Lessons & Carols Service

Join us online or in person as we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ child by hearing the Word not through a sermon but through ‘lessons’, or scripture readings, and accompanying choral anthems and carols.

The History of the Lessons and Carols Service:

The tradition of the Lessons and Carols Service goes back to 19th century England. Before this time, Christmas carols (considered to be secular) were sung by singers at people's houses. But in the Victorian Era, church musicians were encouraged to integrate carols into the church service, and the first Lessons and Carols Service was conducted on Christmas Eve, 1880. This service proclaimed the Word not through a sermon but through “lessons,” or scripture readings, and accompanying choral anthems and carols.