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On Sunday, December 5th, the pews of Davidson College Presbyterian Church will fill with students and townspeople in anticipation of the college’s Christmas Vesper service.
List of Sunday Vespers programs for 1925-1926
The origins of this service go back at least to the 1920s, when the college held a vesper service every Sunday evening. The student YMCA was responsible for conducting the these services. They also occasionally organized a separate Christmas entertainment. In 1925, they combined the event, making the Christmas program officially part of vespers.
First page of 1931 YMCA Christmas Vespers program
The earliest program we have in the archives is from December 1931 and it shows Dean Rusk offering a prayer. Music was provided by the Glee Club and a violin quartet.
Although music was an important part of the service, it was not until the the mid-1940s the relatively new Music Department would become a co-sponsor of the event. In 1939, the YMCA borrowed talent from the Davidson High School Girl’s Glee Club, Queens-Chicora Choral Club, Davidson Glee Club, Queens-Davidson Symphony Orchestra, and members of the Davidson Symphonic Band.
Program for the 1970 Vespers
The YMCA stayed involved with the Christmas Vespers program into the 1970s. The 1971 program was a departure from the traditional carols and lessons format. Done entirely by the Music Department, the program was an original opera “Please Get Out of the Way While We Rehearse” written by Wilmer Welsh, a faculty member.
During the 1980s, the staff of Vail Commons offered an “After Vespers” gathering following the traditional service. During this time, the college chaplain began presiding over the service. The programs for the 1980s rarely list the readers for the service but there appears to be a shift from students to faculty and administrators in the 1990s. The date of the program has also moved from the second Sunday in December to the first Sunday (a reflection of changes exam schedules) but whatever the transitions, the tradition as a whole remains one of Davidson’s special moments.
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