coming up, the centennial celebration of the st. olaf christmas festival in minnesota, and the world-renowned st. olaf choir. also, the ancient christian practice of contemplation, discovering union with god. >> as god's creation, you can't be separate from god. # plus, the hanukkah miracle of lights. >> major funding for religion and ethics news weekly is provided by the lily endowment, an indianapolis-based private

family foundation dedicated to the founders and christian religion, community development and education. additional funding also provided by mutual of america. design suggesting customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. the estate of william j carter and the jane henson foundation and the corporation for public broadcast suggesting. welcome, i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us. the war in iraq was declared officially over this week. president obama traveled to fort bragg in north carolina to thank the troops for their service and sacrifices. he promised to help those returning from the war to find jobs and pay for education. the president also paused to pray for the families of close to 4,500 americans who died in the nearly 9 year war. earlier in the week, obama and iraqi prime minister nouri al-maliki laid a wreath at arlington national cemetery to honor those who lost their lives

in iraq. a report this week shows the number of homeless children in this country has risen substantially. according to the national center on family homelessness, there were 1.6 million homeless children in america in 2010 -- a 38% increase from three years earlier. there was more religious involvement in the occupy movement this week. in washington, faith leaders marched to the capitol carrying a large golden calf with the word greed written on it. they urged lawmakers to support higher taxes on the wealthy rather than cutting programs that aid the poor or elderly. also this week, a group of prominent african american clergy and civil rights leaders announced they were officially joining the occupy movement. republican presidential hopefuls are ramping up their outreach to religious conservatives in iowa

ahead of the state's january 3rd caucuses. a clear favorite has not yet emerged among evangelical voters who make up a large portion of caucus goers. an early poll had newt gingrich leading mitt romney by nearly 3 to 1 among that group. many however disapprove of gingrich's two divorces and infidelity. this week, gingrich wrote to a prominent conservative christian organization, saying he pledged to uphold and protect the institution of marriage. mitt romney meanwhile is running a series of ads, highlighting his family life and long marriage. >> music is a central part of the christmas season, home of st. olaf college. this year marks the centennial celebration of st. olaf's festival, one of the longest

running concerts in the country. the lutheran schools and elite choir earned international accolades. kim lau ten takes a look at the mission that is more than music. >> it's a century of celebration. >> for the past 100 years, they put on a christmas concert that is known and loved around the world. nearly a third of the 3,000 students participate in the christmas festival, which combines more than 600 voices from five campus choirs, including the elite st. olaf choir. the repertoire showcases a variety of sacred music.

there are classic holiday standards, songs that hark back to the school's scandinavian heritage, and some from other cultures as well. the program is designed to reflect the essential religious meaning of christmas. anton armstrong conducts the st. olaf choir. >> it's just not the music, but that we are lifting up a message, a message of hope, a message of faith, a message of understanding, and most of all a message of love. >> the popularity of the christmas festival has gone global. for decades, it has been broadcast on public radio and public television, and the armed

forces radio and tv service as well. this centennial concert was also simulcast in movie-theaters across the country. >> it has been a model for spreading this message of faith at a time that people tend to forget why the season even exists. >> it all began 100 years ago, when f. melius christiansen, a lutheran immigrant from norway, established the st. olaf music department and student choir. >> what he found was that church music had fallen to a very lamentable state, that the popular music of the day seemed to be eradicating all the traditional music and that so many of the young immigrant norwegian students who he was teaching at st. olaf were forgetting the heritage of great hymns. so he established the choir in many ways to revitalize choral singing in the church, congregational singing in the church. >> christiansen insisted on artistic excellence, and the reputation of the st. olaf choir continued to grow. the choir went on tour and performed in some of the top venues in the nation.

according to many scholars, christiansen's work had a profound influence on america's a capella choral tradition. >> he really set a model for choral sound, he changed the whole concept of choral and really taking a program of sacred, unaccompanied choral music and doing it at such a level that it would be accepted in the finest concert halls. >> while the college now has several choirs, the st. olaf choir remains the most elite. armstrong is only its fourth conductor. he was hired in 1990 and actually sang in the choir himself as a student in the 1970s. he holds rigorous auditions. >> i don't want just a beautiful voice. because sometimes as good as these kids are, i can get divas. i don't have time for divas and this is not about me. the work we do in all of our groups, especially that choir, has to be about us, and service. lawton: on top of their academic school load, choir members practice an hour and a half a day, five days a week.

