A Service of Lessons & Carols for Advent, Sunday, December 1, 2024 at Calvary Episcopal Church

A Service of Lessons & Carols for Advent, Sunday, December 1, 2024 at 5 p.m., Calvary Episcopal Church with Chatham Baroque, ensemble -in-residence, Andrew Fouts, violin Patricia Halverson, viola da gamba Scott Pauley, theorbo.

Liturgical & Musical Notes: The four weeks of Advent take their name from the Latin verb advenire, meaning “to approach.” During these weeks we prepare for both of the “approaches” of Christ—the historical one, commemorated at Christmas, and the eschatological one, as Lord of lords and King of kings at the end of time. We do the first by recalling the prophecies heralding the historical advent of Jesus and the events leading up to his birth, and the second by reflecting on repentance and amendment of life in preparation for the Day of Judgment. Both strands of Advent are represented in the readings and music today.

This service of readings and music is inspired, in a general way, by the monastic service of Matins, a service of nine readings, together with psalms and other music, historically sung daily in the hours before dawn. This ancient service offered a liturgical precedent for the Christmas Eve Service of Lessons & Carols at King’s College, Cambridge, inaugurated in 1918 and now broadcast live around the globe each year. So effective has that pattern of Word and music proved that it has also been adapted, both at King’s College and elsewhere, for use in Advent. The Episcopal Church codified the liturgy in the Book of Occasional Services (1979), on which today’s service is based.

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