Reflection in words & music – Sunday 4th January 2026

Join The Revd Dr Jeff Lake, Associate Priest of St Bride's, and St Bride's Choir for this week's reflection in words and music. The first reflection of the new year opens with Jonathan Dove's evocative setting of the poem The Three Kings by Dorothy L Sayers which begins and ends in melancholic mood and imaginatively depicts kings of very different ages and the varied gifts they bear. Sayers was best-known as a crime novelist and was considered among the four "Queens of Crime" of the first half of the twentieth century alongside Agatha Christie. On this Epiphany Sunday, Jeff begins his reflection with the poem BC-AD by the twentieth century British poem, Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, which considers the witnesses of the nativity who "Walked haphazard by starlight straight/ Into the kingdom of heaven." We close with the familiar Epiphany hymn "As with gladness men of old" written by William Chatterton Dix who wrote it, and many others, while recovering from a near fatal illness. Information about our weekly Sunday services in St Bride's of Choral Eucharist at 11am (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-eucharist/) and Choral Evensong at 5:30pm (https://www.stbrides.com/worship-music/worship/regular-services/choral-evensong/) can be found on the website. Find out what's happening at St Bride's at https://www.stbrides.com/whats-on If you enjoy listening, please leave a comment below or subscribe to our channel. It is great to get your feedback. SUPPORT ST BRIDE'S ================== We are hugely grateful for people's generosity which we wholly rely on to continue our work, maintain our wonderful architectural heritage and support world-class music-making. People are often surprised to learn that St Bride's receives no external funding. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/stbrideschurchfleetstreet