Posted by Stella Gooch
Photos by Steve Davies and Lois Carrick
The record breaking is well in swing
St Mary’s Church in Heacham along with congregations in Great Yarmouth, Mulbarton and Swainsthorpe were among the 18,414 people across the UK who broke the world record for the largest number of people singing carols together across many different locations. The previous record of 15,000 singers was set in 2009 by the stars of Disney’s A Christmas Carol who joined to illuminate London, with Christmas lights and break the Guinness World Record for the biggest ever Christmas Carol sing-a-long.
Carollers get in the spirit
This record was smashed in a co-ordinated carol singing event at hundreds of venues across the UK on 18 December from 7pm and the event was organised by Premier Christian Radio and sponsored by BibleLands. Other locations included in this record breaking achievement included Scotland, Wales and even Geneva and the new world record holders sang carol classics Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, and Away in a Manger.
Musicians help keep the tune
Lois Carrick from St Mary’s Church in Heacham said: “We managed to attract an almost capacity congregation of about 300 people of all ages from the local community and the service was followed by very welcome mulled wine and mince pies.”
Peter Kerridge, CEO of Premier Christian Radio, said today; “It’s inspiring to see so many people across the whole of the UK get on board for this record-breaking attempt. It’s been a lot of fun, and has brought people out to celebrate and really be a part of the spirit of Christmas. As far as we can tell with these initial figures, we’ve broken the record! We hope to get the rubber stamp from Guinness in the next few months.”
Mr Flowers leads
Heacham Church Choir sing out
The record attempt is part of the ‘Christmas Starts with Christ’ campaign, which exists to engage people with the true meaning of Christmas. It includes church poster, national newspaper and radio advertising.
Taking part in Norfolk were: Mulbarton Parish Church who gathered at the World’s End pub in the village; Heacham village carol service on Church Lane in West Norfolk; the Salvation Army Great Yarmouth Corps on Tolhouse Street and St Peter’s Church in Swainsthorpe in South Norfolk.
Heacham sings up
Heacham Beavers help swell the crowd
Tags: carol singing, christmas, St Marys Church