On Monday December 1st 2014, Catawba College held their annual Lessons & Carols. Monday night was not the only night the service was performed; it was also performed Tuesday December 2nd and Thursday December 4th. Each night, Catawba College’s chapel was filled with numerous people from all over. This performance has such a huge turn out each year that Catawba is required to hand out tickets so there aren’t too many people in the chapel because if we have too many it will violate the fire codes.
It takes many people and performers to make Lessons & Carols what it truly is. A few of the people in Lessons & Carols are professors, President Lewis, Dr. Clapp, board of trustees members, the Catawba Wind Ensemble, the Catawba singers, and Chamber Choir. All of these people make Lessons & Carols what it is.
The people from the band started off Lessons & Carols by playing some wonderful processional songs which started at 6:30 and lasted until 7:00. At 7:00, the Catawba singers entered the chapel with the men on the right side and the women on the left each singer held a lit candle. The singers opened with the piece “Lo How A Rose”, after performing this piece the singers filed out of the chapel and back in through the middle doors side by side singing the along with the audience to the hymn.
The Catawba singers continued to perform throughout the night with two performances by the Catawba chamber choir. The Catawba chamber choir is also a part of the Catawba singers; they are just also a separate auditioned group. After every song that was sung there was a lesson to follow, hints the name lessons in carols.
President Lewis, Dr. Clapp, Trustees members, Professors, and students were the ones to conduct the lessons. Each lesson followed along with the carols in telling the story of Jesus Christ. People a lot of times think that in order to tell someone the story of Jesus they must be preached to but this was in no way a sermon. It was simple short readings by each person and songs that got the message across.
Lessons & Carols was an amazing and beautiful performance each night and surely touched so many lives. I believe this is going to continue to be a great Catawba tradition so don’t forget to start out your holiday season right next year with Lessons & Carols.
