Lessons & Carols Brings Joy to Campus and Families Worldwide

St. John’s Chapel was postcard pretty, with a blanket of fresh snow outside and candles flickering by the wreath-adorned doors. On Tuesday night, December 17, students, faculty, and staff participated in Groton School’s favorite holiday tradition—the Service of Nine Lessons & Carols.

 

Tuesday’s service was the final of three: the first, on December 13, was open to the public and the Town of Groton, and the second, December 15, was primarily for alumni and parents.

 

The tradition is so beloved that hundreds tune in to a livestream each year to hear the Christmas readings and the choir’s beautiful carols and hymns. On Tuesday evening, Lessons & Carols sparked holiday spirit in nearly every state, and in Australia, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Canada, China, England, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, St. Bart’s, and Thailand. The service rekindles Groton memories for alumni watching the stream and lets parents share the holiday tradition with their children from afar.

 

The Reverend James G. Birney III, the school chaplain, presided at each service, which began after a prelude by the Groton School Chamber Orchestra, directed by Tim Terranella. Groton's choir, under the guidance of Choirmaster and Organist Daniel Moriarty, sang traditional hymns and carols, while honorees shared the nine religious readings—the lessons.

 

The readers on Tuesday night were Headmaster Temba Maqubela, former Headmaster Bill Polk, Alumni Affairs and Development Coordinator Terry Anderson, and several students—Second Form Officer Jeremy Gall ’24, Third Form Officer Riya Varkey ’23, Fourth Form Officer Aine Ley ’22, Fifth Form Officer Trey Whitehead ’21, Chapel Prefect Lucy Anderson ’20, and Senior Prefect Grace Mastroianni ’20.

Readers at the December 13 service included members of the nearby community—Lawrence Academy Head of School Daniel Scheibe, Kate McEleney of the Groton Community Dinner Program, Jacqueline Maguire of Our Lady of Grace Church, and The Reverend Joyce Scherer-Hook of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. The service for alumni and parents, on the 15th, included readings by faculty Elizabeth Wray Lawrence ’82; Alfred C. Winkler ’85, P’23; Katherine Smith Knuppel ’91, P’22; Trustee Diana V. Chigas ’79; and former Groton organist Craig E. Smith P’85, ’88, ’89.

 

Tuesday night’s service capped two weeks of festivities—including a holiday pops concert, dorm parties, gingerbread cookie decorating, and the headmaster’s reading of A Christmas Carol to Second Formers (eighth graders)—and served as an exciting send-off for students eagerly awaiting Christmas break.

 

Groton School wishes a Merry Christmas and happy holiday season to all!