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You are invited!

Lessons and Carols is a musical Christmas tradition featuring choral anthems, congregational Christmas carols, handbells and readings from scripture. This year the theme is: “The Promises of Christmas”

Please consider joining us! (Yes, it is free)

  • December 8th at 6 PM - 7 PM
  • 17455 Old Frederick Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771 - Directions
  • Plenty of Parking
  • Refreshments aftwards
  • Childcare up to age 4 available

A History of Lessons and Carols*


Lessons and Carols is a service of Scripture and song that dates from the late 19th century. It was originally devised by the Bishop of Truro, England, and was a response “to discourage a different festive spirit found in the local Cornish pubs.” The service has since been made famous by the Choir of King’s College in Cambridge, England, through their internationally broadcast service on Christmas Eve.

In this service, we listen to nine Scripture lessons which recount the fall in the Garden, the promise of a Messiah, and the realization of that promise in the birth of Jesus. Each lesson is followed by a carol or other musical selection that reflects on the lesson’s message. The service progresses from darkness to light, as we move from the hopelessness of Adam’s fall into the glorious reality of the Redeemer’s coming.

This year's musical selection included:

*History from https://4thpres.org/resource-library/resources/lessons-and-carols-12-4-22/

Program Notes

An Introduction to Lessons and Carols
The story of the service of Lessons and Carols takes us back to Victorian England in the southern peninsula of Cornwall. For many years, the English celebrated the Christmas season with feasting and dancing—and wassailing, a practice of going door to door, visiting neighbors singing seasonal songs, and drinking. Neighbors were ready with beer, ale, and wassail—a drink made of brandy, apples and spices. Here is a sample verse of a song from the 1700s, the Gloucester Carol:

Wassail! wassail! all over the town,
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing bowl, we'll drink to thee.

So here is to Cherry and to his right cheek
Pray God send our master a good piece of beef
And a good piece of beef that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we'll drink to thee.

Here's to our cow, and to her long tail,
May God send our master a mug of strong ale
Of a cup of good beer: I pray you draw near,
And our jolly wassail it's then you shall hear.

Perhaps there was a bit too much drinking; the clergy in Cornwall were concerned that the miraculous birth of the savior Jesus Christ was not being the focus of the Christmas season. And so in 1880 Edward White-Benson, the bishop of Truro, held a service in a barn/shed (while the Truro Cathedral was being built) where the singing of Christmas hymns and the reading of scripture drew congregants. This service became a yearly event.

Fast forward to the University of Cambridge in 1918. Eric Milner-White had just been appointed Dean of Christ Church. He had served as chaplain in the Great War and had seen many disturbing atrocities on the front. According to Katie Buzzard at illinios.edu, “Milner-White devised A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols as a means of outreach to those who felt alienated by the church or religion as a whole. Instead of a complicated mass, the carols service was simpler, alternating between choral anthems, congregational hymns, and readings.” White based the order of service on what Benson had created in Cornwall. He began with a treble chorister opening the service singing acapella, “Once in Royal David’s City.” That became a tradition that continues to this day at King’s College Cambridge. The program has changed little from 1918 to the present. The nine lessons are scriptures that tell the story of the gospel, from the fall of Man to the glory of the coming of the Savior. Choral anthems and congregation-sung hymns are interspersed between the scripture readings.

The service at King’s College has been held yearly since 1918 with few variations. During World War II blackout curtains were used in the cathedral at King’s College to keep the congregants safe from bombings. In 2020 there was no live service due to the pandemic, but the readings and choral pieces had been recorded in an empty sanctuary and broadcast on the radio worldwide. The service has been broadcast on the radio since 1922.

Mt. Airy Presbyterian takes its inspiration from the original. The nine scriptural lessons are the same. The choral anthems and congregational hymns vary from year to year, as the music director, Barb Scheffter, chooses a theme. This year the theme is “The Promises of Christmas”

Adoro te Devote (Handbell Choir, Grace Notes)

The words to this beautiful anthem were believed to have been written by Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), not for use in public mass, but for his own private devotion. Originally written in Latin, there have been at least 16 English translations. The one we will hear tonight was arranged by Jason Krug. A song of adoration, it is fitting to begin our program tonight consecrating our time here to the Lord of light, the Word of God, incarnate.

A Light Will Shine (Choir)

This second piece takes up where the first leaves off: “The people who walk in the darkness have seen a great light!” A child has been born who is the savior of the world. The lyrics of this piece are all taken from the messianic prophecies of the book of Isaiah (9:2;6a).

The Truth Sent from Above (Choir)

The original text for this piece was written in the late Renaissance. The minor key in parts of this piece reflects the gravity of the text: the first man sinned—and mankind was ruined. But the carol doesn’t leave us hopeless; the repeated phrase, the good news, is that God made a promise to redeem us by sending a savior.

