Carol Service at Aston Villa FC

All are invited to a special Christmas Carol Service, to be held in the Lower Grounds function suite and the Holte End stand of Aston Villa Football Club from 7.00pm to 9.00pm on Thursday 5 December. The event will be hosted by Club Chaplain Revd Jon Grant, in association with Birmingham Churches Together and Aston Churches Together, and will include Christmas readings, Christmas Carols, performances and special guests. The Bishop of Birmingham, the Right Revd Michael Volland, himself a keen sportsman, will be among the speakers at the event.

Serendipitously, the Carol Service will take place just a couple of weeks following the 150th anniversary of the Football Club, which owes its existence to the nearby Aston Villa Wesleyan Methodist Chapel.  The chapel was situated close to the house named ‘Aston Villa’ at the corner of Lozells Road and Heathfield Road. The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel had founded a cricket club in 1872, with the name Aston Villa Cricket Club. One day in November 1874, chapel and cricket club members Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood had a conversation under a gas light about how to remain fit during the winter months, since the cricket season would not restart until the next Spring. From that conversation, the Aston Villa Football Club was born, playing its first match on Saturday 21 November 1874. The Carol Service of 5 December 2024 builds on the link between the football club and local churches.

Doors open at 6.30pm. A limited number of tickets are available via https://buytickets.at/astonvillacarolservice2024/1435575. Register early to avoid disappointment!