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“All you need is love.”
— John Lennon and Paul McCartney
On Christmas Eve the Churchland Baptist Church at 3031 Churchland Blvd. will, indeed, heed the words of that classic Beatles song as it invites everyone, not just members of its congregation, to its 38th annual Moravian Lovefeast.
The church mainly draws its congregation from Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Western Tidewater. But attendance to the free Christmas Eve service is drawn from all over Hampton Roads.
Considered a gift to the community, the service is based on Eastern European and New Testament traditions.
It was begun more than three decades ago at the Western Branch church by retired church music director Dennis Price and late parishioner Betty Hollowell. The two introduced the concept to the congregation, and community, because of its uniqueness, Price said in a 2016 interview.
“It’s not a program or a concert,” he said, “but a feast, a worship service celebrating Christ’s birth.”
The service draws on old world traditions taken from the Moravian Old Salem community in North Carolina brought over during Colonial times from Bohemia in the Czech Republic.
As the public files into the church sanctuary beginning at 6:30 p.m., they will experience a brass quartet of two trumpets and a pair of trombones performing Moravian and baroque selections.
Servers, also known as “dieners,” clad in the Colonial-era fashion of Old Salem will hand the feast of spiced cider and thin Moravian sugar cookies baked in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to each individual.
The service will include appropriate Scripture readings laced with carols, Moravian songs and classical and contemporary sacred music sung by the church choir conducted by Churchland Baptist’s interim music director Robin Duncan. Duncan is a former student of Price’s who was once a choral teacher at Western Branch High School.
Price has been asked to return to the church to conduct the brass, choir and organ during the processional carol and guest conduct the choir during the singing of Paul Manz’s hymn “E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come.”
During the service the assembly will be surrounded by Moravian symbols and decorations including a large multipointed star, green garlands and a Chrismon tree embellished with the traditional Christian symbols of fish, stars and crosses.
The service will end in dramatic fashion when the small beige beeswax candles wrapped in red ribbons that were given to each individual upon entering the church are lit. As the sanctuary lights are dimmed, the collective candles create a warm glow.
“It’s a joyous, celebratory worship service open to all,” Price said in 2017.
The Tuesday service begins with the brass concert at 6:30 p.m. The Lovefeast starts at 7 p.m.
For more information, call the church at 484-2351 or visit churchlandbc.org.
THE OTHER CELEBRATION
Besides Christmas, some throughout Chesapeake and the country, also celebrate Kwanzaa.
The celebration is “an African American and pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture," according to OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org. It was created by Maulana Karenga in 1966 and is celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.
The observance honors, affirms and celebrates Kwanzaa’s “Nguzo Saba” or seven principals, which are Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia), Creativity (Kuumba) and Faith (Imani).
Learn more about the principals and what they mean to everyone and come celebrate this vital holiday at the Indian River Library’s Kwanzaa Celebration from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Dec. 28.
The event, at 2320 Old Greenbrier Road, is free and open to all ages. Call the library at 410-7008 for more details.
Weekend Scoop
A WAGGING TAIL OR PURRING HOLIDAY
Celebrate the joyous season by adding a new member to your family, one that will love you unconditionally.
Thanks to support from Priority Toyota Chesapeake at 1800 Greenbrier Parkway the Chesapeake Animal Services Unit at 2100 S. Military Highway is holding its Home for the Holidays Adoption campaign until Dec. 31 or when funds run out.
The car dealership will pick up half of the fee for any cat, dog, puppy or kitten adopted from the shelter managed by the Chesapeake Animal Services Unit. But hurry, the funds could run out since they’re given out on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Adoption hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays; and noon until 4 p.m. Sundays.
Bring that perfect pooch or puss home for the holidays. Call 382-8080 for more info.
Eric Feber, ewjfeber@gmail.com