Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols emphasizes hope in a time of global unrest

CHICAGO (December 8, 2015) — Sunday was a night of reflection and joy for those who filled the pews of St. Hilary Catholic Church at North Park University’s eighth annual Festival of Lessons and Carols.

As children’s voices opened the concert softly singing, “Once in royal David’s city / Stood a lowly cattle shed / Where a mother laid her baby / In a manger for his bed,” the audience of approximately 1,000 could begin to see that the event was about more than seasonal cheer. This year’s  theme, “Gathering at the Manger,” was intended to recognize and respond to a time of global turmoil with the hope of a humble nativity.

“There is so much homelessness in Chicago and the world—so many people displaced from their countries,” said Dr. Julia Davids, associate professor of music. “We can draw a comparison to Mary and Joseph as they tried in vain to find a place for her to have her child, eventually gathering in the humblest of spots—around a manger.”

President David L. Parkyn echoed this intention in his opening prayer: “Because this of all things would rejoice his heart, let us at this time remember in Jesus’s name, the poor and the helpless, the cold, the hungry, and the oppressed.”

The service structure of alternating lessons (Scripture readings) and carols originated in the Anglican church and tells the story of Christ, from the creation of the world to the birth of Jesus. “The music performed changes from year to year, while the readings stay the same,” said Davids. “A number of the musical pieces for the service express the humility of Christ’s nativity—especially Morten Lauridsen’s setting of ‘O Magnum Mysterium (O Great Mystery)’, that the first beings on earth to see the son of God were the animals in the stable. Such a humble beginning.”

The service included more than 20 compositions in English, Latin, Polish, Spanish, and Russian. North Park University’s six student ensembles, composed of about 150 students, performed throughout the service. Music education student JiaYi Liang stepped up to the podium to conduct the choir and congregation in “Silent Night,” and the audience couldn’t hold their applause after the University Gospel Choir, featuring music in worship student soloist Quincy Cochran, finished “Have You Heard about the Baby.”

The Chicago Children’s Choir’s Albany Park Neighborhood Choir joined North Park’s ensembles, offering a pre-service recital as well as selections throughout the program. This year marked the beginning of a new collaboration for North Park with St. Hilary Catholic Church. “We especially rejoice tonight in the hospitality of the Church of St. Hilary,” Dr. Parkyn said in his opening remarks.

In addition to North Park community members, the service’s readers included a St. Hilary parishioner and the music directors from the children’s choir and the church.

“We hope the effect will be one of great comfort and joy in a time of global unrest and darkness,” said Davids before the concert. “This is a special event for all of us—a bringing together of the North Park community.”

North Park’s holiday celebrations continue with Inspired by Promise: A Christmas Concert and the Sankta Lucia pageant.

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