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Duke Chapel Hosting All Hallows’ Eve Service Oct. 31

The service, free and open to the public, will begin around a small fire on the chapel steps

Duke Chapel will host its annual Halloween celebration harkening back to the holiday's historic roots with an All Hallows' Eve candlelight worship service at 10:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31.

The service, free and open to the public, will begin around a small fire on the chapel steps, followed by a candlelit procession and reflections on the lives of saints and Holy Communion. The Duke Vespers Ensemble will provide music -- a mix of ancient chant and meditative choral.

"The dark lighting and stillness of the All Hallows' Eve service creates space both for reflecting on the saints from our own lives who have died and for listening to where God is in the present," said Meghan Feldmeyer, the chapel's director of worship. "It is a service that encompasses both lament and hope." 

All Hallows’ Eve takes place on the evening prior to All Saints Day, the festival in the church that recalls the witness of the men and women who have carried the Christian faith throughout church history. The early church followed the Jewish custom that a new day began at sundown; thus, feasts and festivals in the church were observed beginning on the night before. The night before All Saints (or All Hallows) Day became known as All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween.

For more information, call (919) 684-8478.