Advent at St Peter’s
A carol for every day of Advent. Open one door each day, from 1 December to Christmas Day.
The daily themes and readings follow the Church of England’s Advent from A to Z. Its reflection for each day is on the Everyday Faith app. The hymns are sung by St Martin’s Voices.
Scripture quotations marked NIV taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised. Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica UK trademark number 1448790.
A carol for every day of Advent
Count down to Christmas with us, one door at a time.
Behind each of the 24 doors you’ll find something to read, something to learn about, and a carol to listen to. On Christmas Day, a star opens.
Each door gives you:
- A theme for the day, following the Church of England’s Advent from A to Z.
- A short Bible passage: two or three verses from that day’s reading.
- A much-loved carol and its story: who wrote it, when, and why.
- A verse or two, sung by St Martin’s Voices. The words light up line by line as they are sung, so you can follow along, or sing.
See all 24 carols
- 1 December A is for Advent · Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus John 1.1–5
- 2 December B is for Bethlehem · O Little Town of Bethlehem Micah 5.2–5
- 3 December C is for Candles · Silent Night, Holy Night Isaiah 9.2–4
- 4 December D is for David · Once in Royal David’s City Matthew 1.1–6, 17
- 5 December E is for Emmanuel · O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Isaiah 7.10–14
- 6 December F is for Forerunner · While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night Luke 1.5–17
- 7 December G is for Gabriel · Angels, from the Realms of Glory Luke 1.18–20
- 8 December H is for Hope · It Came Upon the Midnight Clear John 1.9–13
- 9 December I is for Incarnation · O Come, All Ye Faithful John 1.14–18
- 10 December J is for Joseph · What Child Is This? Matthew 1.18–25
- 11 December K is for Keep awake · O Holy Night Mark 13.32–37
- 12 December L is for Last things · Joy to the World Matthew 25.31–46
- 13 December M is for Mary · In the Bleak Midwinter Luke 1.26–33
- 14 December N is for Names · Unto Us a Boy Is Born Isaiah 9.6–7
- 15 December O is for Overshadow · The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came Luke 1.34–38
- 16 December P is for Purple · On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry Matthew 3.1–3
- 17 December Q is for Quirinius · Away in a Manger Luke 2.1–5
- 18 December R is for Return · Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending Revelation 1.1–8
- 19 December S is for Star · We Three Kings of Orient Are Matthew 2.1–2
- 20 December T is for Time · O God, Our Help in Ages Past 2 Peter 3.8–13
- 21 December U is for Upside down · See, Amid the Winter’s Snow Philippians 2.5–11
- 22 December V is for Visitation · God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen Luke 1.39–45
- 23 December W is for Worship · Good Christians All, Rejoice Luke 1.46–56
- 24 December XYZ is for Zechariah · Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Luke 1.67–79
It is free, there is nothing to sign up for, and it takes about five minutes a day: at home, on the train, or with the children before school.
How to use it
- Open today’s door. From 1 December, today’s door is marked Today. Every door opens whenever you like, so you can catch up on a day you missed or go back to a favourite.
- Read the passage and the carol’s story.
- Tap “Listen to the hymn” to hear the carol and follow its words.
The doors you have opened stay open on your phone or computer, so you can carry on where you left off. To start again, press Close all doors.
For a longer reflection on each day’s theme, the Church of England’s free Everyday Faith app has one for every door.
Finding it again
The calendar lives at stpeters.ch/advent, an easy address to remember.
Keep it on your phone. Add the calendar to your home screen and it sits there like an app, one tap away each morning:
- iPhone or iPad: open this page in Safari, tap the Share button, then choose Add to Home Screen.
- Android: open this page in Chrome, tap the ⋮ menu, then choose Add to Home screen.
You’ll also find a link on our home page and in every weekly newsletter through Advent.
Join us
The calendar leads to Christmas, and we would love to celebrate it with you. All our services are in English, and everyone is welcome.
Sundays in Advent
29 November · 6, 13 and 20 December
Christmas Eve
Thursday 24 December
Christmas Day
Friday 25 December
Can’t be with us in person? The Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services at St Peter’s Church are streamed live on YouTube and Zoom. How to watch online · All our Christmas services