2025 Advent Vespers: ‘Guide Our Feet Into the Way of Peace’

The Augsburg University community gathered in Central Lutheran Church on December 5 and 6 for the 46th annual Advent Vespers, marking Augsburg’s celebration of Advent and Christmas. This event is composed of music and liturgy focusing on the anticipation of the Incarnation, themed this year around the title, “Guide Our Feet Into the Way of Peace.” Central Lutheran Church pastor, Peter Nycklemoe, and President Paul C. Pribbenow wrote that the theme for this year “seems more urgent than ever as we seek to live as peacemakers in a world beset by violence, war, division, and injustice,” inviting those in attendance to “seek every day to live as faithful peacemakers in the world God loves so much.”

Classics such as “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Silent Night, Holy Night,” performed by Augsburg’s choirs, orchestra and brass quintet, were woven between prayers and readings throughout the three sections of the event.

“The best part of this year’s event has been the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues and students in creating something that reflects the shared values of the Augsburg community,” Augsburg Symphony Orchestra Director Mark Elliot Bergman said. “Working alongside such dedicated artists and educators is always rewarding.”

Preparation for the season

Preparation for Advent Vespers begins in the summer as the Music Department curates their repertoire for the year. Using the artistic and educational goals for each ensemble as a guideline, the directors work to select music that thrives in this balance. As students return to campus in the fall, the Music Department and Campus Ministry teams meet to align visions and finalize selections. The teams work together to craft a theme that reflects “what the Spirit might be guiding us to share,” Augsburg University Pastor Babette Chatman ‘06 said.

The theme

Chatman said that she sees this year’s theme as a prayer, or meditation.

“To be guided by peace in the presence of chaos is an act of resistance to me,” Chatman said. “This Advent Vespers’ theme speaks to the constant need for peace: in our lives, in our communities, in our homes, in our neighborhoods, and, yes, in our world.”

Bergman feels similarly, saying that the theme, and the event, offers a pause and encourages reflection.

“It serves as an invitation to examine our own posture in the world,” he said. “Both as individuals and as a community of learning, scholarship, and service.”

Recordings of previous performances may be accessed via the Augsburg University Archives.

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Top image: The 2025 Advent Vespers. Photo by Courtney Perry.