By Jimmeaha Mack, Staff Writer
The 52nd annual Emmyaward-winning Christmas Candlelight Service, a time-honored Susquehanna tradition, will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 4 in Weber Chapel, and is open to Susquehanna students, staff and faculty, as well as the general public.
The Candlelight Service dates back to December of 1966, when construction on Weber Chapel Auditorium was officially completed, according to the service’s pamphlet.
The service featured a conglomeration of programs sponsored by the new chaplain at the time, Joseph B. Flotten, and the music department.
The namesake of the Candlelight Service originated from the program’s traditional finale, where those in attendance sing a rendition of “Silent Night” within the candlelit auditorium.
Upon arriving at the service, attendees are given candles to light and hold during this finale.
“The Candlelight Service is a service of lessons and carols,” Susquehanna chaplain Scott Kersher said. “There are Biblical passages … that tell the Christmas story, and lots of familiar and beloved Christmas carols, in addition to beautiful music by the University Choir, University Chorale, and Chamber Singers, and Brass and String Ensembles and Handbells.”
“We’re very excited that this will be the first Candlelight Service for Professor Amy Voorhees, Director of Choral Activities,” Kersher continued.
On Oct. 13, 2016, Susquehanna’s 50th Candlelight Service won a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for best director in the “live or live-to-tape” category at Philadelphia’s annual ceremony of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The hour-long service was broadcast throughout the country in December 2017 and was entitled “Christmas at Susquehanna: The 50th Anniversary Candlelight Service.”
Following this year’s service, a reception will be held at the home of university president Jonathan D. Green.
Kershner said, “There will be a lighting of the Chanukkah Menorah, as we stand with our Jewish friends and neighbors who are celebrating this holiday. Such acknowledgment and celebration of religious diversity is an important part of what Susquehanna is all about.”
“Whether one personally celebrates Christmas or not, I think this service has a beauty and majesty that can be appreciated by all,” Kershner continued.
The 2018 Candlelight Service will also feature a sponsored food drive, benefitting both Meals for Seals and Meals for Mustangs, which are food programs for school-aged children who come from food-insecure households.
The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, the Johnson Center for Civic Engagement and the Snyder County Coalition ask that attendees bring items that are easy to open, do not involve scissors or can openers and do not have to be refrigerated or frozen.
Attendees who bring food items should place them under the tree in Mellon Lounge of Degenstein Campus Center or under the tree in the Horn Lobby of Weber Chapel.
Grocery store gift cards and monetary donations will also be accepted for the duration of the food drive event.
According to MySU, the food items that are needed include: instant oatmeal, pudding cups, juice boxes, microwave meals, small boxes of cereal, microwavable macaroni and cheese, applesauce/ fruit cups, microwavable ravioli, granola bars, mini bottled water and juice pouches.