Anglo-German Christmas service in Paderborn Cathedral and around the world

The popular Anglo-German Christmas service will once again take place in Paderborn Cathedral this year. The Anglo-German Club Paderborn and the Metropolitan Chapter cordially invite you to attend on Thursday, 7 December at 7.00 pm.

A special highlight will be the British Army Band Catterick under the musical direction of Captain Benjamin Ruffer from Great Britain, with whom the British Army will contribute to the festive atmosphere. The Paderborn choir “Zwischentöne” will also be singing with friends. The ecumenical service will be presided over by the Anglican Reverend Josefa “Joe” Mairara, the Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Matthias König and the Protestant Pastor Dr Eckhard Düker.

The traditional Christmas Carol Service with its impressive church music will be broadcast on the YouTube channel of the Archdiocese of Paderborn and on the Facebook page of the British radio station BFBS. This year, the proceeds will go to PaderMahlZeit in Paderborn and the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) in the UK.

For many, the Anglo-German Christmas service in Paderborn is simply part of the festive season. The ecumenical service is characterised by nine readings from the Old and New Testaments, which are recited alternately in German and English. The texts bring to life the story of God’s salvation with his creation and mankind. The readings culminate in the Gospel of the birth of Jesus Christ. The biblical texts are framed and accompanied by German Advent carols and English carols.

The programme will be published on Tuesday, 5 December, on the website of the Anglo-German Club Paderborn (Programmheft CCS 2023) and the Archdiocese of Paderborn. The programme will also include the lyrics to sing along to and the account numbers for the two institutions, which will receive equal shares of the proceeds:

The PaderMahlZeit initiative at Heiersstraße 18 in Paderborn serves free meals to people who cannot (or can no longer) afford them despite social security. Donations are gratefully accepted by the association “Unser Hochstift rückt zusammen e.V.” under the account number DE90 4765 0130 1010 1462 39.

ABF, The Soldiers’ Charity in North Yorkshire, England, is also pleased to receive donations for its efforts to support soldiers, veterans and families in genuine need. The account with Barclay Bank is IBAN: GB22 BARC20000073122158.

“We are delighted to be opening the church doors to everyone again for the Anglo-German service and cordially invite you to join us in Paderborn Cathedral to get in the festive mood for Christmas,” says Angie Reeh, Chairwoman of the Anglo-German Club Paderborn. “But this year, we are also happy to include those who are streaming the Christmas Carol Service into their living room anywhere in the world. We would like to say a big thank you to Monsignor Joachim Göbel, the cathedral’s provost, as the cathedral’s landlord.”

Caption:
Looking forward to many fellow celebrants in the cathedral and digitally: (from left to right) Pastor Dr Eckhard Düker, Angie Reeh (Anglo-German Club Paderborn), Reverend Josefa “Joe” Mairara, Auxiliary Bishop Matthias König, Choirmaster Christian Nolden and Colonel Michael Foster-Brown (British Army Germany). | Photo: Jürgen Behlke