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ORRINGTON — There are those who doubted that the new sanctuary of East Orrington Congregational Church could be finished in time for Christmas Eve. But it was.
Indeed, construction proceeded so well that the new meetinghouse was finished early — and under budget, no less — so that services began in the 400-seat sanctuary the last Sunday in November. So all was ready for Christmas.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King.
It was a full house for all three services on Christmas Eve, each pew filled with worshipers in the building so gleaming and new.
“But let’s not forget our roots,” said the Rev. Bob Carlson.
So it is that the steeple atop the new meetinghouse had been brought across the road from the church’s former home. Memorabilia will be on display in the new building as well.
The meetinghouse was built on land donated by Doris Perkins, whose husband was a member of the church.
“There are people who have gone on before us and they are remembered,” Carlson said. As do many churches, EOCC accepts memorial donations before Christmas to purchase poinsettias to decorate the sanctuary. The names of those remembered are listed in an insert in the program for the Christmas services.
Rather than banks of Christmas plants across the altar, however, the church builds a “living tree.” Pots wrapped in gold aluminum foil, each holding a poinsettia in a rich off-white, with twinkling lights to complete the Christmas tree effect, surely will not be forgotten in the new year.
The poinsettia, a Mexican plant named for the ambassador who brought it to the United States in 1828, comes in red and pink, as well as white. According to a legend, a small boy picked the flowers to place before a creche as a gift to the Christ child. Mexicans call it “Flower of the Holy Night” because it reminds them of the Star of Bethlehem, which announced Jesus’ birth.
To the left of the living Christmas tree, choir members in red robes seemed to number far more than 16 as they sang “O Holy Night” and other anthems in harmony.
An earlier service in the evening, led by Mark Bruce, the assistant pastor, had focused on the children. At the next service, Bruce took a few minutes to share with the congregation some of the letters the youngsters had written to God.
“For Christmas this year, I would like you to bring love,” one little boy wrote.
Another child asked for “peace and joy, love and care, no wars and keep our family warm.”
“I would like to make up for all I’ve done lately,” one wrote penitently.
“Peace on Earth,” began another child. “No hate, no trash, no drugs, no disease.” To those wide-ranging wishes, the author added his personal desire to have a ferret.
Another youngster hoped for a new dad.
Carlson described the children’s statements as “some funny, some sad, all of them profound.”
The pastor preached on the first verses of the Gospel of John, describing Jesus as the life which was “the light of all people.”
“Christ is about deliverance from the darkness,” he said. “It is about knowing we have received unconditional love.
“Perhaps we bear some shame,” he said. “Christ comes into the world to cast aside that shame or inadequacy.”
He concluded, “The light of Christ will fill the voids in your life.”
Carlson lit one candle, then several congregants brought their own candles to be lit. They paused between the pews to pass the light on to others. Soon all the candles were flickering as the choir led the lilting strains of “Silent Night.”
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
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