Events List Navigation
August 2025
St Mary’s Outdoor Sunday Service
Join us for an outdoor service in our churchyard, followed by live music and entertainment. We will also be hosting an outdoor ‘race’ game (no actual racing required) to help fundraise for the choir’s trip to Rochester. We will also be opening St Mary’s tower to the public from 2-4pm (the last entry will be at 3.30pm, please see the full terms and conditions below); come along for an awesome birds-eye view of Portsmouth! The service will be livestreamed on…
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 10th Sunday after Trinity – 24 August 2025 – St Mary’s Church Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 11th Sunday after Trinity – 31 August 2025 – St Mary’s Church Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. You can find our notices for the week here.
September 2025
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: Baptism & Confirmation – 7 September 2025 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. You can find our notices for the week here.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 13 Sunday after Trinity – 14 September 2025 – St Marys Church Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 14 Sunday after Trinity – 21 September 2025 – St Marys Church Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 15 Sunday after Trinity – 28 September 2025 – St Marys Church Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
October 2025
Messy Harvest
Join us for a family-friendly morning exploring God’s creation through music, art, craft, and play. This session will recall the story of the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish; reminding us of God’s ability to use the gifts we offer him, no matter how small they are. Activities will include making picnic baskets, bracelets, and prayer leaves, and playing conkers!
Harvest Thanksgiving Service & Barn Dance
Join us as we give thanks for the food that has been provided to us and share that gift with those who are less fortunate. During this service, we will be accepting donations of food for the Roberts Centre and financial donations for the Kitchen of Hope. You can watch a livestream of the service on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. You can find our notices for…
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 17th Sunday after Trinity – 12 October 2025 – St Marys Church Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here: https://storage.googleapis.com/portseaparish.appspot.com/1/2024/05/Ordinary-Time-Sunday-2024.pdf If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here: https://storage.googleapis.com/portseaparish.appspot.com/1/2025/10/41-Hymns-for-St-Mary-Proper-23.pdf You can find our notices for the week here: https://storage.googleapis.com/portseaparish.appspot.com/1/2025/10/Weekly-Sheet-12.10.2025.pdf
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 18th Sunday After Trinity – 19 October 2025 – St Marys Church Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
Festival of Light: Lantern Making Workshop
Join us for FREE lantern making workshops, in preparation for the Festival of Light Lantern Parade on 14 November. The workshops are open to adults and accompanied children, and provide a great opportunity to be crafty and spend time with your local community. To take part, simply come along on: – Monday 20 October, from 6.30-8.30pm at Fratton Community Centre, Trafalgar Place, PO1 5JJ – Friday 24 October, from 4-7pm, at Fratton Together, 95 Fratton Road, PO1 5AG – Sunday…
Wrestling: Live at St Mary’s Church
St Mary’s Suplex will be putting on an electrifying, family-friendly wrestling show to help raise money for St Mary’s Music Foundation, our charity which provides musical education and opportunities for local young people. Come along for a unique experience, with performances from local talent (including one of our choristers and their family!). Tickets cost £5 for children, £10 for adults, and £30 for families (two adults and up to four children); they can be purchased online. A message form St…
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: Last Sunday after Trinity – 26 October 2025 – St Marys Church Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
November 2025
St Mary’s Autumn Fair
Come along to our Autumn Fair, filled with books, jewellery, crafts, toys, baked goods, and more! You’ll also be able to take part in the raffle, sit down for some refreshments, and say hello to our friendly volunteers. On top of giving you the chance to find unique items at bargain prices, the proceeds of our stalls help us to continue our work in and around Fratton and the wider Portsmouth community.
Requiem Mass for All Souls
Join us as we remember and pray for those who we have loved and who have sadly passed away. As part of the service, the choir will sing John Tavener’s Funeral Ikos and Howard Goodall’s Lacrymosa.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 4th Sunday before Advent – 2 November 2025 – St Marys Church, Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
A Service for the Bereaved
We invite all those who have been bereaved to join us at this service, an opportunity to remember and pray for our loved ones who have passed away and those who mourn them.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: Remembrance Sunday – 9 November 2025 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
In the context of the Sunday Eucharist, we will be holding an act of remembrance, commemorating and giving thanks for those who gave their lives to give us the freedoms that we enjoy today. You can watch a livestream of the service on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. You can find our notices for the week here.
Royal British Legion’s Service of Remembrance
Join the local branch of the Royal British Legion as we remember those who gave their lives in war so that we might enjoy the freedoms we have today.
Fratton Together’s Festival of Lights
As part of Fratton Together’s 12th annual Festival of Lights, there will be a parade down Fratton Road on 14 November, starting from behind the Victory Business Centre (PO1 1PJ) at 7pm and finishing at St Mary’s Church. The procession will be led by the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth and the Batala Samba Band, who will provide a joyous marching beat. Upon arrival at St Mary’s Church, there will be various performances from local performing groups, including the Portsmouth Academy…
Celebrating Christs Presence: 2nd Sunday before Advent – 16 November 2025 – St Marys Church, Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
Portsmouth Choral Union: Toward the Unknown Region
In collaboration with the Medici Choir, the Portsmouth Choral Union will be be performing Finzi’s ‘Intimations of Immortality’, Elgar’s ‘Cello Concerto’ and Vaughan Williams’ ‘Towards the Unknown Region’. Alongside the two choirs, James Gilchrist, who has appeared on the BBC Proms, will be singing as a tenor and Pavlos Carvalho, a prize-winner in international music competitions, will be playing the cello. Tickets must be bought in advance from the PCU’s website. For adults, the price of entry is £20; for…
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: Christ the King – 23 November 2025 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here. We have also produced a leaflet ahead of the Advent season, which can be found here.
