Stewarding the Season Through Music

In a culture where Christmas displays start appearing on the heels of back-to-school sales, AMiA churches like the Abbey at Pawley’s Island take a distinctly measured approach—one that intentionally sits in longing for the coming King. And music plays a key role in helping congregants experience both the waiting of Advent and the joy of Christ’s birth.

“There’s a difference to the cadence and what we’re doing in this season,” says Percy Strickland, assistant rector at the Abbey. “And the music is a centerpiece of that because that circumvents even our deep, deep desires to skip ahead. … The goal is for the music to be able to steward the time that we live in.”

As Tyler Batts, worship director at the Abbey, shares, in Advent, “There’s this tension of exile, of longing, this more ‘lament’ posture where we’re awaiting the Savior. … Advent allows us to sit in that season and not rush into this joyful celebration of Christmas. … Those seasons are both important for us to celebrate, but it’s really important for us to sit and parse our hearts in the waiting and the longing for our Savior. … From a music standpoint, we get to partner with the church calendar.”

Percy explains, “In our sort of calendar, we have two penitential seasons. One is Lent, which people recognize; but a lot of people don’t recognize that Advent is also a penitential season. It has a slightly different feel to it, but any woman that’s had a child will let you know that the time leading up to the birth, as joyful as it is, is also very trying and it’s difficult. You’re making preparations, and there’s a lot of unknowns and there’s a lot of difficulty.”

Spending the weeks leading up to Christmas in a posture of waiting and lack runs against the grain of modern Western culture. “We’re trying to cultivate a season where people just sit in that place of longing,” Percy says. “We don’t know how to be in a place of longing anymore because we’ve forgotten how—because if I’m hungry, I don’t even have to go to the store to get the food; I can DoorDash it. … We live in a society where we think we can fix the problems with a few keystrokes on a computer, or we can go to the store or book the next vacation. … That’s the opposite of what the Kingdom of God is.”

But, he says, music subverts our tendency to jump ahead to joy and points us to our real need. And, while following the liturgical calendar was new to many at the Abbey when they first began attending the church, “People who come to us are willing to try and experience what may be a wider understanding.”

That was the case for Tyler who, like many in the church, didn’t come from an Anglican background. “I’ve learned to just absolutely love and embrace Advent because I just got tired of the rush. And so, I think a lot of our people are ready.”

Still, Tyler realizes this can feel awkward for those who aren’t used to following the liturgical calendar. “I think a lot of people that are not sitting in that season would be surprised at how slow and intentional it is.”

Creating an environment of slow intentionality through music involves both what is sung and how it is sung. In addition to hymns like “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” the Abbey incorporates newer songs like “Even So Come,” “Drive Out the Darkness” and “King of Kings.”

The church also includes songs that aren’t specifically written for Advent but that capture the posture of the season. Tyler may change their pace, leading them at a slower tempo that’s conducive to reflection. For example, he wrote a version of the Sanctus with more minor chords to use in penitential seasons.

“People don’t realize how that impacts you when you throw in a few more minor chords,” Percy shares. “It’s a lot more reflective … it’s this very calming yet moving sort of expression.”

In addition, the church might pare down the number of people leading worship to reflect a posture of waiting for the true King. As Tyler explains, “We want to mark those transitions in the seasons physically with the music. … People just experience it in a tangible way.”

Stewarding the season also involves recognizing what the congregation is hearing and experiencing and shaping the music accordingly. “I don’t know that any of these seasons is ever exactly the same. And that’s why having a community of people and engaging it from a worship standpoint, from a music standpoint, from a liturgical standpoint, is an opportunity to uniquely articulate what the Lord’s up to in your congregation during that season,” Percy says. “I would encourage churches, leadership, worship leaders to reach out to other community people and within their team and pray, [asking] ‘What’s the Lord speaking in this season?’”

Percy also talks about the importance of limiting the selection of music during the Advent season.  “We want things to be beautiful, but we want them to be intelligible. So, we try not to multiply too many things.” This includes using a few core songs to guide congregants throughout the season. “This is going to really help us invite people into that story.”

Then, when hearts have been prepared and Christmas finally arrives, the church is ready to pull out all the stops in joyful celebration. “He is going to be born—really,” Percy emphasizes. “He’s coming. And we’re going to kind of blow the doors off when we get there. … We are going to sing ‘Joy to the World,’ and it’s going to be incredible. We just don’t want to rush there.”

As is the case in Advent, music also sets the tone during the Christmas season. “[Christmas songs] are beautiful songs, but they also express the joy and the overwhelm—like, ‘This was more than we could ask or imagine. This was beyond our expectation.’ … And we want to, for 12 days, sit in that,” Tyler shares. “We don’t have to rush out of Christmas. … I think it’s important that we take time to celebrate and live in that joy and the brilliance of the Savior’s birth.”