Christmas Carol Service
for Asthma UK
Tuesday 1 December 2015
St Luke’s Church, Sydney Street, Chelsea, SW3 6NH
Welcome
On behalf of Asthma UK I am delighted to welcome you to our 11th annual carol
service to raise vital funds for our work.
During this carol service over 400 people will have an asthma attack and tragically
every day, these result in deaths, two thirds of which are preventable. Sadly, this
Christmas Day will be no exception with three families losing a loved one to an
asthma attack. It doesn’t have to be this way and Asthma UK is the only charity
dedicated to changing this.
We tackle this in a variety of ways. Our awareness campaigns are designed to end
dangerous complacency and encourage better management of asthma. Our helpline,
run by specialist asthma nurses, provides personal advice to thousands of people
and our website provides advice to almost a million people each year. Our heritage
is in medical research and we are proud to fund some of the world’s leading medical
research as well as the next generation of superstar scientists to develop new
treatments and drugs.
Our work is funded entirely by voluntary donations and so without our wonderful
supporters we could not do any of this.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the organising committee, Judy Chilton,
Sarah Habib, Sophie Meek and Sarah Wilkinson as without their unfailing support,
time and enthusiasm the Carol Service would not be possible. We are also very
grateful to all our readers, Emily Maitlis, Dame Jenni Murray, solo singer Margaret
Keys and to Jeremy Walker and the Boys’ Choir of Westminster Under School for giving
up their time to make this evening so special. Finally we are most grateful to all the
companies who have contributed to the success of the event by purchasing an advert
in this programme.
I hope that you enjoy this evening.
Wishing you a very happy Christmas,
Kay Boycott,
Chief Executive, Asthma UK
For more information about Asthma UK, visit www.asthma.org.uk
or call our Helpline on 0300 222 5800
Get your questions on
asthma answered!
Asthma UK is here to help you find the answers
and support you need – to help you or your loved
ones deal with asthma and enjoy life.
Speak to our friendly asthma nurses
Get one-to-one advice for you or your child from
our expert team, when a reassuring voice is what
you need.
0300 222 5800
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Get tips & advice online
Get up-to-date information and tips on
everything from inhalers to hay fever and asthma
safety at school 24 hours a day.
www.asthma.org.uk
Swap ideas with other people living with asthma
Join in with discussions at
www.facebook.com/AsthmaUK
Music
Readers
Westminster Boys’ Choir
Westminster Boys’ Choir is drawn from the pupils of Westminster Under School. They
frequently perform at prestigious London venues, including Westminster Abbey and
St John’s Smith Square. They have also performed live on television and radio and
have appeared with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Barbican Hall, with the
English Chamber Orchestra and Sir Thomas Allen at Cadogan Hall and with cellist,
Julian Lloyd Webber. They have toured widely, throughout Europe, to Canada, the
USA, South America, China and South Africa, and have three times been category
finalists in the National Choir of the Year competition.
Choir
Head Choristers: Nicholas Mallinckrodt and Zac Grassby
Arthur Balick
Zaki Hutchings
Billy Jai Campbell
Casper Kingsley
Alexander Coley
Nathaniel Levy
Theophilus Mackenzie
Alexander Davies
Baruch MacGregor
Rufus Davies
Faizan Malik
Daniel Ekaette
Lucas Mathews
Amir El Bishlawi
Marcus Min
James Ellis
Jack Nation
Wilder Fulford
Alexander O’Keefe
Yxuan Gao
Daniel O’Keefe
Elias Gélain-Sohn
Johan Orly
Max Grossman
Alexander Orr
Ewan Hincks
Jean-Sébastien Paul
Max Peel
Kaden Pradhan
Alexander Rashidian
John Ridley
Hector Sheppard
Nicholas Van Dusen
Bastien Virazels
Alexander Weiss
Benedict Weiss
James Woodward
Rei Yamahara
Margaret Keys
Margaret Keys is an Irish classical soprano from Derry, N. Ireland who signed a
record deal with Universal Records. At the tender age of 15 Margaret was winner of
the Trinity College of Music London Medal for the best overall performer in music
examinations. Since graduating with a First Class Honours and a Masters degree in
Vocal performance, Margaret has sung extensively throughout Ireland, UK, America,
New Zealand and Australia. She has performed to an audience of 35,000 in a special
International Lakeside Proms concert and performed on the PBS American TV Special
with “The Priests”, which was aired in the USA. Margaret has won numerous awards
including the “International Artists Profile Award,” “The New York Artist award” and
was chosen as one of eight finalists in the “RTE young Diva of the year.” She was
highly honoured to have been one of the chosen artists from throughout the World,
which also included Andrea Bocelli and Aretha Franklin, to perform for Pope Francis in
a special concert for his visit to the USA in September 2015.
Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis is an award-winning journalist who, as part of the core presenting team
on Newsnight (BBC2) – including a recent stint as their Political Editor – and as a
regular News Channel anchor, is one of the most recognised faces on television news.
As a documentary maker, in 2011 Emily secured an exclusive television interview
with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, which formed the basis of her BBC2
documentary, ‘Inside Facebook: Zuckerberg’s $100 Billion Gamble’ which won the
Harold Wincott Business Programme of the Year Award in 2013. She has interviewed
major political figures such as Henry Kissinger and Christine Lagarde, as well as all
four of the last UK prime ministers. She has also interviewed key figures from the
world of sport, entertainment, and business - David Beckham, Hugh Grant, George
Soros, to name but a handful.
Dame Jenni Murray
Dame Jenni is one of radio and television’s most respected broadcasters. Her
wide-ranging expertise in politics, business and the arts has led commentators to
write admiringly of her “well-stocked mind”. Her interviews with the powerful are
described as “probing”, “steely” and “no-nonsense”, and her knowledge of the arts
is matchless. Jenni was made a Dame of the British Empire in 2011, in recognition of
her stunning work in Broadcasting for over 40 years. As the regular presenter of Radio
4’s Woman’s Hour since 1987, she has daily demonstrated an incredible range and
depth and a unique ability to understand the feelings and complexities of those she
interviews, talents she has also brought to BBC TV’s Newsnight and Everyman and
BBC Radio’s Today and Tuesday Call. She has also appeared on Granada TV’s Loose
Women - Live Talk and This Sunday and in 2006 she presented a personal essay on
assisted Dying for Five TV’s Don’t Get Me Started.
Order of service
(remain seated)
Tears and smiles like us He knew;
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.
Solo treble
Once in Royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby
In a manger for His bed;
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little Child.
And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heaven above,
And He leads His children on
To the place where He is gone.
Once in Royal David’s City
(stand)
All
He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
And through all His wondrous
childhood
He would honour and obey,
Love, and watch the lowly maiden,
in whose gentle arms He lay;
Christian children all must be
Mild, obedient, good as He.
For he is our childhood’s pattern
Day by day, like us He grew;
He was little, weak and helpless,
Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him; but in heaven,
Set at God’s right hand on high;
Where like stars His children
crowned,
All in white shall wait around.
(sit)
Welcome and opening prayer
Reverend Dr Carys Walsh
St Luke’s Church
Choir
Torches
Words translated by J.B. Trend from
The Oxford Book of Carols
Music by John Joubert
Reading
Nativity Play
by Joyce Grenfell
Dame Jenni Murray
Solo
Candlelight Carol
Music by John Rutter
Margaret Keys
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
(stand)
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
“Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!”
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they
come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.
Choir
Still, still, still
Austrian traditional carol
arranged by Mack Wilberg
Solo
O ye beneath life’s crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing.
For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall
own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the
song
Which now the angels sing.
