Lessons and Carols

On Friday, December 15, at 6:00pm, we will hold our second Lessons and Carols service! Mark your calendars and invite your friends! The service will be followed by treats and warm drinks in the fellowship hall. Beautiful music, readings from the Bible, and time together—what more could you want? If you are interested in being a part of the choir, contact Justin.
 
For those who have never been to Lessons and Carols (and perhaps also for those who have), here are a few interesting details:
 
The service of “Nine Lessons and Carols” was devised by an Anglican bishop (Edward White Benson) in 1880, which actually makes it the most modern of Anglican services! (Kind of strange to be in a tradition where 140 years old = modern…)
 
The most famous version is at King’s College, Cambridge. King’s College’s website sort of implies that it was invented there, but it had been around for almost 40 years by the time it showed up there. In 1918, in response to World War I, King’s College began to hold the service, after adapting the version that had been created 38 years earlier.
 
The service follows the pattern of the first part of the Easter Vigil—alternating readings and singing to demonstrate the works of God in history. I’ve never seen definitive proof that Bishop White self-consciously modeled it after the Vigil, but it is reasonable to guess that it was.
 
Christmas carols originally weren’t sung in churches! They were sung outdoors (the old door-to-door singing tradition pre-dates singing carols in churches), and it was an innovation to bring them into church services.
 
One of the traditions associated with L&C is that the reader for each lesson moves up “in rank” as the service progresses. The first lesson is read by a young member of the choir, and the last lesson by the bishop, with the reader for each lesson “more important” than the last. (From Jesus’ perspective, we might say that the humblest reader is most important, though!)
 
According to The Guardian, part of Bishop White’s motivation for the original service in 1880 was to provide something for people to do on Christmas Eve so that they would spend less time at the pub! It is bit strange for us to think that people might leave the pub because the church was singing carols, but it worked, even though the church building was under construction and the first service was held in a temporary wooden structure. (Talk about a paucity of entertainment choices!)
 
Another part of Bishop White’s motivation was the local animosity towards the new cathedral that was being built. Homes had to be torn down to make room for it, and the bishop wanted to offer a gift to the community to create good will.
 
Our service will not be held in a temporary structure, and we aren’t trying to keep you out of the pub—it is Advent, so we trust that you are dutifully fasting… But it will be beautiful, and it will be focused on the God who loves us. Join us, and bring your friends and family!
 
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