Carol concert help

[LongDuckDong]

I am looking to arrange a carol service in a church. I would like people to do readings/poems that are not religious but give thanks for keeping safe this year along with other non secular ones for adults or children.

There will be the usual readings conducted by the Father but we want to encourage those in our organisation who do not hold any religious views to feel comfortable too.

Any Ideas?

I do not believe you will be able to arrange a secular service in a church. Churches are not available for hire for such events. Some church halls might be an option (still not without some hurdles). I think your best bet will be a community / sports hall or other function room.

I think it depends on the church and on the cleric. In medieval times churches weren't just for worship they were also used as meeting places, and very often at the centre of the community.
When our church hall was out of action our vicar had no problems with secular meetings / events being held in the church, and occasionally if there has been a double booking then the church can normally be utilised.
However if you want something secular, don't call it a carol service! You could call a winter festival or some such. But a carol service is very much about carols!

Is this for next December, op?

I would like people to do readings/poems that are not religious but give thanks for keeping safe this year along with other non secular ones for adults or children.

So do you want a mixture of secular (not religious) and religious (non secular) readings and poems from contributors, alongside the traditional readings and carols?

Seems normal enough, I've had all kinds of services in our church, even featuring other religions. Talk to local churches as each will be different. If this is for December I recommend booking a date by June

Who or what are you giving thanks to for keeping us safe if it's not religious?

Here’s an old thread along similar lines. Some of the links no longer work, but the pieces should be easy to look up.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/2240278-Secular-Christmas-readings-poems

Christmas was last month though.

You could do this in a Unitarian church.

A carol service is very much about carols....
Carols are secular in origin, so that's not necessarily a problem. There are quite a few traditional secular songs in my carol books - wassail songs, Deck the Hall etc.

Hi there
The venue is not an issue, we already have the church confirmed.

I am looking for secular readings & poems as I already have the Non-Secular ones all sorted.

We are trying to bring the community together after a rough time that continues through most of this year and you find that a carol service brings all different people together.

It will happen again later this year.

A couple of years ago I went to a Nine Lessons and carols service which was like this. One of the readings was about refugees, as a comparison to the flight to Egypt. Not religious in itself but relevant and very moving.

Someone questioned who you wanted to thank for keeping us safe - maybe other people. Helping and caring for each other doesn't require a religious belief but is consistent with having one.

Am extract from A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas.
That bit from The wind in the willows where the carol singers come around to Mole's house.

I love both of those and they are both about togetherness.