On Christmas Eve 2023, Chapmanslade church held a crib service where people could come to hear the story of the birth of Jesus and sing hymns as a community.  

At the entrance, participants are given an electric tealight and a glow stick with instructions to light them when told to. Many children were also given little figurines of the characters in the story which they were able to take to the front and place in the stable to create the nativity scene.  

At certain intervals of the story, a hymn that fits with the scene of the story, for example: ‘We Three Kings,’ ‘Ding Dong Merrily On High,’ and ‘Away In A Manger.’ were all sung by the community of Chapmanslade in a heartwarming chorus.  

When Jesus was born in the story, the audience was instructed to crack their glow sticks and wave it around while singing ‘This little light of mine.’ Afterwards, they were instructed to light their candle, sing ‘Silent Night’ and bring the candle to lay at the front of the church where there was a picture of the location of Jesus’s birth with a baby doll representing Jesus amongst rubble in Jerusalem. This was done to welcome Jesus into the world and done to remember those who are not with us and to send prayers to those who are not as well off as most. While the picture was very sobering, it was a lovely sight to see the community sing together and spend the time with each other, and it left participants with a warm feeling after they left the church which stayed with them throughout the rest of the evening.  

“I am an atheist, but it still felt really magical and lovely to sing carols with everyone and you got this sense of belonging in the community, if you get what I mean?” 

“I really enjoyed it and will definitely be going again next year”