Wake Forest University will hold its 36th traditional Christmas lovefeast and candlelight service at 8 p.m. Dec. 2 at Wait Chapel.
The event is free and open to the public.
Al Gambill, a Moravian missionary who also makes Moravian stars, will speak at the service. Gambill has recently returned from Honduras, where he assisted with disaster relief.
The Wake Forest Concert Choir, conducted by Brian Gorelick, will lead the congregation in singing traditional carols and the Moravian song, “Morning Star.”
Lauren Kapcha, a Wake Forest senior, will play the organ. The university’s handbell choir and flute choir will also perform. The Messiah Moravian Church Band and Wake Forest carilloneur Lauren Toney 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. More than 50 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 at Bethabara in November 1753.
Wake Forest University started the tradition of holding an annual Christmas lovefeast on campus in 1965.
Those attending the service can make monetary contributions to Prodigals Community and Samaritan Ministries. For more information, call 336-758-5210.
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