For immediate release
INSTITUTE FOR WORSHIP STUDIES AND ORANGE PARK PRESBYTERIAN TO PRESENT SPECIAL HOLIDAY SERVICE
Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols Co-Sponsored by Orange Park-based graduate school and Orange Park Presbyterian Church
ORANGE PARK, Fla. – The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies (IWS) and Orange Park Presbyterian Church will co-sponsor a community-wide Festival of Advent Lessons and Carols here on Sunday, December 2, 2012. This gala event, which begins at 6:30 p.m., is a traditional choral worship service composed of a stirring collection of Advent hymns and carols, interspersed between Scripture readings. The service is intended to heighten the expectation of the coming celebration of Christmas. Featured are the IWS Community Festival Choir and local instrumental musicians along with local pastors and community leaders.
The community Advent service will also serve as a benefit to Waste Not Want Not, a non-profit food rescue organization that exists to prevent the discarding of food and other items that can be used to fight hunger and poverty. Waste Not rescues food daily from numerous sources for distribution to local charitable organizations.
Several local organizations are providing sponsorship of the event, including Frank and Sharon Alters of Team Alters with Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty, St. James AME Church (Dr. Alesia Ford-Burse, pastor) and More Than Ink Printing Company (exclusive printers for IWS), all in Orange Park.
One of last year’s participants stated, “I have been waiting all year for this…I know it will be a tremendous event once again!”
The Festival of Advent Lessons and Carols will be directed by IWS President Dr. James Hart with artistic assistance from Mr. Mark Scott, Director of the Florida Vocal Association, and Mr. Charles Mann, organist at Ortega United Methodist Church. The Rev’d Susan Takis, interim pastor of Orange Park Presbyterian Church, and CDR Dennis Andrews, USN Chaplain, will be the officiants. This special event will be held at Orange Park Presbyterian Church, located at 1905 Park Ave. in Orange Park (264-0536).
The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies offers the Doctor of Worship Studies and the Masters of Worship Studies degree programs, using a unique mix of distance learning and in-class instruction on its Orange Park, Florida campus. More than 550 students from over 50 denominations in the U.S., Canada and twelve other countries have matriculated at IWS since its founding in 1999, and 328 students have graduated from the school. IWS is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education.
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For more information, contact 1.904.264.2172, e-mail email, or visit http://www.iws.edu/.