Christmas at Banbridge
Christmas is a really important time for the Church and we want to invite you to everything we have going on.
Christmas Appeal 2025
This year we are supporting 2 local projects. The food bank and Banbridge High School Food Hampers. Watch the video to find out how you can get involved.
Church Services and activities
Sun 7th Dec 10am : Nativity Service In the Village Church
Wed 10th Dec 7pm - 8:30pm : Polar Express Journey to the Manger
Sun 14th Dec 10am : Carol service in the Village Church
Sun 14th Dec 11:15am : Nativity Service in Holy Trinity
Thurs 18th Dec 8pm : Carols By Candlelight in Holy Trinity
Fri 19th Dec 5pm - Sat 20th 5pm : Rector’s 24hr sit out
Sun 21st Dec 7pm : Nine Lessons and Carols in Holy Trinity
Wednesday 24th December 11pm : Holy Communion In Holy Trinity
Christmas Day : in the Village Church at 10am and in Holy Trinity at 11am
Service Time Changes
Sunday 21st December - Sunday 28th December - Sunday 4th January
there will only be one morning service at Holy Trinity at 11am, with the usual 10am at the Village Church.
School Carol Services
Monday 8th December - Donard School Carol Service - 7pm
Thursday 11th December - Banbridge High School Carol Service - 6:30pm
Monday 15th December - Bridge Primary Carol Service - 12:45pm
Wednesday 17th December - Banbridge Academy Parents’ Carol Service 7pm
Thursday 18th December - Edenderry PS Carol Service - 10am
Friday 19th December - Banbridge Academy Pupil Carol Service - 10am
Sign up for our community Choir! There will be lots of opportunities to worship God at Christmas, and what better way to do that than be part of a choir! Just click the link to sign up!
Christmas Preaching Series
Advent with Imagination - Four Advent Sermons at Holy Trinity
Adam Stewart – Sunday 30th November 9.45am
‘Fake or False’ – Heavenly Fruit from Matthew 7:13-24
I was born and brought up in Dromore, attending Dromore Primary and then Dromore High School. At present I am studying at SERC, but also intern for MADE FOR MORE a Christians Mental Health Charity. I still love being involved in sport, especially rugby, and help with the S & C for the rugby lads at Banbridge Academy.
My Church life started in Dromore Cathedral where I was baptised and attended Sunday School, but more recently I moved with my parents to Holy Trinity, where I was Confirmed and discovered a sure faith in Jesus. At present most of my spare time is given to helping to lead the Inspire ministry for the youth of Banbridge Church of Ireland.
Adam writes: ‘I am very excited to speak about Heaven, specifically looking at which gate we need to enter. This passage has been on my mind and heart for quite a while now and I am looking forward to how God is going to speak through me, to break this passage down.
Recently I have been trying to do things that scare me, looking to put faith over fear. At first glance this passage could be a little scary, but we can also see a lot of light because it takes away the stress and pressure of trying to make our own way to Heaven, when really it’s all because of Jesus that we get to go to heaven!
I said this to the lads at our youth Bible study, the end goal of us living our life is not to get to Heaven, but our great reward is being in Heaven WITH God! It is His presence that makes it rewarding!’
I grew up in Banbridge and attended Abercorn Primary School and then Banbridge Academy. I have one older brother, Matthew, who is now married and soon to become a daddy. I am feeling old – imagine me an uncle! After leaving the Academy I trained as a teacher at Stranmillis College and now work as a P6 teacher at St Andrews Memorial Primary School in Comber.
I was both Baptised and Confirmed in Holy Trinity and feel blessed to have grown up in the loving and nurturing family of faith in Seapatrick Parish. As I look back on my time at Holy Trinity, I am thankful to the Lord for Mark Wells who was my youth leader. Mark, and his wife Abbie, helped me to grow in my Christian faith, and I thank God for their ministry among us. At present I worship at Windsor Baptist Church in Belfast and serve in the Sunday School and with the Youth.
Niall writes: ‘I’ll be speaking from Micah chapter 5 on the topic of both God’s love and judgement. I’ve chosen this traditional advent passage because I wanted to dive deeper into the whole picture of His character.