(sit)
Reading
Luke, Chapter 2:8-20
Ewan Hincks
O Holy Night
Words by J.S. Dwight
Music by Adolphe Adam
Margaret Keys with the choir
Reading
The Game: Christmas Day, 1914
by Ian McMillan
Emily Maitlis
God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen
(stand)
God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
And when they came to Bethlehem
Where our dear Saviour lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy
(sit)
Choir
Blessing
Mid-Winter
Words by Christina Rossetti (1830-94)
Words by Bob Chilcott
The Reverend Dr Carys Walsh
St Luke’s Church
Thanks
Professor Robert Wilson
Chairman, Asthma UK
O Come All Ye Faithful
(stand)
O come all ye faithful,
joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
God of God, light of light,
Lo! He abhors not the virgin’s womb;
Very God, begotten not created:
Sing choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all ye citizens of heav’n above,
Glory to God in the highest:
(sit)
A message from St Luke’s Church
The warmest of welcomes this evening to St Luke’s, Chelsea. It is a great delight
to welcome you here to sing carols, to hear once again the Christmas story and to
be challenged by the power of words and music across the centuries as we make
real Christ’s birth. By being here you are not only standing in solidarity with all the
congregation, but also making new things happen. You are taking forward the work of
Asthma UK into the future, long after the pine needles have fallen from our Christmas
tree and the New Year resolutions have been broken.
In this year, of course, are hearts are moved by the plight of so many people who will
be refugees at Christmas and we are so aware of their needs – in finding a home,
rebuilding lives, gaining education, receiving medical care and so much more. We do
well to remember part of the Christmas story so often forgotten that the infant Jesus,
with his family, was forced to flee as a refugee from the terror and violence of his day.
Whatever you can do to support the work of Asthma UK is important. Talk about its
work to friends, try contributing financially or volunteering for any of its myriad tasks,
and this will remind us that whatever we do individually we can make a change, but
whatever we do together will be far more than the sum of the parts.
So thank you for being here, for your ongoing support for Asthma UK and we wish
you not only a happy and blessed Christmas, but a new year in which we can each
contribute to changing life for the better – a change which for Christians is revealed in
the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.
You will be most welcome at any of our Christmas Services, which are
Sunday December 20th
18:30 Nine Lessons and Carols at St Luke’s
Thursday December 24th 16:00 Crib Service at St Luke’s and at Christ Church
23:30 Midnight Mass at St Luke’s
Christmas Day
08:00 Holy Communion at St Luke’s
10:30 Christmas Eucharist at St Luke’s
11:00 Christmas Eucharist at Christ Church
Brian Leathard
The Rector of Chelsea
Fundraise for Asthma UK in 2016
Ride London-Surrey 100
Next July will see over 25,000 people take part in the 100 mile cycle through
London and the Surrey Hills. Asthma UK have guaranteed places and can
offer you the ultimate experience from start to finish including training plans,
personalised cycling jersey and complete race day support.
Date: 31 July 2016
Registration Fee: £25
Sponsorship Target: £500
Virgin Money London Marathon
Are you ready to take on the world’s greatest marathon? Apply to join Team
Asthma UK and together we’ll cure asthma.
Date: 24 April 2016
Registration Fee: £75
Sponsorship Target: £1800
For more information please contact us at [email protected]
For more information please contact us at [email protected]
Phone: 0300 222 5800 Website: www.asthma.org.uk/fundraise-events
Phone: 0300 222 5800 Website: www.asthma.org.uk/fundraise-events
Acknowledgements
Asthma UK would like to thank everyone who has helped with this evening’s carol
service, in particular the following:
Readers
Emily Maitlis
Dame Jenni Murray
Carol Service Committee
Judy Chilton
Sarah Habib
Sophie Meek
Sarah Wilkinson
Music
Westminster Boys’ Choir directed by Jeremy Walker (Director of Music)
Margaret Keys, soprano
Also to
The Reverend Dr Carys Walsh, Tracy Best and all the staff at St Luke’s Church;
The Chelsea Gardener for their decoration of the church;
All of our advertisers for their support;
All our guests for their support.
Asthma UK
18 Mansell Street,
London E1 8AA
T: 020 7786 4900
F: 020 7488 0882
www.asthma.org.uk
©2015 Asthma UK Registered charity number England 802364 and Scotland SC039322