Wake Forest University will hold its 35th Christmas lovefeast and candlelight service at 8 p.m. Dec. 3 at Wait Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.
Jane Stroupe, a 1967 graduate of Wake Forest, will assist Wake Forest Chaplain Ed Christman in conducting the service. Stroupe initiated the first Christmas lovefeast at Wake Forest in 1965 and helped make the event an annual tradition.
The Wake Forest Concert Choir, conducted by Brian Gorelick, director of choral ensembles, will provide choral music as well as lead the congregation in the singing of carols and the traditional Moravian song, “Morning Star.” Matthew Emkey, a Wake Forest sophomore, will play the organ.
The Handbell Choir and the Flute Choir will perform Christmas music. The Messiah Moravian Church Band and carilloneur Matthew Phillips will provide music as a prelude to the service.
Luminaries will encircle the University Plaza. Inside the chapel, each person will receive a beeswax candle to be lit at the end of the service. Fifty-six students and faculty will serve coffee and Moravian buns.
The Christmas lovefeast and candlelight service is a custom that originated in Europe in 1747. The first lovefeast in North Carolina was held on the evening of the arrival of the Moravians in November 1753.
After the service, donations will be accepted for Prodigals Community and Samaritan Ministries. For more information, call 336-758-5210.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Community, Events, School of Divinity
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