College Choir and Chaplains to Lead Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Holy Cross Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols will be held on Thursday, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. All are invited to participate as the College Choir leads the music in the 26th year of this annual holiday tradition. There is no admission fee. For more information contact the Holy Cross music department at 508-793-2296 or Chaplains’ Office at 508-793-2448.

The service will consist of nine Advent and Christmas lessons taken from the Bible, beginning with Old Testament prophecies and concluding with the Gospels. The lessons, read by various members of the College community, will be interspersed with carols performed by the College Choir, notably Benjamin Britten’s "A Hymn to the Virgin" and Felix Mendelssohn’s "Sleepers, Wake." All will be invited to join in singing familiar selections including, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Adeste Fideles."

The College Choir and the Office of the College Chaplains have presented the Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols since December 1978. The religious service is based on one celebrated each year at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England.