Published on: 12/01/2026
Christmas 2025 was another festive period filled with positive news stories across the Diocese of Sheffield.
We’re featuring a collection of some of those stories from different churches. Enjoy reading and hearing about some of the ways you’ve been celebrating Christmas in 2025.
All Saints Ecclesall
We donated over 75 presents for children to the Snowdrop Project and the British Red Cross. The presents will be used for those who would otherwise not receive a present for Christmas or a birthday and were generously donated from those who attended worship at our church. All Saints Clifford primary school families also donated at their own Christingle service.
Christ Church Stannington
Christ Church Stannington held their annual Christmas Live event in December, featuring a retelling of the Christmas story across different pubs in the area and live animals – including Jo Jo the donkey! It’s estimated between 525-575 attended, and a collection for The Archer Project on the night raised £730. More than 60 people were involved in the planning of the event.
Doncaster Minster
Doncaster Minster featured a variety of services over Christmas, including a Nine Lessons and Carol service on Christmas Eve, and a Christingle on Sunday 21 December which had a collection for The Children’s Society.
People also took the opportunity to sponsor the floodlights at the Minster during different days over Christmas, often in memory of loved ones. People also sponsored to celebrate Christmas and to help light up the Minster during the December evenings.
Penistone and Thurlstone Team Ministry
The Penistone and Thurlstone family of churches includes St John the Baptist Penistone, St Saviour’s Thurlstone, St Aidan’s Oxspring, St Anne’s Carlecotes and St James’ Midhopestones.
Fr David Hopkin, Team Rector, said:
‘We have noticed an increase in all Christmas services, especially the midnight Eucharist, with a very welcome gathering of young adults now in their 20s – about ten of them, who all knew me and shouted “Hi Father David” as they walked in late. These remembered me from school days – both St John’s Primary school and Penistone Grammar school, assemblies. We exchanged hugs at the end of the service. These and other links are precious – a reminder of how far our ministries stretch throughout our communities as well as down through the years.’
Rivers Team
The Rivers Team (consisting of Brinsworth, Catcliffe, Tinsley, Treeton and Waverley) put on a variety of services with different styles over Christmas. This included a new Christmas Eve communion service which was held at 7pm, plus a Crossover New Year’s Eve service organised by African members of the congregation and in collaboration with the leadership team. The total number for Christmas services across the Rivers Team was double the total from 2024.
The attendance numbers are as follows:
- 6 December messy church – 45
- 14 December carol service at St Mary’s Catcliffe – 83 (up from 70)
- 21 December nativity service at St Lawrence Tinsley – 100
- 21 December carol service at St Helen’s Treeton – 250 (up from 140)
- Christmas Eve communion service at St Helen’s Treeton – 59
- Christmas Day communion service at St Lawrence Tinsley – 50
- New Year’s Eve crossover service – 40
Rotherham Minster
Rotherham Symphony Orchestra gave a special Christmas performance at Rotherham Minster on Saturday 13 December, and both Carols by Candlelight services (17 and 21 December) were fully booked.
There was also a special Christingle service during Saturday Gathering on 20 December, and a Community Carol service on Christmas Eve.
Sheffield Cathedral
Sheffield Cathedral, along with Sheffield Central Library and Pounds Park, was transformed with breath-taking light projections inspired by the city’s heritage, creativity, and community. For ten nights, the Cathedral featured projections, including a special nod to a brand-new commission by iconic Sheffield artist Pete McKee.
The Christmas Tree Festival had over 40 beautifully decorated trees created by local charities and organisations, shining a light on their vital work across the city. Pete McKee’s hand-painted mural, commissioned especially for the Cathedral, also featured.
Among various services was a special hosting of the Choir with No Name Sheffield for their first-ever Christmas Performance – a festive celebration led by a choir made up of people who are or have been affected by homelessness.
St Mary’s Bolsterstone
The figures at St Mary’s Bolsterstone for Christmas services in 2025 are:
1. Carols in the square with members of Silver Spectrum Wind Band followed by home-made soup in the village hall:
This is usually held outside but was inside the church in 2025 because of wet weather. The rough estimate of numbers was 100, compared to 78 (and 10 children) in 2024.
2. Christingle:
This service has only been put on as a church service for the last four years. There were 22 adults and 16 children, most of whom were new faces (in 2024 we had 23 adults and 9 children).
There was the traditional Christmas Concert in church with carols, Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir and Deepcar Brass Band the day before the Carols by Candlelight. The church is always packed with around 250 people.
3. Carols by Candlelight.
This service is also relatively new (six years) as the concert was the main carol event in the past. This year the attendance was 61 adults and 12 children – with only 6 regular church congregation members there to help. Most of the rest weren’t known to the Bolsterstone team (in 2024 this service had 62 adults and 8 children).