In the passage we see the powerful reminders of the emptiness of a life lived without God and the consequence of those decisions. But we see it balanced with the promised redemption of God’s people through Jesus. We’ll be exploring and reconciling the idea of God’s judgement and His grace together and how we see His love in His judgement.
Would love to see you there!
Niall McCarter – Sunday 7th December 11.15am
Sermon Title: ‘Jesus our judge and redeemer’
Wilf Carter – Sunday 14th December 9.45am
Sermon Title: ‘Death…’ What does the Bible say about death? The Cross is the answer!
My Church life started in the Church of Ireland in Dublin; I remember well my Confirmation when I was fourteen. Up to then I was blessed to have a wonderful Sunday School Teacher and also a wonderful Sunday School Superintendent, both of whom became friends. However, my real journey of faith began in Co. Sligo the next year, when God spoke to me through his word and through other Christians. I realised I was a sinner and I then asked Jesus into my life in August 1965. The following are just a few highlights of Church life etc…
In 1977 Michelle, my wife, and I, along with three other Christian couples, started and led an Evangelical Church in the Dublin Airport hotel. About 30-40 % of those attending were from a Catholic background. The Church is now in Dublin city centre. We came to Belfast in 1987.
In 1994, I graduated from Belfast Bible College with a Diploma in Biblical and Counselling Studies. Between 2001-2019 we attended Christian Fellowship Church (CFC) in Belfast which was a great experience, but in 2019 we started attending Willowfield Church of Ireland (Belfast), where I got to know the then Rector, but now Bishop, David McClay; then COVID19 struck and in 2022 we started attending Holy Trinity in Banbridge.
About half of my working life (21 years) was in ICI (now AstraZeneca) in Dublin and Belfast, in sales and customer service. And the other half (20 years) was in Education, in the South Eastern Regional College (SERC) in Lisburn and Downpatrick. For fifteen years in SERC, I was mentoring young apprentices on training programmes, and then for five years I worked in Learning Support, sourcing assistance for young people with learning difficulties and disabilities.
Wilf writes: ‘In 2025 I completed the Down and Dromore Diocesan Catechist Course and have begun to help with the preaching at our midweek Communion services, but this will be my first sermon at a main Sunday service. Willie has given the somewhat difficult topic of ‘death’. For my sermon, I will take a look at the following: General Reflections about Death, Personal Reflections about death, and What is the answer to death? I will seek to help us see the CROSS of Christ as the ultimate answer to death!’
Daniel Marcus – Sunday 21st December 11am (Note the time!!!)
Sermon Title: ‘Be generous….’ The season of generosity!
At present, I am 19, and studying at Belfast School of Theology. I grew up near Ballyhalbert with my mum and dad. I have a brother and a sister and am blessed with my girlfriend, Kezia, who is also a student at Belfast School of Theology. As a boy I attended Ballyhalbert Primary and then Strangford Integrated College.
My faith journey began when I was baptised in St Andrew’s Church of Ireland Ballyhalbert and was later confirmed in St Mary's Church of Ireland Ballybeen, because my parish didn’t have enough people to host a Confirmation Service on its own. This year I am on placement from college with you in Banbridge Church of Ireland and am working alongside Raymond who has really helped me to discover a heart to serve in God’s Church.
I am always hungry and love nothing better than a coffee, but if you’re inviting me for lunch give me anything with chicken in it. I am what you would call a ‘chickaholic’. I am looking forward to those invitations!!!!
Daniel writes: ‘Christmas has always been a time of giving and receiving. Sadly, quite often, we find that Christ is no longer the centre point of Christmas, and as Christians, there is nothing worth lamenting more than this!
My chosen passage from 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, for Sunday 21st December, at Banbridge, encapsulates the Christian heart behind generosity and God's provision, in a time when not everyone believes they can be generous. I want to challenge people who think that Christ is no longer a part of Christmas, to think again! God has been generous to us in giving us a Saviour. Surely our only rational response to the Saviour, is to return that generosity in service towards him and to others who are both physically and spiritually in need!
Exploring the great gift the Lord has given us, and His wonderful generosity in this passage is something that should be remembered this Christmas time. I am very excited to preach my first sermon in Banbridge.’
