by Allie Levanway
A Lady Chapel is a small worship space within a church that’s dedicated to Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus’s mother.
At my Anglo-Catholic church, Christ Church Episcopal in Chattanooga, our Lady Chapel is mostly used for intimate spoken services, private prayer, or children’s church. I spend a lot of time there on Sunday mornings while my young children get their wiggles out during their priest-dad’s sermon. I sit in the colorful shadows of the stained glass and watch my daughters transform this holy little burrow into an obstacle course or a zoo for tiny plastic animals.
This is a place where the sacred touches the ordinary for me. The theological word for this is “incarnational” where the divine is wrapped up in the earthly world. Of course, Jesus is the purest example of the incarnation. But sometimes these little glimmers break through, and we catch a glimpse of the fullness of God’s love in the most mundane of places. The more I peek through these doors, the closer to Christ I feel and the more I want to be like Him. I love watching my kids remake this holy space into a place where they worship on their terms. Their openness and joy are, I think, probably more incarnational than most things.
My time for personal devotion is really limited despite how much I long for it. I don’t often get to go to the “mountaintop” to find Jesus (can’t really find a sitter). So I’ve had to work on paying attention to those moments where God already is. So it’s with this lens that I want to go through the liturgical year by song. What does Advent mean to my sacred but ordinary life? Why does the Annunciation or the Transfiguration matter? Not necessarily in a historical way but in a personal way?
Beginning in Advent, I will reflect on the major plot points of the liturgical year, but I’ll also pause to mark some lesser-known moments along the way. In addition to the songs, I wanted people to have the opportunity to join me for prayer, where ever they find themselves – on a walk, washing dishes, doing bathtime. So I’ve written a setting of sung evensong that will include seasonal scripture readings, original service music, collects and the occasional sermon.
There’s something special about a group of people singing simple, unadorned melodies to God. I consider it a holdover from all those worship songs in my evangelical upbringing. So Lady Chapel brings those threads together. Ancient religion, folk music.
It’s my hope that these offerings can nurture a spirit of expectation and openness to God’s presence where ever you may find yourself. So, light a candle and join me for prayer in the Lady Chapel. Shoes, according to my kids, are very optional.
To hear Lady Chapel’s song for Advent visit: https://ladychapel.substack.com/p/a-song-for-advent
It’s been a joy to bring some of Chattanooga’s young clergy together as the choir and readers in the Lady Chapel evensong service. Rev. Claire Brown (St. Paul’s, Athens) wrote a collect for Advent and joined. Rev. Murdock Jones (St. Paul’s, Chattanooga), Rev. Dr. Zac Settle, and Rev. Casey Perkins (both of Grace, Chattanooga) in the choir. My fellow clergy spouse Meg Settle was behind the mixing board making everything sound good. They’ve all been really supportive of this project, and I’m very grateful for their friendship!
Sign up for the Lady Chapel newsletter at ladychapel.substack.com, and follow the project on Instagram and Facebook at @ladychapelpresents. The next song for Christmas comes out on Friday, December 22nd!
Allie Levanway s a singer-songwriter living in Chattanooga, TN. She has released music under the moniker Alva Leigh and in the band Lewis & Leigh. Her new project, Lady Chapel, is journeying through the Christian year by song. She is a mom to two young girls and married to Will, the priest-in-charge at Christ Church Episcopal.