Christmas Eve Service from the 19th Century
Tonight, after celebrating Christmas with our extended family, my daughter and I attended a Christmas Eve service German-style in a century-old church in Berne, IN. It was in the Baumgartner Church in Swiss Heritage Village and turned out to be a very cultural experience.
We arrived early which was good, since the tiny 1860's building was nearly full. About 80 people were seated on 10 wooden pews; we were given folding chairs to set along the sides of the rows. A pot-bellied stove kept us warm durin the hour-long service. Hanging lanterns and candles in the bare windows provided light.
We had read in our local newspaper about the service which would be modeled after a typical Christmas Eve Service in the Berne area. Some of the service would be spoken in English, some in German. The German was spoken by two high school girls who read Luke 2 from the Bible-- the story of Jesus' birth. Another youth also read it in English. A local pastor gave a great message on the book of Phillipians, saying it was Paul's Christmas Carol of how God humbled himself through Jesus to come to earth to save us.
A couple of women played the pump organ and violin. A college student sang two Christmas songs a capella. The rest of us also sang a variety of Christmas carols without accompaniment.
Everyone was friendly and it was a relaxing way to bring the day before Christ's birth to a close. At the end we all lit candles and held them while singing "Silent Night."
We're glad we went.
I hope you have a great Christmas Eve. How did you celebrate this day?
Take care and Merry Christmas!
Kayleen
We arrived early which was good, since the tiny 1860's building was nearly full. About 80 people were seated on 10 wooden pews; we were given folding chairs to set along the sides of the rows. A pot-bellied stove kept us warm durin the hour-long service. Hanging lanterns and candles in the bare windows provided light.
We had read in our local newspaper about the service which would be modeled after a typical Christmas Eve Service in the Berne area. Some of the service would be spoken in English, some in German. The German was spoken by two high school girls who read Luke 2 from the Bible-- the story of Jesus' birth. Another youth also read it in English. A local pastor gave a great message on the book of Phillipians, saying it was Paul's Christmas Carol of how God humbled himself through Jesus to come to earth to save us.
A couple of women played the pump organ and violin. A college student sang two Christmas songs a capella. The rest of us also sang a variety of Christmas carols without accompaniment.
Everyone was friendly and it was a relaxing way to bring the day before Christ's birth to a close. At the end we all lit candles and held them while singing "Silent Night."
We're glad we went.
I hope you have a great Christmas Eve. How did you celebrate this day?
Take care and Merry Christmas!
Kayleen
posted by Kayleen | 5:30 PM
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