4. Midnight Mass:
We had 61 adults – 35 communicants. Both surprisingly high numbers and more visitors also coming up for blessings too. Some young men had come straight from the pub and had blessings too (in 2024 we had 29 at the midnight with only about 16 communicants).
5. Christmas Day Communion:
We had 22 and 2 children with 16 communicants. The non-communicants were visitors – otherwise the congregation were regulars. In 2024 Christmas Day had 39 and 8 children – some of the congregation had bought visiting families with them.
I think the we have noticed is the far larger number of children attending this year – 28 strangers (generally we only have 2 children sometimes on a Sunday). I have only visited one of the local junior schools once to be interviewed in 2 Y4 classes. So the increase in numbers is not from any of our efforts. Also there are more people who are strangers to us rather than the occasional attenders. There have been large new estates built in the last couple of years which may account for this.
Other information:
At the Carol’s by Candlelight Service we had a visiting family (from a different town) who had searched us out as their own parish church no longer provided this service. They were attending a church funeral service the next day for a husband/father.
St Matthew’s Carver Street, Sheffield
St Matthew’s held a series of services and masses over Christmas:
Moor Market Carols
12:00pm Saturday 20 December
Centre of the Moor Market
Christmas Eve
4:00pm Vigil Mass
Especially welcoming for families with young children. Dress up as your favourite Nativity character!
11:30pm Midnight Mass
Ancient and beautiful solemn Mass with favourite carols and hymns
Christmas Day
10:00am Mass of the Day
An earlier Mass to allow more time with family & friends
Masses in the Octave of Christmas
26 December-1 January
The Daily Mass was offered at 11:00am in the days following Christmas, resuming the usual time of 12:30pm from Friday 2 January.
St Matthew’s also saw a 10.1% growth in Sunday attendance in 2025, and will begin an Alpha course series at the end of January 2026 for those exploring the Christian faith.
(Credit Tom Gregory)
St John’s Goole
St John’s Goole held two Carols by Candlelight services for the first time, whilst also hosting a Midnight Communion service and a crib service on Christmas Eve, an all-age candle lighting on the 20 December, a carol service on the 18 December and Christmas family theatre show on the 2 December.
Revd Hannah Patton, Priest-in-Charge, said:
‘It was fantastic to celebrate another Christmas with the congregation in Goole. We try not to make Christmas too complicated, to avoid burning out! Our emphasis is on welcome and hospitality, having genuine services of worship and joy rather than performances, and giving people an easy opportunity for further engagement with church. We are learning that people take many steps before making a commitment to following Jesus, usually over many years. We call these steps the “first six miles”, where mile seven might be the time of a commitment. Often, when people have come to faith, they will tell their stories and refer to these steps as being significant, even though those in the church may not have realized that they were.
‘We want to provide opportunities for steps along these first six miles to be meaningful and impactful, even though we don’t know who is being impacted! Christmas is a great opportunity for these moments to happen, and here are some examples. One example is hospitality after the carol services – it was wonderful to welcome people for drinks and snacks in the hall, and a few people lingered for a long time, laughing and enjoying themselves. This means that they had a positive and relaxed experience, and may find it easier to come back in future if they want to. Another example is that we offer a prayer of blessing for anyone who wants it, at the end of the carol service. We had adults and children coming up for a blessing, some of whom were facing significant struggles or grief in their lives. It was wonderful to be able to pray for them, following our prayer ministry guidelines, and see God touching their hearts with his love. We also opened up the church for “candle lighting”, encouraging those who had lost a loved one to come and engage with their grief during the Christmas season. It was really good to see those whom we had journeyed with during the year for their loved ones funerals, coming and finding a place of solace and comfort in church, as well as someone to pray for them. Asking “Can I pray for you?” is such a privilege, usually the answer is “yes!”.
‘We don’t know what God is doing in their hearts during these moments, or afterwards. But I would not be surprised if in a year or two, someone tells their story at the end of Alpha and says, “I remember coming to the carol service a few years ago and having such a lovely time over coffee afterwards, I saw something different in the people serving me and it made me wonder about faith and God.”
‘One of the things I noticed this Christmas was that more of our congregation were inviting friends and family along than in previous years. Christmas provides a great opportunity for new Christians to “come out” to their friends and families, and let them know that they have found a faith in Jesus. Being accepted openly as a Christian makes it much easier for people, rather than continuing to keep it very private.’