Once in Royal David’s City (Congregation)

This lovely hymn has a tender history. Not originally meant as a Christmas carol, the lyricist, Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895), wrote this and several other hymns to teach children the principles of The Apostles Creed. “Once in Royal David’s City” was written for the “born of the virgin Mary” element of the creed. Leland Ryken points out in his anthology Journey to Bethlehem that the hymn is also strongly linked to “He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.”

This hymn became forever associated with Christmas in 1918 when Eric Milner-White began King’s College Cambridge’s very first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. The tradition continues to this day, with the service opening with a lone treble chorister singing the first verse and others joining in subsequent verses, and the congregation being invited to join in singing the final verse.

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People (Choir)

“Comfort, comfort ye my people” is also a messianic prophecy from the book of Isaiah (40:1-4). The message of comfort to lost and hurting mankind is the theme of this anthem. Prepare the way for the Lord! He is surely coming! The music was composed by Claude Goudimel, who was a French Protestant composer, who lived in the 16th century. Tonight’s offering was arranged by Howard Helvey, a contemporary musician, composer, and arranger from Ohio. This piece represents both the tradition and the fun of celebrating the birth of Christ.

Wexford Carol (Choir)

This beautiful, haunting carol was written and composed in Ireland. Scholars disagree on whether it was written in the 12th century or as late as the 16th century, but what is certain is that the carol, both words and music, was passed down orally for hundreds of years before being written down by W. H. Grattan Flood, who was organist and music director at the St. Aiden Cathedral in the village of Enniscorthy, County Wexford. Flood included the carol in the Oxford Book of Carols, which was published the next year. The song immediately became popular all over the world, and has become a beloved tradition of Christmas celebrations ever since.

Jesus Child (Choir)

The master of Christmas music, John Rutter, wrote, composed, and arranged this next piece, Jesus Child. As the choir sings, one can imagine the towns’ people of Bethlehem spreading the joyous word that the savior of the world has been born. The tempo, rhythm, melody, and delicious harmonies all contribute to the message that Christmas is Good News!

Unto Us a Son (Handbell Choir, Grace Notes)

This piece begins with a short melodic and rhythmic motif that ties together the carols in the medley. The first tune to enter is Puer Nobis Nacitur, a Latin chant associated with the English lyrics, "Unto Us a Son is Born; welcome, holy stranger!" Following this are the carols "Joy to the World," "Angels We Have Heard on High," and "The First Noel." By the end of the piece, strains of all the melodies weave together in joyful celebration of the gift of the Christ child.

Ding Dong Merrily on High (Choir)

The music for this piece was a 16th century French dance tune. The lyrics were written by George Ratcliffe Woodward in 1920. Ding Dong Merrily on High encapsulates the joy of Christmas in both word and melody. Woodward was a bell-ringer in his English church, which explains this carol extolling both song and bell ringing to announce the joy of the celebration of the birth of the savior. In the third verse we hear, “and io, io, io, by priest and people.” Io is a Latin exclamation meaning (the equivalent of) “hurray!” The refrain, hosannah in excelsis means, “Hosannah in the highest,” echoing the original song of the angels, making this a true Christmas worship song.

Joy to the World (Congregation)

Issac Watts wrote this popular carol as a response to Psalm 98, which is a psalm of praise. During Watts’s lifetime, it was common for English poets to rework the Psalms of the Bible with English poetic characteristics. Many scholars have written that “Joy to the World” was written as an anticipation of Christ’s second coming, but we can surely enjoy the rapture of God’s incarnation in the birth of Jesus! Leland Ryken concisely sums up the reason this carol is important, “We should celebrate Christmas with the joy that the hymn commands, and we should secure our position as recipients of the blessings of Christ’s messianic rule as delineated in the two concluding stanzas.”

See That Star (Choir)

Victor C. Johnson, a native of Texas and music teacher wrote and composed this traditional American spiritual. This song invites us to join with the wisemen who followed the star to the manger where the incarnate son of God awaited their visit. This is a soulful celebration with an exuberant solo expressing the joy of both the starlight and angel-song.

Hallelujah Chorus (Congregation)

Our program concludes with Handel’s “Hallelujah!” When we ponder the greatness of God’s love for us and review the journey of the nine lessons, Adam’s sin, the promise of a Messiah, the journey of Joseph and Mary, the Shepherd’s adoration of the baby Jesus, and our salvation because of his sacrifice, we can only turn to God in astonishment and sing Hallelujah! 

Nunc Dimitis (Choir)

This piece, also known as “The Song of Simeon,” takes its text from Luke 2, in which the elderly, faithful Simeon meets the holy family and holds the baby Jesus in his arms. He has been waiting his entire life to see the promised Messiah. “Now may your servant depart in peace,” he prays, in Luke. The full text is:

Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace;
Because my eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples;
A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

The Anglican church uses this piece to close many of its Evensong services. The Nunc Dimitis is the most appropriate benediction for our service tonight.