The first noel, the angels did saywas to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay.In fields where they lay keeping their sheepon a cold winter’s night that was so deep. Noel, Noel, Noel, NoelBorn is the King of Israel! They looked up and saw a starshining in the East beyond them far.And to the […]
URC Daily Devotion 6th January 2023
“We Three Kings”, original title “Three Kings of Orient”, also known as “We Three Kings of Orient Are” or “The Quest of the Magi”, is a Christmas carol that was written by John Henry Hopkins Jr. in 1857. At the time of composing the carol, Hopkins served as the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in […]
URC Daily Devotion 5th January 2023
It is believed that the sacred Christmas carol ‘Gaudete’ was composed in the 16th century and was first published in Piae Cantiones, a collection of Finnish/Swedish sacred songs dating to 1581. ‘Gaudete’ is written in a style typical of a mediaeval song of praise with a series of four-line stanzas, each preceded by a two-line […]
URC Daily Devotion Wednesday 4 January 2023
Reginald Heber (d.1826) was from a landed Yorkshire family who, having studied at Oxford and travelled for an extended period in Eastern Europe, became Bishop of Calcutta. His influence did much to popularise the use of hymns in England and he set out to provide hymns for all of the Christian Year. He was one […]
URC Daily Devotion Tuesday 3 January 2023
Tuesday 3 January 2023 It Came Upon the Midnight Clear “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” is an 1849 poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Wayland, Massachusetts. Sears had had a difficult time with his mental health and was horrified by the wars that were waging […]
URC Daily Devotion 2 January 2023
“Who Would Think That What Was Needed?” is a modern Christmas carol written by John Bell and Graham Maule of the Iona Community in Scotland. It is usually paired with the tune Scarlet Ribbons. You can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwCyLamhFrk Who would think that what was neededTo transform and save the earthMight not be a […]
Sunday Worship 1 January 2023
Sunday Worship from the United Reformed Churchfor Sunday 1 January 2023 Today’s service is led by The Revd Nicola Furley Smith Call to Worship The Psalmist says: Praise God from the heavens! Praise Him from the skies above! Praise God, angels and all the hosts of heaven! Praise Him, sun and moon, and shining stars! Praise […]
URC Daily Devotion Saturday 31 December 2022
This is the Truth Sent From Above “The truth sent from above” is an English folk carol of unknown authorship usually performed at Christmas. Collected in the early part of the 20th century by English folk song collectors in Shropshire and Herefordshire, a number of variations on the tune exist, but the text remains broadly […]
URC Daily Devotion 30th December 2022
“In the Bleak Midwinter” is a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti, commonly performed as a Christmas carol. The poem was published in 1872. In 1906, the composer Gustav Holst composed a setting of Rossetti’s words (titled “Cranham”) in The English Hymnal which is sung throughout the world. You can hear it sung here: […]
URC Daily Devotion Thursday 29 December 2022
“Masters in This Hall” (alternative title: “Nowell, Sing We Clear”) is a Christmas carol with words written around 1860 by the English poet and artist William Morris to an old French dance tune. The carol is moderately popular but has not entered the canon of most popular carols and has a sixteenth-century feel, harking back […]