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Mark the birth of the Christ child with your family & friends at Emmanuel
There is no evening quite like Christmas Eve — a time set apart for family, candlelight, and the story that makes sense of everything else.
Join us at Emmanuel for our traditional Choral Eucharist, where the miracle of the Nativity unfolds through powerful readings and exquisite music sung with beauty and reverence by The Emmanuel Choir. The Rev. Anne Marie Richards offers a Christmas message to illuminate the meaning at the heart of the night, drawing together the threads of Scripture and song into something that speaks directly to the soul. Ancient liturgy and radiant harmony unite to make this one of the most cherished celebrations of the year — a gift to carry with you long after the candles are extinguished.
- The Emmanuel Choir
- Christian Lane, direction
About Tickets
Admission to this program is free and all are welcome.
We encourage you to reserve your spot in advance — it's quick, costs nothing, and ensures you'll receive updates as the event approaches.
A free-will donation will be accepted at this program.
We thank Emmanuel's Friends of Music for their ongoing and significant support of programming at Emmanuel. If you are intersted in becoming a Friend of Music, please click here.
Music at Emmanuel is grateful to the Maryland State Arts Council and the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Portfolios, www.BakerArtist.org, for their support of the 2026–2027 season.
About the choir
One of the region's most adventurous and accomplished choral ensembles, The Emmanuel Choir is the sixteen-voice fully-professional choir of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore's historic Mt. Vernon neighborhood. Anchoring the worship life of the community week by week, the ensemble also presents a full concert season — "a concert series full of intriguing programs" marked by singing Washington Classical Review has called "strikingly beautiful." The choir performs more than 200 works each year in liturgy and concert.
Rooted in the great and expansive traditions of the Anglican church, the Emmanuel Choir's repertoire spans the centuries — from Italian Renaissance polyphony to English Romantic masterworks, from plainsong to the 21st century — and includes regular world-premiere performances of music composed for the Church of today and tomorrow.
Praised for "impeccable ensemble unity" and performances that reach "stunning" heights, The Emmanuel Choir has earned a reputation as an ensemble whose concerts, at their best, "can restore your faith that music and choirs still matter." (Washington Classical Review)
The choir is led by Christian Lane, Director of Music.
Parking and Transportation
Emmanuel Church is located at 811 Cathedral Street in Baltimore, on the corner of Cathedral & W. Read Streets in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood.
Ample street parking, both free and metered, is available in historic Mt. Vernon. After 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, and all day on Sundays, many meters do not require payment and most residential restrictions are lifted. Please be sure to consult signage carefully.
However, we strongly encourage our patrons to avoid the stress of searching for street parking, and to make a parking plan before arriving into our residential neighborhood. To that end, the following websites and associated mobile apps may be very useful:
The closest paid parking lot is directly behind Emmanuel Church, at 810 N. Charles Street. Public lots within a three-block radius of the church include:
- 810 N. Charles Street*
- 910 N. Charles Street*
- 917 N. Charles Street
- 926 N. Charles Street
- 1000 N. Charles Street*
- 1017 N. Charles Street
- 124 W. Read Street
- 230 W. Read Street
- 600 Cathedral Street
*SAVE $5 on Parking!* Park in a PMI lot at 810, 910, or 1000 N. Charles St. and add promo code EEC when using the Honk app or honkmobile.com.
The church is also served by local bus routes on both Cathedral and N Charles Streets, as well as the Charm City Circulator (Purple Route) and Baltimore LiteRail Link (Mt Vernon/Centre St Stop).
Emmanuel Church is a 15-minute walk from Baltimore's Pennsylvania Rail Station (with regular MARC and Amtrak services).
About the venue
Emmanuel Episcopal Church is located in the heart of Baltimore's historic Mt. Vernon neighborhood. Its tremendous stone tower at the corner of Cathedral and W. Read Streets serves as a beacon in this community, and the nave's warm acoustic and gentle ambiance contribute to creating an ideal environment in which to hear choral and chamber music.
In 2022, the church building underwent a $3.2M transformation to make each space in its physical plant fully accessible to all; included in this project was an elevator, increased ramp access, and new restroom facilities.