & Services

Southwark Cathedral's popular candlelit carol services take place on the Sunday and Wednesday before Christmas but there are a host of other festive services open to the public throughout December. For the Cathedral Carol Service, the bulk of the singing is done by the boys, girls and men of the Cathedral Choir. The congregation will get a chance to join in and sing some of their favourites while the festive music will be interspersed with readings taken from St Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus. Be sure to arrive early because the annual Sunday evening event is hugely popular. Located besides the wonderfully odoriferous Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral has gained something of a cult status in recent years following a peculiar incident involving its bishop, Dr Tom Butler, in 2006. Following a Christmas drinks event at the Irish Embassy, the eccentric bishop was found, allegedly tipsy, in the back of a silver Mercedes, throwing children's toys out of the window. Rumours that he was filling his sack for his cathedral's Christmas tree were, of course, firmly denied - but it did get people talking about the church in the build up to Christmas, that's for sure.
 
Full programme
Tue 1 Dec, 7pm: Mercy Ships Christmas Carol Service, ?14.50
Sat 3 Dec, 1pm: Christmas Concert: Choir 18
Mon 5 Dec, 7.30pm: NSPCC Carol Concert, ?25
Wed 7 Dec, 5.30pm: Better Bankside St Nicholas Day Service
Sat 10 Dec, 12noon: Finnish Church in London Christmas Recital
Wed 14 Dec, 7.15pm: Carol in the City: Marie Curie Cancer Care, ?35
Sun 18 Dec, 6.30pm: Cathedral Carol Service
Wed 21 Dec, 7.30pm: The Spirit of Christmas, ?12
Tue 20 Dec, 12.45pm: Cathedral Sing-in
Thu 22 Dec, 6.30pm: Cathedral Carol Service
Sat 24 Dec, Christmas Eve, 4pm: Crib Service
Sat 24 Dec, Christmas Eve, 11.30pm: Midnight Mass
Sun 25 Dec, Christmas Day, 11am: Choral Eucharist