the Episcopal Church of St. Martin will offer a candlelit Advent Lessons and Carols, the beloved service of Scripture and song that invites us to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming. This year’s service includes a unique element: selected reflections from Native North American poets and philosophers, placed alongside the traditional Lessons. These readings are not presented as parallel sacred texts, but as thoughtful illuminations—ways of hearing the Advent story through the wisdom of cultures that have lived on this land far longer than anyone else. By engaging with voices outside our own tradition, we hope to listen more deeply to the Scriptures and to all our neighbors.

The music for this service will include choral anthems and piano music by Native American composers, including Andrew Balfour’s Wyandot’s Realm, a striking re-imagining of the well-known Jesuit missionary song, Huron Carol, which inspired this service. Balfour, an Indigenous Canadian composer, created this work as an act of reclamation, honoring the vanished Wyandot people while addressing the complicated colonial history behind the original carol. Sung alongside traditional hymns and carols, the beautiful and culturally striking choral anthems offer poignant musical meditations on longing, hope, and renewal. All are warmly invited to join us for this reflective and beautiful beginning to Advent.