(This is a corrected version of the post that appeared on December 19.)
Churches in Lincoln have the following Christmas observances lined up.
First Parish Church
Saturday, December 21 — Solstice service, 5 p.m.
Celebrate the longest night of the year and the return of the light as the days begin to lengthen. The service includes the Abbots Bromley horn dance, which has been preformed for more than 900 years. Traditional music, dancing, and candle-lighting in the dark make this a special part of the church’s religious winter celebration.
Visitors are also invited to walk a labyrinth, an ancient symbol of wholeness, which will be open in the Parish House for one hour before and one hour after this service. Walking the labyrinth is a special form of meditation that helps us focus on the connection of the inner self to the rhythmic patterns of the natural world. There will be refreshments after the service as well.
Sunday, December 22 — Christmas pageant, 11:30 a.m.
Children will gather at 10 a.m. in the Parish House for a quick run-through and then get into costumes and proceed to the auditorium, transformed into the inn in long-ago Bethlehem. The audience will watch the timeless story unfold and sing Christmas carols, accompanied by music director Ian Watson on First Parish’s newly refurbished organ.
Tuesday, December 24 — Christmas Eve service, 5 p.m.
Designed especially for parents with young children, this service features traditional carols, readings, and a story for all ages. Our Director of Religious Education, Ruth Owen, will lead the service, and Rev. Roger Paine will lead a guided meditation to close the service.
Tuesday, December 24 — Candlelight carol services, 8 and 10 p.m.
A service of carols, readings, choral anthems, a Christmas prayer by Rebecca Hinds, and a homily and guided meditation by Rev. Paine. The two services are identical except that five high school students will be the readers at the 8 p.m. service, and five college students will be our readers at 10 p.m.
In a recent roundup of holiday religious events, the Lincoln Squirrel inexplicably forgot to include St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. The original post has been corrected to include this information. The Squirrel apologizes for the omission.
St.-Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church
Tuesday, December 24
- Christmas pageant and family service — 3-4 p.m.
- Holy Eucharist with choir and string quartet — 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Everyone is welcome.
St. Joseph Church
Tuesday, December 24 — Christmas gospel pageant, 4 p.m. Mass
There is also a service at 6 p.m. with the choir (music begins at 5:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, December 25 — Christmas Day Mass, 10:30 a.m.
There will also be a Mass at 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. at St. Julia Church in Weston.
Leave a Reply