Christmas Vespers 2012

Every year, one of the Christmas traditions I look forward to the most is the interfellowship Christmas Vespers service.  This year, I was able to go because our dear friend Andrew came over to watch the kids while they slept.  He's about to become a first-time father in just a few short weeks, so it was good practice for him!  (And it helps that the service starts at 9pm -- the crazy-late college student schedule meant that both the kids were put in bed before I had to leave!)

This year's service was as beautiful and moving as ever.  It's such a blessing to be able to take a moment in the midst of the busyness of the Christmas season to just sit back, meditate on Scripture, and listen to and sing beautiful music.  The richness and beauty of Christmas tradition becomes once more solidly grounded in the promises of Scripture, and I come away feeling refreshed.

And I just love the music chosen for this service!  I usually have the carols and special music stuck in my head for weeks after Vespers.  :)

Joy has dawned upon the world
Promised from creation
God's salvation now unfurled
Hope for every nation
Not with fanfares from above
Not with scenes of glory
But a humble gift of love
Jesus born of Mary

Sounds of wonder fill the sky
With the songs of angels
As the mighty Prince of Life
Shelters in a stable
Hands that set each star in place
Shaped the earth in darkness
Cling now to a mother's breast
Vulnerable and helpless

Shepherds bow before the Lamb
Gazing at the glory
Gifts of men from distant lands
Prophesy the story
Gold -- a King is born today
Incense -- God is with us
Myrrh -- His death will make a way
And by His blood He'll win us

Christmas Vespers 2011

Sunday evening, December 11, was the annual interfellowship Christmas Vespers.  And as always, it was such a beautiful service!  There were a record-breaking 38 students in the choir, which sounded absolutely majestic in the soaring splendor of Rockefeller Common Room, singing music beautifully arranged, as always, by Jamie Rankin.  We also had a harp, several string instruments, a percussion section, some woodwinds, and Rob Dunlop '01 coming back for his umpteenth year as the French hornist.  :)










The readings, though familiar, always bring home to me new facets and applications of the Incarnation.  And we had some seriously powerful soloists this year!  The songs chosen for this service always move me to tears, and this year was no exception.






David Buschman gave a touching message on how the Old Testament comes to a point or apex with the birth of Christ, which then spreads the message of God's salvation to all peoples everywhere -- the hourglass view of all history, if you will.






It was so restorative, in the midst of this busy season in our lives, to come together in worship and be reminded anew of God's great gift of grace.

Christmas Vespers 2010

The next Christmas event on our schedules this year was the one that is perhaps my favorite Christmas event every year -- the Christmas Vespers service.  It's such a lovely service -- lessons and carols, a choir, beautiful solos, a brief homily, all with the aim of refocusing our hearts and minds on the miracle of Emmanuel, God with us.

And again, this year was no exception.  The students handled all the surprises and hiccups before the service (75 too few chairs; a random stage left over in the common room) with such aplomb that no one even realized that any of the changes (lovely wooden chairs hauled in from the dining hall; hello, big huge stage at the front of the room) weren't part of the original plan.  And it really was such a beautiful evening of interfellowship worship!


The choir and musicians on the stage


Dion leading the congregation in carols


The pure joy of Stephen's solo in "Emmanuel"


Pastor Matt's homily


Some of the sophomore girls singing together


And I absolutely loved Becky's rendition of "Welcome to our World."  In large part, of course, because of her beautiful voice, but it's also one of my favorite Christmas songs:

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that You don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long-awaited Holy Stranger
Make Yourself at home
Please make Yourself at home

Bring Your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence
Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

Christmas Vespers 2009

And to top off our very busy weekend, Sunday evening was the annual interfellowship Vespers service. This service is always such a beautiful time of music, readings, and refocusing on the message of the Gospel -- and this year was no exception.

This was the first time in seven or eight years that I wasn't in the choir... I'm afraid being almost eight months pregnant means that my lung capacity is greatly reduced. And I'm sure there was no way I would have been able to sustain the high A in Handel's "And the glory of the Lord"... I really missed singing with the choir this year, but it also meant that for the first time in years, I was able to just sit back and soak in the music and the rest of the service. And wow, is it ever beautiful!