laura kyle is a junior english major and has been in the choir for two years. >> i'm named after my great grandma who was in the choir and sang under f. melius christensen, and i was never able to meet her, but being in the choir has made me feel a connection on that level and that has made it extra special for me. >> the students develop close relationships with one another. >> it's been one of the most powerful experiences of my life to sing in such an amazing ensemble, to make music at such an incredibly high level of artistry, but at the same time, to have that camaraderie with my fellow choir members who are really like family. >> in a unique trait, st. olaf choir members always hold hands with each other during performances. >> it really helps us connect with the people around us, on a personal, as well as a musical level. >> armstrong believes what takes place in the performances goes beyond the music. >> i'm constantly admonishing them not to just sing correct technique, correct words, i want the message. >> one of the most special

things about the st. olaf choir is knowing that when you go out to perform, no matter where you are or what performance it may be, that there are people out there whose lives you can touch, and that also includes the people that you stand next to. >> the choir strives to be true to its lutheran heritage, but armstrong says it's not about pushing a particular brand of christianity. >> we invite people into a conversation and for people to explore their thoughts, their feelings, without creating walls around them, but to look at, hopefully a god that is a god of love and god of hope. religion, especially christianity in this country, sometimes has been pulled in such a direction of condemnation we've lost i think the gospel of grace. >> armstrong says the connection between music and spirituality has been powerful in his own life. >> i'm a regular churchgoer, but

i have to honestly say, sometimes my closest experiences to god have been either singing in the st. olaf choir or conducting that choir. >> he recalls visiting his mother shortly before she died. she was unresponsive, until he started playing and singing hymns. >> her favorite gospel hymn would be his eye is on the sparrow and i started to sing: ♪ and i sing because i'm happy. i sing because i'm free. his eye is on the sparrow. and i know he watches me. ♪ she sang with me. and when that was done, she looks up at me and she goes, "baby! when'd you get here? when science and medicine couldn't bring my mother back to me, these hymns, these songs of faith that she shared with me, were the things that we shared together.

>> according to armstrong, the choir sings to bring glory to god. and perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in their signature song, beautiful savior, an arrangement done by christiansen. >> that i think has been a song that can epitomize and has been a model for us throughout the years, why do we do this? we sing praise to god. glory and honor, praise, adoration, now and forevermore be thine. that is the focus of our work. >> when everything falls into place, armstrong says it's a spiritual experience. >> some people go to prayer and do that, but you know, still small voices and burning bushes don't seem to work with me.

you know? but in the minute when that chord locks and we've been struggling with it and it finally works, it's as if, yea, god is there. >> it's an experience he hopes gets transmitted to the audience as well. >> when people, when they leave, they have been transformed. they don't know why, but perhaps at 90 minutes of experiencing the utmost in beautiful music, in powerful and profound text, will somehow seep into the bodies of those performing and certainly those who are hearing. >> i'm kim lawton in northfield, minnesota >> the st. olaf christmas festival concert will be broadcast on many pbs stations beginning december 20th.

this time of year, when so many people complain about being too busy, we have a story about being still. it's a profile of martin laird, an augustinian priest at villanova university, who teaches the ancient christian practice of contemplation, opening each class with 15 minutes of silence. laird's latest book is a sunlit absence. in it, with his students and at spiritual retreats, laird encourages deep awareness of union with god. kate olsen reports. >> mt. desert island, off the coast of maine, widely known as the home to the spectacular acadia national park. here, at st. andrew by the lake episcopal church, a community of spiritual seekers gathered recently to hear about the christian practice of contemplation from martin laird.

>> to navigate this ancient way of prayer is to "put out into the deep," as luke says, let down our nets for our catch. paradoxically, we discover that it is we ourselves who are caught and held in this net... >> this is the central insight and discovery in the practice of contemplation, laird says: that the god we are seeking has already sought and found us .we simply are not aware of this union. >> the great obstacle that actually creates the illusion that we are separate from god and therefore need to seek god as though god were in that room over there is what i call the great cocktail party going on in our heads - interior noise and

that creates the illusion that we are separate from god. as god's creation, we can't be separate from god. >> we can quiet this inner chatter in our minds, laird says, by learning the same practical skills used by the early christian contemplatives. the practice emphasizes the cultivation of concentration through a short prayer or prayer word, often inspired by scripture, united with the breath. >> that's really is a classic example of something that is simple but not easy. if one practices with a prayer word in one's breath, as soon as you become aware that your attention has been stolen, which

is every nano second, you bring it back. the practice is never trying not to be distracted. as st. theresa of avila says, "if you try not to have thoughts, they will come from the four corners of the earth." >> a scholar of the early church, laird says christians can trace the practice of contemplation back to jesus himself, citing evagrius, one of the early christian contemplatives of the 4th century. >> listening to the account of jesus' temptation in the desert, evagrius observed something about jesus, that jesus avoided getting caught up in any sort of conversaon with satan. jesus broke the cycle of inner chatter by a word from scripture.

