Pathways Press.com

Written by Kathy Loftman, from the Village Church.

Candle flame to unlit candle across each aisle in the darkness of the sanctuary. The singing of Silent Night in the background. There is nothing compared to the scene of a full church with all the candles lighting up the room. The light represents the light of Christ that came into the world. It also represents the Star of Bethlehem that guided the magi to the manger where Baby Jesus was born. This tradition sends the gospel message of God loving us, and of our loving God and one another.

I grew up going each year with my family to the Christmas Eve midnight worship service. It was a beautiful service that I looked forward to, the highlight of my Christmas experience. I think about the passing of the candle flame in services conducted throughout the world, for many centuries, in all the situations, and I feel connected with the worshippers.  The most poignant memory I have is the virtual candlelight service that we conducted at Village Church in 2020. Since we could not congregate in the sanctuary, we all recorded our candle flame passing, and the recordings were combined into a video that was shared at our virtual midnight service. In the midst of the lockdown, we felt the strong community with our church family throughout the world and for all times.