Beautiful voices and candlelight will set the mood as The United Church of Canada in Campbell River celebrates the arrival of the Christ Child.
The church is at the corner of Pinecrest and South Birch, just down the hill from Strathcona Gardens.
Sunday morning worship on Christmas Sunday, Dec. 23, will feature carols and readings and will be suitable for all ages.
A massed community choir of 60 voices will also present a cantata on Dec. 23 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. “The Night of the Father’s Love” by Pepper Choplin is “a fresh telling of the Christmas story that is worshipful and beautiful…All of the mystery, the awe, and the palpable excitement of that night are imaginatively captured in a Christmas mosaic that combines fragments of the familiar with Pepper Choplin’s always-unique perspective in word and music.”
Conductor Cindy Taylor is a well-known Campbell River pianist and music teacher. Accompanying the choir is her daughter Nicole Taylor, also a talented local pianist and teacher.
The choir consists of members of the choirs of the United Church, St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Trinity Presbyterian Church and members of the community.
Tickets for each performance are $5 per person and are available at the Music Plant at 619 11th Avenue. All proceeds will go to the Campbell River Food Bank.
There will be two Christmas Eve services on the evening of Monday Dec. 24. The family-oriented service is at 7 p.m. and a quieter service at 10 p.m.
The early service will be a joyous musical and visual feast for all ages with candlelighting, selections by the church choir and Christmas carols for everyone to sing.
The mood will change at the 10 p.m. service, a quiet late-evening vigil where Holy Communion will be shared as part of a peaceful, reflective celebration of the joy of Christ’s arrival.
John Calderwood, a member of the United Church congregation and church Council, will lead the regular Sunday worship service at 10 a.m. on Dec. 30.
Campbell River United Church is “An inclusive community centred in Christ” and everyone is welcome at any or all of these services. Call the Church Office at 286-0431 for more information.