Yesterday, Kemsing had their carol service for 2014. We followed the usual format of Nine Lessons and Carols. We lit all the candles in the church, and only use enough electric lighting to allow people to see the words during the parts of the service when we were singing.

Our festival choir had worked hard to rehearse five items in the service, the last of which was Handel's "Unto Us a Child is Born" from his well-known and loved Messiah. The nine lessons were read by a wide range of people - children and adults, men and women - and all read with beautiful clarity.

Near the end of the service there was a short address from the vicar on Matthew 1:18-23. We thought together about the angel's visit to Joseph. God needed to save Joseph and Mary's marriage, in order to bring about his plan to save the world.

If you missed this year's service, there's no need to wait until next year. We have two crib services on Christmas Eve (at 2pm and 3.45pm), as well as our Christmas Night and Christmas Morning services. We also have a similar carol service on the evening of Easter Day each year.