Christmas Eve at Peace is typically the traditional Festival of Lessons and Carols, developed in 1880 and celebrated at Kings College in Cambridge, England, since 1918. Last year was an exceptional year because it was not safe for us to gather in-person as a faith community on Christmas Eve. This year, we are lucky to be able to celebrate together live, but we recognize that not everyone is ready to attend an in-person worship yet. So we want to provide an online option, but since it’s impractical for us to record a 9 pm service and get it posted in an acceptable amount of time, we decided to do this instead: we are sending out last year’s Festival of Lessons and Carols again, but it’s preceded by an updated introduction that follows the theme we have been observing the past four Sundays of Advent. You will no doubt notice some inconsistencies in setting and attire, but we hope it does not diminish the significance of the experience for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may recall that the service traces humanity\u2019s relationship with God from Creation through the birth of Jesus. This is told in nine short Bible readings from Genesis, the prophetic books, and the Gospels, interspersed with short reflections and the singing of Christmas hymns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n