11pm 4th August 1914
'The lights are going out all over Europe'
Check out the Vigil Resources from Westminster Abbey
Silent Night Carols - this Christmas
Sports
stadia and other venues are preparing to hold Silent Night Carol Services in
December 2014.
Click here for a step by step guide to holding Silent Night Carols in a church or stadium near you.
To
download a special video click here
The Christmas truce in 1914 This year marks the centenary of the First World War truce in the trenches. Troops started singing the carol Silent Night in German and in English on Christmas Eve 1914. The fighting stopped and enemies ventured into No Man’s Land to talk and exchange gifts. Some even played football. British soldier, Albert Moren, who was in the front-line trenches near the village of La Chapelle d'Armentieres recalled hearing Silent Night sung during the truce: ‘It was a beautiful moonlit night, frost on the ground, white almost everywhere ... there was a lot of commotion in the German trenches and then there were those lights - I don't know what they were. And then they sang "Stille Nacht" - "Silent Night". I shall never forget it. It was one of the highlights of my life.’ The Evening Mail, New for Christmas 2014 The carol Silent Night was first performed in 1818. This year a new version, specially adapted for Hope14’s Greater Love initiative, will be sung in sports stadia, churches and wherever people sing Christmas carols. Click here for a How-to guide prepared by Bolton Wanderers’ Chaplain and Bradford Bulls Chaplain who have both staged stadium carol events in previous years. Click here for Greater Love resources to help you prepare for Silent Night Carols - and to give away to guests. Other resources being prepared by HOPE for release in July 2014 include:
·
A free Silent Night Carol Service programme
with the words of the carols and an introduction to the theme, sponsored by a
Christian charity
·
Piano, vocal and choral scores for the
new version of the carol Silent Night
·
Scripts and ideas for short talks
suitable for sports stadium events
·
Ideas for schools
Silent
Night Carols in a sports stadium near you
HOPE is working with Sports Chaplaincy UK to equip local clubs, community groups and churches to stage the events. Pilot events have been held in several stadia - indoors and out in the stands. In 2011 Bournemouth, AFC Bournemouth’s Chaplain, Rev Andy Rimmer, Vicar of the The tried-and-tested formula for the carol services includes local choirs, bands and the club’s players or manager reading some of the familiar Bible passages about the nativity story. |
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