Hidden Treasures: Discovering Unusual Advent Music William H. Petersen William H. Petersen is Emeritus Dean & Professor of Bexley Hall Seminary. Founder of the Advent Project Seminar in the NAAL, he is also a member of the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation, Societas Liturgica, the Consultation on Common Texts, and the English Language Liturgical Consultation.
Introduction Brief description of the Advent Project The Advent Project was established as a continuing seminar in the North American Academy of Liturgy in 2005 at my instigation. It originally attracted five members along with several interested persons. The APS has several purposes: 1. to restore from venerable tradition a longer season; 2. t o recover for the season its eschatological focus; 3. to stand over against the culture’s construction of Advent as a count-down to Christmas; 4. to provide liturgical resources to offset Church complicity with the global Christmas culture; and 5. to promote and solicit scholarship and pastoral initiatives in support of this project. The key to recovering an Advent of traditional rather than truncated length is to be found in the two major lectionaries, namely the Ordo Lectionem Missae (Roman Catholic) and The Revised Common Lectionary (in use among traditions deriving from 16th c. Reformations). These lectionaries provide the thematic readings for the season of the liturgical year and any particular Sunday within a season. With regard to the seven Sundays between the Sunday after All Saints (November 1) and Christmas Day, there is a high degree of congruence between the OLM and the RCL especially in regard to Epistle and Gospel readings.1 A thematic analysis of all these lessons in both lectionaries discloses an exclusive emphasis on eschatology rather than incarnation, that is, they focus on the fulfillment of the Reign of God/Kingdom of Christ/Commonwealth of the Holy Spirit, rather than
