Episcopal churches observe Advent with Lessons and Carols, a beloved Anglican tradition
Trinity Wall Street in New York City’s youth chorus performs during a Christmastime Lessons and Carols service. Photo: Trinity Wall Street
[Episcopal News Service] Many Episcopal congregations nationwide are observing the 2024 Advent season with musical and family-favorite festivities, including Lessons and Carols, a beloved Anglican tradition. Many include livestream options.
Lessons and Carols — also known as Nine Lessons and Carols, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols — is an Anglican worship service traditionally celebrated on or around Christmas Eve. During Lessons and Carols, nine stories from Scripture, including the promise of the Messiah and the birth of Jesus, are read aloud. The service usually includes singing Christmas carols, hymns and choir anthems.
Bishop Edward White Benson, who would become archbishop of Canterbury, created the first service of nine alternating Scripture readings and carols for use in the wooden shed serving as his cathedral in Truro, England, for Christmas Eve 1880. The service was based on a medieval vigil service. Other churches adapted the format, and King’s College, Cambridge, began holding its Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in 1918. An estimated 370 million people worldwide listen to the annual BBC broadcast of the service live from the college’s 583-year-old chapel, which always begins with the hymn “Once in Royal David’s City” and includes a new commissioned carol.
“Watching the BBC broadcast of the Lessons and Carols has been a Christmas Eve tradition for me for decades. The musicians are incredible,” Stuart Forster, associate for music and liturgy, organist and choirmaster of the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, told Episcopal News Service.
The following is a list of some Episcopal parishes hosting Lessons and Carols services. Check for additional events hosted by local dioceses and parishes in your area. All events listed are free and open to the public unless specified otherwise. All times are local.
Huntsville, Alabama – St. Thomas Episcopal Church will host its annual Nine Lessons and Carols service on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. featuring performances by the St. Thomas Choirs. Musical selections will include works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Peter Warlock and Ian Higginson. The service will be livestreamed from St. Thomas’ YouTube channel.
Denver, Colorado – On Dec. 14 and 15 at 3 p.m., St. John’s Cathedral will host a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. Cathedral members and community partners will read the biblical lessons. The Dec. 14 service will be livestreamed on the cathedral’s website.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood will host its annual candlelight Lessons and Carols service on Dec. 15 at 5 p.m. as a “time-honored way to tell the Christmas story through music, Scripture and prayer.” A public reception in the parish hall will take place after the service, which will be livestreamed on St. Paul’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Sitka, Alaska – St. Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church’s 9 a.m. worship service on Dec. 15 will include Advent Lessons and Carols and a family Christmas pageant. The service will be livestreamed via Zoom. Email St. Peter’s at stpetersbytheseak@gmail.com for Zoom information.
West Hartford, Connecticut – On Dec. 15 at 3 p.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church will host a candlelight Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols to provide “a moment of musical peace in this often-complicated world.” The service, which will be livestreamed on St. John’s YouTube channel, will include a reception afterwards.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire – On Dec. 15 at 5 p.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church will host a family-friendly Lessons and Carols service followed by a festive potluck reception. The service will be livestreamed on St. John’s YouTube channel. The reception will offer “a moment to reflect, rejoice and let the story of Christ’s love shape our Advent and Christmas journey.”
Beaumont, Texas – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church will host a Festival of Lessons & Carols on Dec. 15 at 4 p.m. followed by a reception. A musical prelude begins at 4:45 p.m. The service will be livestreamed on St. Mark’s Facebook page.
Wilmington, North Carolina – on Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m., St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will host a Lessons and Carols service featuring its choir under the direction of Brendan Conner. The service will be livestreamed on St. Paul’s YouTube channel.
Wilmington, Delaware – The Episcopal Church in Delaware will host a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Dec. 17 at 4 p.m. at the Village of St. John, an affordable housing complex for seniors located at the former site of the diocese’s now-closed Cathedral Church of St. John. The service will be livestreamed on the diocese’s YouTube channel. The worship bulletin will also be available to view online on the day of the service.
Seattle, Washington – The Episcopal Church of the Ascension will host a Lessons and Carols service on Dec. 22 at 4 p.m. followed by a festive reception. The service will be streamed on Ascension’s YouTube channel.
New York, New York – On Dec. 24 at 4 p.m., St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan will hosts a livestreamed Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service featuring the parish’s St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys. The choir consists of a professional men’s choir and choristers of St. Thomas Choir School, one of only three all-boys boarding schools in the world that exclusively educate treble choristers.
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.
