We worship creators, faced with the daunting task of bringing our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service into our homes this year, spent some time together in stillness … and have found our way! Rich with carols led by a variety of our singers and a story read in closeup by our children, we’ll sense a connection to the real meaning of this night. Two anthems add transcendence: We will watch “Betelehemu,” by the Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji, sung by the Morehouse College choir. And the Alegría Singers bring us “Veni, Veni (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel),” an 11^th century plainsong chant arranged by Chip Davis and John Ector with words that shine with our Unitarian Universalist theology.

Together, we create the magic of this precious night. We can attend in candlelight throughout, without fear that we won’t be able to see the lyrics. Or we wait to turn out our lights until the moment of “Silent Night,” as we would in the sanctuary. Most of all, it will be our love that flies through the ether and into each other’s homes. Then, surely, “Emmanuel shall come within as Love to dwell.”

Worship Leaders: Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones, jo mosher, John Ector, and all our musicians

Topics: Advent, Christmas Eve