LESSONS & CAROLS
Shiloh’s annual Festival of Lessons & Carols will be celebrated on Sunday morning, December 18, at 11:00 a.m. The Festival is a format for a service celebrating the birth of Jesus. The traditional story begins with the fall of humanity, continues through the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus. This is all told in nine short Bible readings from Genesis, the prophetic books, and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns, and choir music.
An English bishop, Edward White Benson, later Archbishop of Canterbury, first designed the order of worship in 1880, specifying the readings and carols to be used. He conceived the service as a way to keep the men out of the pubs on Christmas Eve.
The original liturgy has since been adapted and used by other churches all over the world, and now there are numerous variations of music and scripture readings. The best known version is broadcast live annually from King’s College, Cambridge, on Christmas Eve featuring carols sung by the famous Choir of King’s College. The service was first broadcast by the BBC in 1928, and, except for 1930, has been broadcast every year since, even throughout World War II.
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