>> early christian contemplatives known as the desert fathers and mothers, followed jesus' example and quoted passages from scripture, even the simple name of jesus, to break free of the snare of thoughts and enter into silent prayer. >> "no thought can capture god," st. gregory of nissa says, "if you form a concept of god, you've made an idol of god." st. augustine says, "if you think you have understood god, you may be sure it was not god you understood." and so in the deeper levels of the practice of contemplation, you are even letting go of holy pious thoughts. >> laird now teaches at villanova university near philadelphia, which was founded by the augustinians in 1842. for the past ten years, he has

taught a course on the classical christian texts and practice of silent prayer and meditation. in his course, laird offers what he calls a "lab" to his students. each class begins with 15 minutes of silence, and he asks his students to spend ten minutes a day in silent meditation outside of class. the day we visited, laird was reviewing what the students had learned about quieting the inner chatter in their minds, and dealing with distractions around them, such as the construction noise outside their classroom window. >> what do i do if i'm bothered by all the machinery outside? >> well, that's the purpose of the anchor. when your mind wanders to the machinery, you can remind yourself with the simple word or the simplicity of your breathing. it gives you something to say,

"i need to bring it back." >> as you develop a practice - it's a practice just like working out - you start to realize there is a part of you that's independent of your mind. as you get deeper into the practice, you cultivate that place of inner stillness, and after you recognize that, you can let thoughts in your head just be there like you let the sounds around you be there. >> as the process deepens, and it does deepen, it will unblock things that are getting in the way, some of these things, that we would rather not see. contemplation is not an aerosol spray to get rid of bad odors we just don't want to encounter. we meet our self- centeredness, we meet our wounds, our flaws, our faults but at the depths of

it, if you look deeply enough into your own wounds, you see not your own face but the face of god. but there one finds freedom, a fundamental peace. all hell may be breaking loose in your life, or everything may be going well or some combination of the two, but there is a bedrock peace that is you. it is our love that brings us into communion with god, not our knowledge about god. it's the difference between looking at a photograph of someone you know and looking into the eyes of someone you love. >> this abiding love leads one out into the world to truly

serve others, laird says. he quotes a spiritual mentor, st. thomas of villanova. >> "that the doorway into the service of the wider church is through contemplation." so first, you must become a contemplative. then you're qualified to serve others. what awakens in this awareness is the sanctity of the other, and to see how all things are reflections of this mystery that we call god. we're simply one with all that is, the way that god is one with all that is. and the illusion that we can possibly or have ever been

separate from god falls away. >> for "religion & ethics newsweekly," this is kate olson on mt. desert island, maine. best-selling author christopher hitchens died this week of complications from cancer. he was 62. hitchens was an outspoken advocate of atheism. and, cardinal john patrick foley, the longtime communications director for the vatican, also died this past week of leukemia at the age of 76. he was best known as the english-language narrator on broadcasts of the pope's celebration of the midnight christmas mass at st. peter's basilica. foley was also known for his sense of humor. he once said "anyone who wants to be pope is out of his mind. it's a living martyrdom." finally, on our calendar, at sundown tuesday, jews begin

celebrating hannukkah, the eight-day festival of lights. according to the traditional hanukkah story, in the second century bc, when foreigners controlled jerusalem, a family of jews called the maccabees led a rebellion and took over the temple. they re-lit the temple lamps with just a one-day supply of oil. but, miraculously, the candles burned for eight days. in bradenton florida recently, rabbi mendy book-it talked with jewish children about the significance of oil and hanukkah light. >> it's not only for jews, the celebration of hanukkah. hanukkah is a time where the maccabees stood up for what they believed in. there was a dictatorship, there was a government that was oppressive, there was a government that didn't allow them to express their religion. >> now you guys all know the story of hanukkah, is that correct? because the greeks wanted to extinguish the light of torah, therefore, today, we light a

menorah. we light it outside if possible. we light it in our windows in order to bring that light into the world. >> we're going to make two kinds of candles today. >> we give out a lot of menorahs with candles. but, at home, i actually use oil. the flame of an oil flame is much prettier. oil is a very, very pure light. it resembles judaism; it resembles our belief system. just like oil gives light into a dark room, just like it brings warmth; for a jew, it also brings warmth and light into his own personal life and into the world as a whole. according to jewish law, you can use almost any type of oil except oil that gives off a bad smell. in the temple time, it had to be pure olive oil. they actually used only the first pressing of the olive. so we show the children how they actually did the first pressing. >> in our menorah we don't have any wicks. we actually make the wicks out of cotton balls. once you have the wick, the oil will continue to flame for a long time. there is a lot of darkness in

the world. there's a lot of hardships in the world. we have an opportunity to bring some light. >> that's our program for now. i'm bob abernethy. you can follow us on twitter and facebook, find us on youtube, and watch us anytime, anywhere on smart phones. there's also much more on our website. you can comment on all of our stories and share them. audio and video podcasts are also available. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, more of the st. olaf choir's signature hymn, beautiful savior, from the centennial st. olaf christmas festival.

>> major funding for religion and ethics news weekly is provided by the lily endowment, a private family foundation dedicated to its founders's interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding provided by mutual of america, design suggesting customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we are your retirement company. the estate of william j. carter and the je henson foundation and the corporation for public broadcast suggesting.