As the Christmas season approached and the stress of finals mounted, some students sought solace amongst collect prayers and the sweet smell of incense in Adams Hall, Room 301, sometimes known as the “Sky Chapel” for its natural lighting, slanted ceilings, and plethora of Christian icons against one wall. Sophomore Lexi Littrell, a studio art major, set her alarm early to join a small group of students who chose to observe Advent in the Anglican tradition for a week.
On Monday, Wednesday and Friday the week of Dec. 4, Matthew Milliner, professor of art history, led students through morning and evening prayers at 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Littrell, who began attending the services last year after taking Core 101 with Milliner, said she thinks the morning prayers are a time of rest in an otherwise busy environment.
“I really have enjoyed the morning prayers because it allows people to intentionally separate that time for God and fellowship with others, which I think is really important,” Littrell said.
Littrell said she enjoys the emphasis on an embodied approach to prayer – standing, sitting, kneeling and reading in unison.
“I think physical actions can help us to refocus our minds and our attention on Christ,” she said.
“Spiritual practices are vital and necessary, but sometimes physical actions can help us to get into that spiritual place of attention and praise for God.”
Advent begins the Church’s liturgical year and encompasses the four Sundays leading up to the celebration of Christmas. For many, it is a season of expectant waiting and preparation for remembering the birth of Christ.
“The church year is grafted into the rhythms of the Jewish year that Jesus knew so well, but the Christian year, like a spiral staircase, takes you through the life of Christ each year,” Milliner said in an email to the Record. “I used to not celebrate Advent, but now that I do, I’ll never go back.”
Some of Milliner’s favorite Advent memories are the morning prayers that take place in Adams, where students sit in a circle around a stool furnished with incense, icons, candles and a bronze bowl. At the beginning of each session, Milliner taps the bowl with a mallet, and the reverberating bell sound is an auditory reminder to allow the Holy Spirit to enter the space. The rest of the time includes reading from both the Old and New Testaments and a reading of liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer.
Milliner said that in the ten years he has been leading the sessions, he’s never once been the only person there.
“On one occasion, I was the only person who showed up, and remarked to myself that it was the first time ever that I had been alone,” he said. “But just as I was finishing the prayer service, someone walked by and joined me. Once when I missed one, and a student was there alone, President Ryken showed up.”
Emily Birks, a senior English writing major, said she was surprised by the turnout at Advent prayer. She said she appreciates the focus on communal liturgy.
“It was much more intimate than I was expecting,” Birks said. “I didn’t know how many people were going to come, but it was a really warm and cozy space, and I think that helped it feel like you could kind of be more comfortable and feel closer to God without feeling like it was too rigid.”
Jonathan Contreras, a junior math and economics major, heard about the Advent prayers in Milliner’s Art Survey class last year. Contreras said he values the history and tradition behind the Anglican approach to Advent.
“You read certain prayers and certain scriptures, called collects, that have stood the test of time, with a tradition over a couple hundred years old that people all around the world also partake in,” he said. “And so you pray them and it’s very fulfilling.”
Many students come for the community fostered by these Advent prayer gatherings. Knox Trainor, a junior history major with a worship arts certificate, said the communal time of worship has a different effect than simply observing Advent on his own.
“I think I can easily get on a spiritual high ground,” he said. “Like, I read my Bible today, did you read your Bible today? Whereas, starting off with the morning prayers, we’re all starting off on the same page, and it’s a communal experience. It’s humbling as well seeing other people with that kind of commitment. It helps me feel like I’m not alone, in life and in a relationship with God.”
