On Sunday, April 21, the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle will host its second celebration of Lessons and Carols for Earth Day. Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, cathedral rector, will preside at the 3:30 p.m. service that features the Cathedral Schola Cantorum in cooperation with the St. Matthew's Creation Care Green Team.
Through carols, chants and choral music, coupled with meditative readings of poetry and scripture, the service will call to mind the gifts of creation and explore the current threats to the fragile health of the earth.
Music will include the works of renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, contemporary Scottish composer Chris Hutchings, as well as a French carol, a Welsh hymn, two Shaker tunes, a 9th century Gregorian chant and a 12th century chant of Hildegard of Bingen, all highlighting into Earth Day themes and the writings of Pope Francis in his letters on the environment, Laudato Si’ (2015) and Laudate Deum (2023).
