In December, St Paul’s Norton Lees joined forces with a local methodist fresh expression of church to hold The Longest Night – a carol service with a difference.
The carol service was a collaboration between Rachel, who is curate at St Paul’s, and the team from Metal Methodist, an online and in-person community of people exploring faith together whilst sharing their love of metal music. The service drew inspiration from the Blue Christmas style services and was a space for people to acknowledge grief and pain during the Christmas season whilst also sharing the hope found in the story of the birth of Christ.
Throughout the planning the team found that God was with them as the various aspects of the service seemed to fall into place, including finding musicians to play in the band. With an attitude prayer and “what if we…” they found that people were quickly volunteering to help and sharing the event with friends. On the night around fifty people gathered, including members of St Paul’s church, people from Methodist and Anglican churches across Sheffield and individuals from the St Paul’s community pantry who would not normally attend church on a Sunday.

During the service people were invited to shout Tusen Takk (Norse for a thousand thanks) in response to things they were grateful for. People shared that they were thankful for catching up with old friends, feeling welcomed into church and the companionship they found at the community pantry. Later everyone was encouraged to lay down their burdens and remember loved ones through different prayer activities. A live band helped us to enjoy familiar carols albeit played a little louder and with more guitar than usual, and Rachel shared a reflection on why the nativity story is definitely a bit ‘metal.’
Afterwards, everyone was encouraged by the responses of people who came and there were requests for similar events in the future. Individuals shared prayer requests. Several people requested copies of the Metal Bible (a New Testament with stories and testimonies of faith by famous musicians) and expressed an interested in joining further monthly Metal Methodist gatherings. Some have already joined in with the online Metal Methodist content. People shared that they enjoyed being able to sing with others and one pantry member who attended said “That was the best night ever! I had a lot of fun and felt super welcome/accepted!”

The service was a space where people could hear the true meaning of Christmas in a way that resonated with them and felt accessible to those who are unfamiliar with our traditional church routines. It is exciting to see this event has begun conversations about faith with individuals who attended.
Ideas for a similar service around Easter are already brewing!
To find out more about St Pauls and the Community pantry please visit:
https://stpaulschurchandcentre.org
https://www.facebook.com/StPaulsNortonLees
To find out more about Metal Methodists please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/metalmethodist
