Why Dunstable rector will celebrate Christmas in the height of summer with special outdoor carol service!

Dunstable s Priory Church is spreading the message that 'Christmas is not just for Christmas' as it holds a special outdoor carol service this weekend.

On Sunday, July 25, residents are invited to come along from 11.30am onwards wearing festive t-shirts, hats and jumpers, and ready to sing their favourite seasonal songs.

The free event is designed to make up for the fun that was missed at Christmas when Dunstable was locked into Tier 4, but there is a more important message at the heart of the day.

Reverend Rachel Phillips, Rector of Dunstable, said: "The Christian message about God's love for the world is a year round message, and not limited to one day of the year, and that is what we celebrate at Christmas. Please come along and help us to celebrate like you've never seen before.

"We would love children to come dressed as a character from the Christmas story, so we can act out the Nativity play. It's an opportunity to meet people and celebrate what we should have celebrated in December - and what you can celebrate all year round. Christmas is not just for Christmas!"

The Reverend has been holding Christmas in the summer since she was a student in the 1980s, and even wrote a thesis for her MPhil in 2011 entitled: 'Christmas Is Not Just For Christmas'.

At her previous post at Rochester Cathedral, she also spread the message, and was given a special send off for her last service in September 2019, which included carols and cake.

Reverend Phillips added: "I held my first Christmas party in June 1984 when I was 20. I used to hold Christmas parties in the summer with mince pies and ice cream and I would go into the loft and get down the tinsel and baubles."

The service on Sunday will include popular carols such as Hark the Herald Angels Sing, In the Bleak Midwinter, and Silent Night, and attendees can come and go as they please.

Residents are also invited to bring a picnic. The church says you could even bring your own gazebo and add Christmas decorations!

Reverend Phillips concluded: "Christmas is not just for Christmas, it's all the time, and I hope that other people will find that as exciting as I do."

More details here