Advent Lessons & Carols

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 | 5 PM
ST. MARY'S AT PENN | 3916 LOCUST WALK, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19104
E NTRANCE* LOCATED AT THE RED BELL TOWER DOORS.

* For accessible entrance information, please call our office, (215) 386-3916.

About this Service
The word “Advent” means “coming,” or “drawing near.” During this season, Christians throughout the world prepare for the anniversary of Christ’s first coming through reflection on our yearning for wholeness and salvation. Such reflection can serve to heighten our sense of anticipation for the Christ's birth, which we will celebrate on Christmas.
All are warmly welcomed to join us as we read lessons together; sing traditional hymns from the Hymnal 1982; and enjoy choral and instrumental anthems composed by Camille Saint-Saëns, Paul Manz, Boris Ord, Roland E. Martin, Tomas Luis da Victoria, and C.V. Stanford.
About St. Mary's at Penn ()
St. Mary’s Church, Hamilton Village, is the congregation of the Episcopal Church on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. God calls us to be a loving, diverse, and inclusive Christian community working for a world of compassion and justice. In everything we do, we strive to be grounded in worship and prayer. We invite and welcome all God’s people to St. Mary’s in the name of God: Creator, Redeemer, Holy Spirit.
About St. Mary's Organist and Choirmaster
Dr. Chase Castle, Ph.D. (He/Him) is a music historian, organist, and choral conductor. He received a PhD in Music as a Benjamin Franklin Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania in May 2024. Castle’s research explores American revivalism across the nineteenth century, focusing especially on the politics of race in American evangelical hymnody. His current book project is titled The Gospel in Black and White: Race and Popular Culture in American Hymns, which is based on his dissertation and current research. Unlike previous scholarship that often separates Black from white histories and treats African-American music primarily in terms of spirituals, his research cast a wider net to consider how racial politics played out in widespread, popular, sacred practices.

Castle is also an active organist and choral conductor. He regularly concertizes across the eastern half of the United States and has performed in master classes with Todd Wilson, Marie-Louise Langlais, and James David Christie. Castle believes in the spiritual power of music in worship and has written articles for Christian magazines like Earth & Altar that examine the social capacities of hymnody. He prioritizes a balance between tradition and inclusion in the music program at St. Mary’s and welcomes all participants to help serve in that mission.

About St. Mary's Music
St. Mary’s music program includes a church choir, supported by an extensive music library, an historic Aoelian-Skinner organ, baby grand piano, and cabinet organ. St. Mary’s collaborates with universities and the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in the composition of new music and in showcasing student performers of sacred music.

During the academic year (the weekend after Labor Day to the Feast of Pentecost), our all-volunteer choir often presents an anthem and leads the singing of the Psalm. New members are always welcome!

About St. Mary's Choral Scholars
Funded by a generous grant from our diocese in addition to the Frank T. Innes, Jr. Memorial Fund for Music at St. May's, the Choral Scholar program is a reflection of the longstanding relationship between the University of Pennsylvania community and our choir. Our Choral Scholars participate in the choir for Sunday mass and perform in special concerts, like Advent Lessons and Carols, and Eastertide Choral Evensong.

Host or Publisher St. Mary's at Penn