The Church of England is releasing its first Christmas single in a bid to connect the public with “the story at the heart of Christmas”.

This means the Church could be in the running for the festive number one spot against bookies’ favourites Ed Sheeran, Adele, Elton John and Abba.

The single will be a new version of the carol, In the Bleak Midwinter, sung by the professional ensemble from St Martin-in-the-Fields, the historic church in Trafalgar Square, London, which has a long record of work with homeless people, rough sleepers and asylum seekers.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, said he was delighted “to be sharing this new carol as the national Church of England’s first ever Christmas single”.

Festive “trimmings” are wonderful, he said, “but they are not the heart of Christmas. The only thing that makes Christmas perfect is Jesus, who sees, loves and welcomes all. The message of this carol is that the only thing we need to give him and each other is our hearts – our very own selves.”

The track, which will be released on Dec 1, has been composed by Rebecca Dale. All royalties from digital streams and downloads will be donated to charity.

Ms Dale said: “Although In the Bleak Midwinter is a poem which was written nearly 150 years ago, it has a timeless mystery and is wonderfully evocative of a journey from the wintery landscape to the stable and the heart of the nativity story.” 

The Church said the single would “form the soundtrack to this year’s Church of England Christmas campaign”. It will also release an advert on social media with the theme of #AtTheHeartOfChristmas which will highlight “tales of hardship overcome, generosity, faith, Christmas memories and hopes for the future from around the country”.

It has released Christmas adverts before to remind people of the meaning of the festive season. In 2015, an advert featuring people saying the Lord’s Prayer was banned by three leading cinema chains. They said it risked upsetting or offending people.

However, In the Bleak Midwinter will mark the institution’s first foray into the pop charts.

For the past three years, Mark Hoyle, aka LadBaby, has claimed the spot with sausage roll-themed songs, raising funds for charity with We Built This City on Sausage Rolls, I Love Sausage Rolls and Don’t Stop Me Eatin’.