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Each year members of the Holy Cross community are invited to give holiday scripture readings during the annual Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols.
This year's readers were Kristine Cyr Goodwin, associate dean for student life; Thomas Parsons, supervisor/coordinator in Graphic Arts; Ruth Ann Elias, executive assistant to the president; Alexander Pagan-Mejia '15; Colleen Melaugh '12; Martin Kelly, assistant chaplain; Katherine Kiel, associate professor of economics; Daniel Sheehan '12 and Jeanie Johnson '13; and Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president.
The celebration includes seasonal music by the choir, which was directed by guest conductor Christopher Shepard.
The service has its foundation in the Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church. At the end of the 19th century, a service of "Lessons and Carols" for Christmas Eve was introduced at Truro Anglican Cathedral. In 1918, it was adapted by E. Milner-White for the chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England, where a parallel service was devised to mark the First Sunday of Advent. "Lessons and Carols" has been a holiday tradition at Holy Cross since 1978.
The event, co-sponsored by the Office of the College Chaplains and the College Choir, draws hundreds from both the College community and Worcester area to St. Joseph Chapel.
Photography by Dan Vaillancourt
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Video: Watch College Choir Perform 'Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming' » | |
