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.”

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