Christmas Eve at Providence
Candlelight Lessons & Carols Service – 5pm – Tuesday, December 24th
Join us at Linfield Christian School for our annual Lessons and Carols Service. We will hear Scripture read and respond with Christmas carols culminating in joyful singing by candlelight. This service is about an hour and friendly for the whole family.
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols dates back to the 1880’s in England. Rev. Edward Benson first composed the service in hopes of luring folks attracted to Cornish pubs to church on Christmas Eve. His son recalled, “My father arranged from ancient sources a little service for Christmas Eve, nine carols and nine tiny lessons.”
The service became most famous when it was introduced to King’s College, Cambridge in 1918 by its chaplain, Eric Milner-White. As he put it, “The main theme is the development of the loving purposes of God seen through the windows and words of the Bible.” We, too, desire to recount the loving purposes of God by use of Scripture and song this evening.
This Christmas Eve four advent candles will be lit after each Old Testament lesson. In each of these lessons a promise of God brings light into the darkness of this fallen world. The final candle, often called the Christ candle, will be lit after the lesson that tells of the birth of Jesus. For He is God’s true light that “gives light to everyone”. Therefore, from this center candle, we will pass the flame to the whole congregation before we hear the final lesson and sing O Come, All Ye Faithful.
Please join us as we move from a month of Advent preparation to the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!
