Our church strapline for our new building is “Welcome”. So, I based this carol on that theme – the welcome that Christ gives to all and his coming at Christmas. Each verse shows us this welcoming character through his life, death and resurrection. We are invited to accept his welcome.

The carol is in a traditional format with the tune sung by the Sopranos in the first two verses – the other parts sing harmony either together with the Sopranos or in simple counterpoint. 

The final verse has the Soprano singing the descant while the tune alternates between the lower parts. Finally, all people are joined together to worship Christ and the climax of the piece is reached. We are left with a final ‘Welcome’ – God’s welcome.