I love the opening call to worship solo, "Joy Has Dawned" --

Joy has dawned upon the world
Promised from creation
God's salvation now unfurled
Hope for every nation

Not with fanfares from above
Not with scenes of glory
But a humble gift of love
Jesus born of Mary

Sounds of wonder fill the sky
With the songs of angels
As the mighty Prince of Life
Shelters in a stable

Hands that set each star in place
Shaped the earth in darkness
Cling now to a mother's breast
Vuln'rable and helpless

Shepherds bow before the Lamb
Gazing at the glory
Gifts of men from distant lands
Prophesy the story

Gold, a King is born today
Incense, God is with us
Myrrh, His death will make a way
And by His blood He'll win us

It's really something to hear Margaret Byron's beautiful and powerful voice calling us all to worship and setting the tone for the evening... What a joyful celebration of the birth of our Savior!

And, of course, not being in the choir meant that this year, I actually got to photograph the service!


Jamie rehearsing the choir before the service started


Natalie and Rachel on violin


Some of the crowd milling before the service started


Margaret singing the call to worship


Rob playing French horn -- even though he graduated 8.5 years ago,
he still comes down for the Vespers service when he can!


Andrew and Ana, two of the readers


Matt, one of the grad student readers


Steve, singing "Joseph's Song" -- this piece makes me cry every year
(and even more so this year, now that I'm pregnant!)


Blake Altman, giving the homily


Rob and Pastor Matt
I really love the Christmas Vespers service -- so steeped in tradition, so aesthetically beautiful, and so effective in refocusing my heart on the message of the Gospel.

Oh what a precious promise,
Oh what a gift of love;
The waiting now is over and
The time has finally come
For the God who made this world
To roll back the curtain
And unveil His passion for the heart of man.
Oh what a precious promise,
Lying in a manger in Bethlehem.

For the full set of Vespers photos, check out this SmugMug gallery.

Christmas Vespers 2008

We got to partake in my favorite Advent tradition this past Sunday -- the interfellowship Christmas Vespers service. Representatives from all of the evangelical groups on campus help put together a beautiful service of lessons and carols, reflecting on the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The organizing genius behind the service is Jamie Rankin, professor of German at the university, and also musician extraordinaire. He came up with the idea about ten years ago, arranged choral music and solos, and it's grown from there. It's always an evening of beautiful music and reflection on scripture (from creation, to fall, to the promises of a Messiah, to the birth of Christ) -- and it's also a really great opportunity to fellowship with believers from the different campus groups. Not to mention other Christians from the local churches.

David and I always sing in the Vespers choir. It's essentially a pick-up choir, which meets briefly for a couple run-through rehearsals before the service -- but what amazing musical talent these singers all have! (And it doesn't hurt that the acoustics in Rocky Common Room are amazing, and therefore quite forgiving...) It's the one time every year I get to do any choral singing, and it always reminds me of how much I miss it. Not that I really have time these days to do anything serious in music... I'm really just thankful that I can be a part of this choir every year!

I never really get any good pictures of this service, because (a) I'm in the choir, and (b) I wouldn't feel super comfortable clicking away in this setting. So here are a few pre-Vespers pictures:

Shots of the congregation, from the back and from the front, as people were coming in before the service began. You can get a sense of how beautiful the Common Room is -- I always feel that Vespers is exactly the right use of this room.

Some of the men in the choir, milling around before the service. The choir processes in at the beginning, singing an acappella, chant-like arrangement of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"; the men are lined up on one side, and the women on the other.

Just a few of the instrumentalists. This year, we had two guitarists, two violinists, two violists, two cellists, a flute, a djembe, and Jamie on the piano. You can see the chairs for the choir behind the strings, and the mics where the soloists and the readers stood.

Always a lovely way to refocus in the midst of the busyness of the Christmas season.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed
And all flesh shall see it together
For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.