The annual JOHN WILLIAM FOSTER carol service is the parish's quiet midwinter point. It is held each year at St Oswald's, the parish church of Horton-in-Ribblesdale, on the Monday before Christmas. This year that falls on the evening of . The service begins at 18.30 and ends, typically, somewhere between 19.40 and 19.50, depending on how slowly the choir takes the third carol.
The form of the service
The service follows the simple pattern that has been kept at St Oswald's for as long as anyone is sure of: a bidding prayer, nine short lessons, seven carols, a blessing. The bidding has been read for the past two years by Eileen (76, Horton-in-Ribblesdale), who is a former primary-school teacher and one of our dole recipients. She reads from the same handwritten card her father used in the 1960s.
The lessons are read by various parishioners; trustees do not read. The carols include O Come, All Ye Faithful at the start; In the Bleak Midwinter in the middle; and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing at the end. The choir, by long custom, will attempt a setting of The Holly and the Ivy in the second half. We make no promises about it.
After the service
Mulled apple (non-alcoholic), tea, coffee, and small sausage rolls are served in the village hall across the road from about 19.45. There is no charge. The trustees of JOHN WILLIAM FOSTER are usually at the back of the hall by the kettle. If you would like a quiet word, that is the right time.
What to bring
- A warm coat. The church is unheated for the first half of the service.
- A torch for the walk back to the village hall if you do not know it.
- Cash, if you would like to drop a small note in the dole collection plate by the door — this is the only fundraising moment we attempt all year. Cards are not accepted.
Accessibility
- A single step at the church porch. The vicar or one of the trustees will be glad to help with a small ramp on request.
- The village hall is single-storey and step-free, with an accessible toilet to the left of the kitchen.
- A printed large-type order of service is available on request from any trustee — please ask in advance if possible so we can print enough.
- A hearing loop is in place at the front of the church, on the left as you enter.
- The car park alongside the village hall has two unmarked accessible bays nearest the door; please leave them for those who need them.
If you have a quiet question
If you are coming for the first time, or coming back after some time, or coming to remember someone — and would like a trustee to know in advance — please write to [email protected]. We will, where it is helpful, hold a place near the front pews.
Letting us know roughly how many
You do not need to register. We do not check tickets. But knowing roughly how many to print orders of service for is useful, and a name on the list also lets us send you a short reminder a week before. The form on the right is the easiest way.