St. Therese Church will host a festival of lessons and carols Monday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. at St. Therese Church, 2304 Lower Huntington Rd. There is no charge, but a free will offering will be taken up to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Society of the parish. All are welcome.

Presented by the Music Ministry of St. Therese under the direction of Beverly Rieger, the Festival of Lessons and Carols is a candle-lit service of carols and scripture presented around the time of Christmas. It has a long history, beginning in England in the early 1800s, and continued to this day.

Actually, the service begins at 6:45 p.m. with prelude music featuring Guest David Ling on violin, Guest Classical Flautist, Tamara Searer-Jenkins, and Guest Organist Allen Goebbert, Ms. Rieger added. It will be followed by a procession and an opening prayer led by Father Lawrence Teteh, C.S.Sp, pastor of St. Therese Church.

In addition to the St. Therese Choir, participants include the One Voice St. Therese Children’s Choir; an ensemble group of guitar and vocalists; The Chimes Group; soloists from the Cantor Ministry; instrumentalists and additional vocalists.

After the service and closing remarks by the pastor, all are invited to a free reception in the nearby Parish Hall.