A Creative Bishop, Church in a Shed & Cornish Festive Spirit - The Fascinating Origins of the Service of Lessons & Carols
The Lessons and Carols service has a wonderful historic tradition in the Anglican Church. For those familiar with this beautiful service, when we think of it, we often envision the famous presentations of King's College, Cambridge. The service begins, usually in the dark, with a young solo voice cracking the silence, singing the acapella notes of Once in Royal David’s City.
The formal name of the service is actually called the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. I find this service fascinating and question begging.
Why do we do this?
Why do we tell the story, from the fall from grace to the birth of Christ, before Christmas, usually around Advent 3 or 4. It kind of feels like a bit of a spoiler, announcing the birth of Jesus before December 25, reading the same passages the week before Christmas - it doesn’t make sense to me. So I did some research and here’s what I found out…
Padre Carol Bateman, on the Anglican Church of Canada’s Website writes:
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, as it is formally called, is traditionally used at Christmas. The story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus is told in nine Bible readings selected from the Book of Genesis, the prophetic books, and the four Gospels, interspersed with the singing of Christmas carols, hymns, and choir music. The format was based on an Order drawn up by the Bishop of Truro in Cornwall, Edward White Benson, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury. Lessons and Carols were first celebrated on Christmas Eve 1880.
I find a couple of things really interesting here. First, our church is older than the service of Lessons and Carols. I thought the service was much much older. Second, the order of service was created by the Bishop of Truro in Cornwall, not by some formal liturgical committee or group of liturgical theologians and specialists (as is often the case).
So, I looked into why it was created, and why it was created for Christmas Eve when the Eve service also has a traditional mass. This is what I found…
From the King’s College Website, Archbishop Benson’s son, AC Benson writes:
My father arranged from ancient sources a little service for Christmas Eve – nine carols and nine tiny lessons, which were read by various officers of the Church, beginning with a chorister, and ending, through the different grades, with the Bishop. The suggestion had come from G. H. S. Walpole, later Bishop of Edinburgh. The original service was held in a wooden shed, which, at the time, served as his cathedral in Truro, at 10 pm on Christmas Eve in 1880.
A humble little service in a humble little Church - a Cathedral in a shed, while the Truro Cathedral was being built. This service began much like the humble beginnings of the life of our Lord. And why did Walpole suggest creating this service to Archbishop Benson? Were they addressing a problem?
Now I quote from Recorded Church Music, the Story of 9 Lessons and Carols: "The service was created to discourage the particular kind of festive spirit found in the local Cornish pubs!"
This reason is also supported by Padre Bateman, who writes: “Tradition says that the bishop organized the service in a small wooden chapel on Christmas Eve with the goal of giving men something to do other than go to the pubs before the midnight service.”
The service was held at 10pm so that men wouldn’t go to the pub before the 11 o’clock Christmas Eve mass. What an interesting and creative way to solve that problem!
It wasn’t until 38 years later, in 1918, when then Dean of King’s College, Cambridge, Eric-Milner White, adapted the service for King’s because he felt this beautiful little service would be much more uplifting than Evensong on Christmas Eve just a month after the Great War. It has become a staple liturgy throughout the Anglican Communion, ever since.
A little service, created to keep men out of the pub before Christmas Eve mass, adapted to uplift spirits on Christmas Eve for those still living the trauma and pain of the First World War, now speaks to us through time.
The story we hear throughout this service is not just the story of Jesus' life, it is our story, our human, timeless story of our relationship with God. A story that tells of God’s love for us, a love that is revealed in our redemption and celebrated in our reading of scripture and singing of song.