78th Annual Evensong

Description

A free family-friendly holiday event, Missouri Military Academy’s 78th Evensong will be held at Mexico United Methodist Church (122 E. Promenade St., Mexico, Missouri) on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. The community event will celebrate the holidays through the voices of MMA cadets and faculty members. Described as a “Festival of Lessons and Carols,” Evensong is open to the public and draws hundreds of guests each year. It will feature musical performances by members of the Missouri Military Academy Choir, Chamber Wind Ensemble and the MMA Faculty Chorus, plus live readings. The MMA Evensong is a celebration of the Christmas story, similar to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held in the King’s College Chapel in Cambridge. The festival dates back to the Christmas Eve of 1918, when it was first held in the chapel one month after World War I ended. The service was developed by Eric Milner-White, who was the young, newly appointed dean of King’s College at the time. Milner-White had previously served as an army chaplain. The Evensong program began at MMA in 1941, less than a month after the Japanese attacked the U.S. at Pearl Harbor, drawing the country into World War II. Since the Academy had no chapel, the event was held in the gymnasium under the direction of Capt. Eugene Lamm. Since then, Evensong has traditionally served as a joyful start to the Christmas furlough. In 2013, MMA began the tradition of bringing Evensong to the community, hosting it in the historic Christopher Wrenn chapel on the campus of Westminster College in Fulton, the First Presbyterian Church of Mexico and the Mexico United Methodist Church. Founded in 1889, Missouri Military Academy (MMA) is a private all-boy college preparatory academy that serves grades 7 through 12 and offers a post-graduate year. Located in a safe and peaceful setting in rural Missouri, MMA educates young men from around the world who seek college preparatory and career readiness programs in a military structured environment, focused on developing self-confidence and grit. Our 360° Education™ promotes academic excellence and success, character development, physical development, personal motivation and leadership training to prepare young men to take command of their personal lives and their future. For more information, visit MissouriMilitaryAcademy.org.