Candlelit Christmas Eve

Week 4: Silent Night

It’s Christmas Eve. Tomorrow we will celebrate the birth of the Messiah, our savior Jesus Christ. 

Here at First Presbyterian Church, today is filled with a variety of worship opportunities. At 11:00 AM we have the Children and Family Service that is open to all but especially geared toward families. Then at 8:00 PM we will have a candlelight service, and the day will conclude with a worship service at 11:00 PM when we will have candlelight and communion. Our new Transitional Pastor Lewis Galloway will preach at both the 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM services.

One of the staples of our Christmas Eve services is the singing of “Silent Night” illuminated by our candles. 

Here’s the story behind “Silent Night.” It was written by Franz Gruber and Father Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf, Austria in 1818. As they were preparing for their annual Christmas Eve service, they discovered that the church organ was not working. Some say it had been damaged by flood; others say that a mouse had eaten through the bellows so no air would pass through the organ pipes. Thus the organ was silent. So the church organist Franz Gruber set Joseph Mohr’s poem “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” to a simple tune accompanied by guitar. In just a few years, this beloved carol was being sung all across Europe and even in America. 

Tonight when we sing this carol, we will lift our candles as a symbol of gratitude and love for God who sent Jesus to be the Light of the World. Thanks be to God.

Click to hear Silent Night, performed on piano by Kelly Harder, First Presbyterian staff.

Starry Night,  Vincent Van Gogh

WRITTEN BY

Chuck Williamson