On Sunday, December 14, Mercersburg Academy’s annual Christmas Candlelight services will take place at 4:00 pm and 7:30 pm in the Irvine Memorial Chapel. The services will include the Academy’s String Ensemble, under the direction of Michael Cameron; the Chorale, under the direction of James Brinson; and Magtet, under the direction of James Brinson; and numerous readers representing the Academy community. Shami Beni is also assisting with the coordination of the music groups for the event. The services are free and open to all school community members and the public. Brinson will give a carillon recital starting one hour before each service.
This year, there is no school minister, meaning Candlelight will be run differently than in the past. In recent years, School Minister Will Whitmore prepared and organized the service. With his departure, Head of School Quentin McDowell and Associate Head of School for School Life Julie Maurer have taken on the leadership. According to Maurer, “Reverend Derek Wadlington is going to do the service for us. He is a past parent and minister who has had three children graduate from Mercersburg [Academy]. We asked him if he could do Candlelight for us, and he is very excited to do that.”
In terms of the planning, Maurer explained: “Without [a school minister], I’m taking it on to just make sure it all goes according to plan. We’re not changing a lot for this year. We’re pretty much doing what we always do and what's familiar.” McDowell added, “Without having a school minister, it was really important for us to find somebody who could run this really important school tradition for us, who was familiar and connected to the school. All we did was divide up the duties. And so one of the wonderful things about something like Candlelight and school traditions is that a lot of people are involved.”
Another guest, a carillonneur, will also attend the Candlelight Service. Brinson, who arranged the guest participation, explained, “Jason Perry is a music educator, a church organist, and choir director.”
All three faculty members expressed their anticipation of the service. Maurer said, “It’s just a beautiful service. I mean, the chapel is gorgeous.” She also explained her favorite part of the service: “It’s the music and the community and the reading. I mean, it's just a beautiful tradition that they have at the school, so I think it brings people together in that way. It’s a long-standing tradition. I participated in the ‘greening [of the chapel]’ when I was a student.” McDowell added, “I think Candlelight is just a moment to pause and celebrate, right? This is the holiday season. There’s a lot of layers to the benefits of it.” Brinson stated, “It’s just a special time with the candles, the music, the scripture readings that are interspersed. It just all comes together as a unit.”
In the advent of the service, Mercersburg Academy traditionally hosts “the greening of the chapel,” an opportunity for students to decorate the Irvine Memorial Chapel for the service. “I think the ‘greening of the chapel’ is really wonderful. It brings a lot of people together to actually prepare the chapel for the event, and there is community in that,” McDowell said.
Brinson described the music for the service. “The Strings [Ensemble] will play, as well as [Chorale], Magalia, and Octet.” Telleigh Weaver ’29, a member of both Chorale and Magalia, opined, “I think ‘Carol of the Bells’ with Magtet will be really good, because it's just a really fun song. We put a lot of effort into it this year, and it will just be an amazing and a great experience for the people singing and performing, and for the people that are attending.” Chorale member Rose Guerriero ’28 said her favorite song is “‘Angels’ Carol,’ because that song is really good and fun to perform. I also think we've been working on it so much that it's like really getting there. But I think the best sounding would probably be ‘Silent Night’ because everyone knows it already.” Aarong Chuang ’28, member of the Strings Ensemble, added, “I am excited to play for the community to celebrate Christmas with the community. We are playing some préludes as well as traditional Christmas songs to set the mood. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends and family who are coming to enjoy the moment.”
With the variety of participants at Candlelight, the Academy community eagerly awaits the traditional service, despite Whitmore’s absence. Maurer said, “Mr. Brinson, Mr. Beni, and Mr. Perry are working on the music like they always do, so it is going to be beautiful. And we’ll have the crew that decorates the chapel like we always do on Friday; it will be really nice.”