St Nicholas Thorne
A year ago, no-one from Thorne would have imagined that folk from St Nicholas’ Church would have been invited to sing at The Guildhall in Hull, as part of their ‘The Sounds of Christmas’ concert evening, along with the Hull Male Voice and Ladies Choirs.
However, on 6 December the fledgling group, who only formed in February 2025, sang with gusto and ‘brought the house down’ with their Christmas carol performance!
The choir is made up of both church folk and people from the wider community, who have come together through their love of music and a desire to learn how to sing! The choir makes a joyful noise, as they sing an eclectic mix of Christian and secular songs, from lots of different genres.
The idea to form the choir, which was born from the church, was principally to build a community link, through gathering for fun, friendship and to sing, in the beautiful church building of St Nicholas’. There was also a desire for the church family to be able to sing well as a congregation each Sunday and to bring more folk to the church. Therefore the ‘church community choir’ has created a way for the people of the town to come together, in the church, through song. There is a great mix of people, and a wonderful atmosphere and fellowship has been created! It also has increased Sunday attendance.
In the short lifetime of the choir, they have performed a number of times, putting on three events in church, plus singing at the annual outdoor church service and at the local community festival. Following the performance in Hull, the choir put on their own Christmas Concert at St Nicholas’, which offered a mix of Christmas carols and festive favourites which attracted a large audience from the community.
From a simple prayer asking for God’s guidance over how to build links with the community and strengthen our church family, we are now blessed with a lively and enthusiastic choir of over 40 members, who not only meet to sing each week, many of whom worship together and are ready to support each other with what God brings in 2026!
Saint Vincent’s Doncaster
The team at Saint Vincent’s joined other churches across Doncaster in a special Carols in the City outdoor event organised by Passion for Doncaster. Bishop Leah spoke at the service, with Revd Adam Priestley and Archdeacon Javaid Iqbal among those attending.
Revd Canon Adam Priestley, Mission Priest at Saint Vincent’s Mission Doncaster, said:
‘It was amazing to see Jesus praised and proclaimed so publicly in Doncaster this Christmas, the response was great too. We were also able to give out stacks of New Testaments and the new Bear Grylls books. Please pray that they make a powerful impact!’
St Leonard’s Wortley
St Leonard’s Church is part of The United Benefice of Tankersley, Thurgoland and Wortley. It is in use every week for Sunday services of worship. It is used for weddings, funerals and for church and community events. The building is open for visitors every Wednesday from 11am to 3pm
Our first event was a Christmas Fayre with refreshments. This attracted more than the usual numbers of visitors. As part of the experience all those attending were free to take information leaflets and an invitation to become part of church life.
Over the period of Advent and Christmas into the New Year we noticed and recorded an increase in the number of those attending church. All our events and services were well publicised beforehand in the church magazine and through social media. Leaflets with events dates and times were delivered to every home in the village. Our service information is online on the church website, A church Near You and our Facebook page. The social medial pages do encourage more people to attend.
Sunday services had more people than usual coming to take part in Worship. Some were attending for the first time, and some were returning after a period of absence. The Christmas Day service had around 50 people which is on average 20 more than the same service in previous years. Not all those in the congregation were from the village, some had travelled from neighbouring villages and hamlets.
For the evening service of Nine Lessons and Carols we had a full church with 200 in the congregation and swelled further by members of the Thurlstone Brass Band. Local people who would not usually be at a service do come to take part seeing it as a traditional carol service and an essential start to their Christmas festivities.
A Christmas concert by Bolsterstone Choir and Thurgoland School Choir was full to capacity with around 200 people attending. It was good to see the young people enjoying performing in the church environment supported by their family members. The school do use the church for concerts and art displays throughout the year.
St Leonard’s is open for visitors every Wednesday. Usually in the winter months we have few if any visitors. This year we had visitors every Wednesday. When asked by our church members the reason for their visit we found they were curious about what was in the building but once inside took an interest in the history, heritage and how the church served the community. Some visitors came in for a few minutes of private reflection and prayer.
Visitor numbers to our graveyard increased during the Christmas period. Families lay flowers and wreathes on memorials and if the church is open, they sometimes come in to have a look around and chat to church members.
We put a lot of effort into making St Leonard’s presence in the community noticed over Christmas. We had an array of different Christmas outdoor lights for people to see as they were passing on the road or visiting. Coloured string lights in our churchyard tree, a lit up wooden cross on the stone cross-pedestal and string lights around the edges of the porch created a beautiful effect. Our bell ringers fixed string lights following the contours of the parapets on the tower top. These were visible from some distance away and we received favourable comments on social media. The Church of England St George flag was flying from our tower flagpole throughout the Christmas and New year period, we believe this makes a bold statement that the church is open for business.