Messy Advent
Join us for a free, family-friendly morning of crafts, activities, songs, and stories as we celebrate the coming of Jesus, God’s greatest gift to the world. Activities will include wreath-making, angel decorating, making Christmas cards and lanterns, and a hunt for the wise men’s three gifts. Registration will begin at 9:45am, with activities taking place between 10 and 11:15am, before concluding stories, songs and prayers.
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Serenades and Starbursts
Join the 19-piece Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Strings Ensemble for a concert that will pull at your heartstrings and satisfy any curious soul. The concert will include pieces such as Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, Jesse Montgomery’s Starburst, and Holst’s homage to British folk songs, his St. Paul’s Suite. For a full programme and to buy tickets (tickets for adults cost £19, concessions tickets cost £5), please go to the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s website.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: Advent Sunday – 30 November 2025 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Advent. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To follow along, you can find the order of service here. If you would like to sing along, you can find the hymn sheet here. You can find our notices for the week here.
Advent Candlelit Service
As we welcome the beginning of Advent and the start of our preparations for the birth of Christ, join our talented choir for a special service of Advent music in candlelight. This service will be livestreamed, you can follow along on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel.
December 2025
‘The News’ Annual Carol Service
Join ‘The News’, local celebrities, and school choirs for their annual carol service; a time to celebrate the Christmas story and reflect on its meaning, with the help of Christingles!
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 2nd Sunday of Advent – 7 December 2025 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Advent. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
A Christmas Concert, presented by the Milton Glee Choir and Royal Marines Association Concert Band
The Milton Glee Choir and the Royal Marines Association Concert Band are once again joining forces to present their regular Christmas Concert, with fundraising in aid of the Royal Marines Charity. The Concert will feature festive pieces from both the Choir and Band as well as joint numbers and some audience participation. Get yourself in the festive mood with this great start to the holiday season. Tickets, which cost £15 per person, can be purchased from the Milton Glee Choir’s…
The Royal Marines School of Music – The Christmas Concert
Join The Royal Marines School of Music as they kick off Christmas with a stunning and spectacular evening of Christmas entertainment on the 11 or 12 December, featuring carols, choirs, elves, crackers, terrible puns, tinsel and gifts, and of course, the festive Corps of Drums. To book tickets (£15 for adults, £13 for concessions, £1 for children), please go to The Royal Marines Band Service’s Eventbrite page.
Portsmouth Choral Union: Carols and Christmas Music
Portsmouth Choral Union will be celebrating the festive season and their special relationship with the Hampshire County Youth Orchestra with an evening of magnificent Christmas music. You can expect Christmas favourites, carols old and new, and audience carols, wrapped up as a seasonal treat for all the family! Tickets (£20 for adults, £2.50 for children & students) must be bought in advance from the PCU’s website.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 3rd Sunday in Advent – 14 December 2025 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Advent. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
Carol Singing
Join our choir as we go carol singing, spreading the good news of Christ’s arrival. We will be leaving from outside St Mary’s at 6pm.
Churches Homeless Action Carols
Join us for a carol service which both reflects on the Christmas season and remembers those who will be in need this winter. As a chance for us to share our gifts with others, we will be distributing the vouchers collected by local churches, through the Comfort & Joy campaign, to local agencies supporting vulnerable people this Christmas. If you would like to contribute to the Comfort and Joy campaign, then please make a donation of £5 or £10 gift…
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 4th Sunday in Advent – 21 December 2025 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Advent. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
9 Lessons and Carols
A traditional telling of the Christmas story through readings and carols, with performances from St Mary’s choir as well as opportunities for the congregation to sing along. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel.
St Mary’s Nativity Service
On Christmas Eve, hear our young people tell the Nativity story as we celebrate God’s gift to the world. Join us for an accessible and family-friendly evening, complete with Christmas carols, as we remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Midnight Mass at St Mary’s
Join us for a celebratory service as we greet the Christ child! Come and celebrate the beginning of Christmas with a traditional mass, carols sung by the choir and congregation, and a brass band The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. You can find the order of service online here.
Christmas Day at St Mary’s
Join us as we celebrate the birth of Christ! At 10am we will be holding a traditional morning service, with carols, to give thanks for the greatest gift that mankind has received. Before that, at 9am, you can take part in a Book of Common Prayer service; a quieter form of worship to mark Christmas, using the words that worshippers have said for over 500 years. Our 10am service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel.…
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 1st Sunday after Christmas – 28 December 2025 – St Mary’s Church
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Advent. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
January 2026
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 2nd Sunday of Christmas – 4 January 2026 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Christmas. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: Epiphany – 6 January 2026 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us as we celebrate the Magi’s visit to the baby Jesus with a sung mass. This service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: Baptism of the Lord – 11 January 2026 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Epiphany. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
St Mary’s Chorister Open Evening
Does your child enjoy singing? Would they like to be part of something fun and musical (and free)? St Mary’s choir is always looking for more choristers! We will be holding an open evening on 14 January from 5:30-6:30pm to give a taster of what it’s like to sing at St Mary’s. To find out more, or if you are an adult singer also interested in joining the choir, then please get in touch with Brian Moles, our Director of…
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 2nd Sunday of Epiphany – 18 January 2026 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Christmas. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 3rd Sunday of Epiphany – 25 January 2026 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Christmas. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
February 2026
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: Candlemas – 1st February 2026 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Christmas. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.
Celebrating Christ’s Presence: 2nd Sunday before Lent – 8 February 2026 – St Mary’s Church, Portsea
Join us for our weekly Sunday Eucharist, in the season of Christmas. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. To engage with the service, you can find the order of service, hymn sheet and this week’s notices on our AChurchNearYou page.