During the Christmas season at Andover Congregational Church, there are a lot of ways to celebrate the holiday.
On December 1, we held our annual Christmas Craft Fair. Many homemade goodies and crafts were available in the Highland Lake Grange Hall. This year, Bonnie Wesley and Pat Proctor headed it up.
The following day, December 2, marked the beginning season of Advent, which is the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Advent has been observed by Christian churches of all kinds throughout the ages and marks both the first advent, or coming, of Jesus with his birth, and also anticipates his Second Coming at the end of all things.
That first sunday of Advent, harpist Katelyn Croft from Sutton played in our service. She is a very accomplished musician who plans to continue in music after graduating from high school. That afternoon, a group of singers went out to sing Christmas carols for the residents of two nursing homes in Franklin: the Peabody Home and Mountain Ridge.
The following Sunday, December 9, Mitch Forman from the Chosen People Ministries branch in the Boston area preached on “Jesus, the Light of the World,” tying the message in with the Jewish observance of light during Hanukkah.
On the third Sunday of Advent, December 18, we will meet in the parking lot at the church at 5 PM for an evening of Christmas caroling around our community. We have many people in our community who are not able to get out. If you know of someone who would enjoy being serenaded by our carolers, please call and leave a message at the church at 735-5160. We are happy to remain outside and we don’t sing very long. Once we get an address and phone number, we will call first to work out the details as to what time to expect us. Also, we welcome anyone who’d like to join us in caroling. The more, the merrier.
Christmas Eve
Finally, we would like to invite the whole community to join us on Christmas Eve for an evening of hearing the Christmas Story, singing the old familiar carols, and special music.
For more than 50 years, a Festival of Lessons and Carols has been held at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England. The service grew out of the monastic tradition of reading nine Scripture lessons, each followed with a sung response. This same service has been replicated in many communities across the world.
This year, to add to our Christmas observance, organist and choir director Ms. Susan Emerson has put together a top-notch choir so that this same experience may be had right here in Andover. Come join us for a Service of Lessons, Carols, and Candlelight this Christmas Eve.
For more details on any of these events, please contact the Andover Congregational Church office at 735-5160.