The Church of England has released a Christmas single, as part of a campaign encouraging people to come to church, sing carols, and celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.
It is a new rendition of The First Nowell, written by renowned composer, and former King’s Singer, Bob Chilcott.
Rather than just one artist, it will be performed by choirs up and down the country, as part of carol services and concerts for Christmas and Advent.
At the heart of the campaign is the simple message inviting everyone to attend a service near them – with thousands of local services listed on AChurchNearYou.com, the website, which allows users to locate services in their area, with tags to help users find carols, mince pies, children’s services and more.
Sheet music of the carol is also freely available for choirs wishing to perform it, together with learning tracks and individual parts.
The Church of England’s ‘Follow The Star’ campaign was first run in 2018, and is all about encouraging more people to come to church and hear the Christmas story.
The theme for 2023 highlights how singing can help draw people closer to God and one another through the journey from Advent to Epiphany, with a wealth of free resources available for churches, schools and any context.
The Campaign makes available a range of resources including daily reflections booklets, prayer cards and – for the first time – a printed Advent calendar, featuring the nativity. Much of the content is also available free via the recently update “Follow the Star” app
A recording of the new carol was released on Sunday 26 November, and you can now find it on , and .
Proceeds from the single will be donated to the St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity, a UK-wide homelessness charity.