ARTS + ADVENT @ UNION AVENUE
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The “arts” in all their splendor occupy a prominent place in the Advent and Christmas activities at Union Avenue Christian Church in the month ahead, including performances by the West End Players Guild, the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, the Union Avenue Chancel Choir “Concert of Carols,” a new exhibition in the Gretchen Brigham Gallery, and child artists sharing their holiday panache!
The Arts Group Of Union Avenue (AGUA) welcomes artists Suzy Farren, Carlene Fullerton, Eden Harris, and Jean Lopez to the Gretchen Brigham Gallery for an exhibition entitled Light Gets In. The artists will present a palette of fiber, weavings, and works on paper. AGUA will host an opening reception Friday, December 2, from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Gallery.
The West End Players Guild presents the St. Louis premiere of playwright Lucas Hnath’s The Christians, opening December 2 and playing through December 11. The play is set mostly in Pastor Paul’s church and for this play, for the first time in its 40+ years of residency at Union Avenue Christian Church, West End Players will present its performances in the sanctuary, rather than in the theatre downstairs. For more information visit The Players online.
The New York Times’ theater critic Charles Isherwood writes of The Christians, “Mr. Hnath grants his characters the dignity of sincere belief, even as his play raises probing questions about how and why religion can be a divisive, if not abusive, social force.” Tickets for all performances are now on sale here.
The Saint Louis Chamber Chorus presents Advent into Christmas in the Union Avenue sanctuary Sunday, December 18, at 3 p.m. Written in the face of Nazi aggression, Hugo Distler’s Christmas cantata is a landmark of German sacred music. Its reflective notes contrast with the obvious joy of carols from Charles Collins, Sasha Johnson Manning, and Ivan Moody in work written or edited for the Chamber Chorus. Tickets are available here.
Join the Union Avenue Chancel Choir for “A Concert of Carols,” celebrating the rich tradition of arrangements of popular Advent and Christmas Carols. Take some time from your busy holiday season and come feel the magic of Christmas expressed through centuries of song. The approximately 50-minute concert begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 21, and is free and open to the public.
And finally, our children artists are invited to create art to announce our caroling adventure to residents of the Forensic Treatment Center, our neighbors to the west. We’ll be providing some artistic inducements for the kids on December 4 and 11, and we also encourage our kids to create at home as well. You can learn more about our Advent Outreach plans, check it out here.