The Friends of Central London Samaritans present The Advent Celebration 2026

The Friends of Central London Samaritans invite you to another evening of music and readings to celebrate the beginning of Advent. This year, our service returns to the beautiful Wren church of St Stephen Walbrook. As in previous years, our choir will be the superb English Chamber Singers conducted by Max Barley, Director of Music at Holy Trinity Sloane Street. They will sing a mix of traditional, familiar and less well known seasonal music.

The distinguished readers who will be taking part are generously giving their time to Central London Samaritans.

Readers to include:

Tara Fitzgerald, Sir John Tusa and Sir Sajid Javid.

Tickets to include drinks and canapés after the event.

Central London Samaritans

Central London Samaritans, based in the heart of London, is the founding branch of the wider Samaritans organisation. Our volunteers provide confidential, non-judgemental, emotional support to anyone who is struggling to cope for whatever reason.

We're here to listen every hour of every day and have done so for 73 years, since taking our first call at St Stephen Walbrook on 2 November 1953. Someone reaches us roughly every ten minutes, day and night. We answered more than 51,000 contacts last year by phone, email and webchat, as well as taking our services out to people at the highest risk of suicide: homeless people on the streets of Westminster, prisoners at HMP Brixton and HMP Isis, people in police custody, refugees, veterans, hospital outpatients, and those bereaved by suicide. We also train London Ambulance Service call handlers and workplace teams across London in how to listen. Anyone can come to our branch every day from 9am to 9pm with no appointment or referral.

It costs £360,000 a year to keep our phone lines and our doors open. Volunteers give almost £5 in time for every £1 donors give in cash, so donors fund about a sixth of the true cost of the service. Every call we answer could be the one that saves or changes someone's life, the call that ends with someone finding the strength to keep going. Any gift you feel able to give will help us continue to be there for our callers.

Friends Committee

Victoria Dickie, Caroline Fahy, Penny Neary, Laura Robarts, Lesley Witt.