From the

majestic strains of Handel's "Messiah" to the

solemn simplicity of lessons and carols, area churches

and schools are preparing for a Christmas season of song.

Sunday,

Dec. 12, First Presbyterian Church in Peachtree City will

host its first "Sing-Along Messiah" 2 - 4 p.m.

Anyone who has ever wanted to sing this popular oratorio

in a choral setting is invited.

The

sing-along will be an ecumenical event featuring

musicians and soloists from several denominations. The

director is David Shannon, and brass accompaniment will

be by Nine O'Clock Brass.

"Even

if the rhythm is not quite right, or you don't come in at

just the right time, everyone who has ever done it said

it's a lot of fun, and you come away inspired," said

Clarissa DeGroot, one of the organizers for the

sing-along.

Participants

can bring along their own music or purchase the sheets

for about $7 the day of the performance. "I'm sure

there will be enough music to share," DeGroot added.

She expects

the sing-along to become an annual event. "We want

to have strings next year."

"The

Messiah" also will be performed Sunday by a

150-voice honor chorus representing Clayton County

Schools at 3 p.m. at the Clayton County Schools

Performing Arts Center.

The first

"Messiah" by Handel was performed in Dublin,

Ireland in 1742 as a fund-raiser for several city

charities. It was gradually accepted by the English, with

all its drama, operatic tones and religion, and has

become a favorite of choirs and audiences ever since its

performance in 1784 as part of the Handel Commemorative

Concerts in Westminster Abbey.

St.

Andrew's-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church will present a

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols Sunday, Dec. 19 at 4

p.m. at the church in Peachtree City. The typically

Anglican service originated in the 1880s in England,

according to Martha Clatterbuck of St. Andrew's. It was

written by E.W. Benson, bishop of Truro, England, in 1880

and was adapted for use in the chapel of King's College,

Cambridge in 1918 by the Dean Eric Milner-White.

Lessons and

carols also are a rite of Advent, the time of preparation

before Christmas.

Sunday's

service will open with the processional, "Once in

Royal David's City," to be sung by the congregation

and choir, followed by the opening prayer and first

lesson taken from the book of Genesis. Successive lessons

come from the Old Testament books of Isaiah and Micah,

followed by the New Testament readings from Mark, Matthew

and Luke. Interspersed in the readings are familiar songs

like "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "It

came Upon a Midnight Clear."

The choir

will be led by Leslie Boyette, playing the church's

one-year-old Wicks Pipe Organ, which features pipes

supplemented by digital voices.

Inman

United Methodist Church will present its Christmas

Cantata "Joyful and Triumphant" on the 19th at

11 a.m. followed by the children's Christmas musical at 7

p.m. called "The Miraculous Christmas Wish Radio

Show."