College to Celebrate 2013 Advent Season

Popular Lessons and Carols event to be streamed live on web

The College of the Holy Cross will celebrate the Advent season with the following events:

The annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, sponsored by the Purple Key Society, will take place on Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. on O’Kane Porch, and will include musical performances by several student groups and the boys choir from Nativity School of Worcester. Rev. James Hayes, S.J., associate chaplain, will light the tree and Santa is expected to make a special appearance during the ceremony. Cookies and refreshments will be served.

An Advent Reconciliation Service will be held on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lower Chapel Gathering/Baptismal Space. Prepare for Christmas by celebrating God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the College’s Jesuit community. Megan Fox-Kelly, assistant chaplain and director of retreats, will preside and preach.

The Tuesday night 10 Spot on Dec. 3 will be a special Holiday a Capella Show. Held at 10 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom, the show will feature performances by the Fools on the Hill, the Delilahs, the Sound of St. James, Off the Record, and the Sons of Pitches. The event is sponsored by the Campus Activities Board (CAB).

The annual Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols will take place on Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. Presented by the chaplains’ office, the College Choir and the Holy Cross Chamber Singers, the celebration will include seasonal music and holiday scripture readings by members of the College community. Marybeth Kearns-Barrett, director of the chaplains’ office, will preside. The religious service is based on one celebrated every year at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England.

During the service, there will be a collection taken up for disaster relief for those impacted by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. All proceeds will go to the Philippine Jesuit Foundation.

The festive holiday service will be streamed live over the web from St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. Bookmark the online location and be sure to tune in at 8 p.m. EST on Dec. 5.

The Advent/Holiday Community Mass will take place on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in St. Joseph Memorial Chapel. On the last Sunday evening of the fall semester, a single community Mass is celebrated in place of the two regular Sunday evening Masses. Rev. Robert Keane, S.J., director of special projects in mission, will preside and preach. The Mass will be followed by a reception in the Lower Chapel Gathering/Baptismal Space.

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