Sunday, December 8th – Doors open at 6:00 pm
As we come upon the holiday season, we often find ourselves making lists of “presents to buy, things to be done and places to go.” The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is often both daunting and overwhelming. To take you away from all of this we invite you to the peace and tranquility of The Shirley Meeting House on Sunday, December 8th for our 21st Annual Candlelight Vespers Concert. This year’s theme: A Time of Joy, Peace & Hope.
The doors will open at 6:00 pm and you are invited to sit back and enjoy traditional holiday songs and carols performed on our own Stevens Tracker Organ by Lois Toeppner.
The Vespers program begins a 6:30 and will feature music, stories and poems that will allow you to pause and reflect on the true meaning of the season and the joy, peace and hope it offers us all.
Joy – Christmas is the season of joy, of holiday greetings exchanged, of gift-giving and of families united. – Norman Vincent Peale
Peace – What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.—Agnes Mae Pharo
Hope – Christmas is not a story of hope. It is hope.— Craig D. Lounsbrough
The Meeting House Chorale will be under the direction of Bernard Crane and accompanied by pianist Elenye German. Our readers this year are Rebecca Boucher, Eben Goldman, Christine Hatch, Kevin Johnston, Mary Ellen Jones, William Oelfke and James Quinty. Holiday musical selections will be shared by Gus Angelo, Nancy Beaudette, Roy Ellis, Benjamin Farrar, Emilie Faucher, The German Family, Holly Haase, Dawn Kenney, Victoria Landry and Andy Sullivan. It wouldn’t be Vespers if we didn’t invite all of you to join in the singing so warm up your voices and be ready to lift them in song. Following the program you are all invited to the Center Town Hall for warm cider, dessert and conversation with friends. We look forward to seeing you.
Candlelight Vespers is our gift to the community for their support throughout. As always, any donations are welcome and appreciated.
The Shirley Meeting House is ADA Accessible.
The Shirley Meeting House programs are sponsored in part by a grant from the Shirley Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
