75 Years of Christmas in Song

Music has always been central to the life of Niagara United Mennonite Church (NUMC), and Christmas is the pinnacle of the community’s worship experience.

Worship Coordinator Rachael Peters recently acknowledged this year is the 75th Candlelight Service presentation by the choir to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Begun in 1948, the church choir has missed only one year (2020), during COVID, continuing the tradition of sharing Christmas music by candlelight.

Peters’ grandfather, Fred Andres, recalls when he and twin brother Art were 12 years old in 1948, they had the responsibility of lighting the candles for choir members. And for many years the candles were real, until safety concerns resulted in the switch to battery operated ones.

Hans Jürgen Wiens has attended NUMC since 1952 and said in that time he has missed one Candlelight Service. Wiens continued, “What makes the service important is the leadership of John Rempel, who has directed the choir since 1972. John finds various people, young and old, to participate and he is an excellent leader. John has amazing ideas for the worship service that all fits together. He has a terrific knowledge about the music, and when something needs to be explained he can communicate its importance. As a retired schoolteacher, it’s his professional way of sharing the music.”

For Pastor Daniel Janzen the Candlelight Service is an opportunity for him to sit back and enjoy the worship with his family. The service begins with the choir processing in the darkened sanctuary with their candles, singing O Come, All Ye Faithful. With a mixture of choir, smaller music groups, and congregational singing many of the favourite Christmas songs fill the church.

Peters said, “One of our goals is to blend the old and new. I hope the service honours its history and the story it tells year after year, but also has a freshness so that we don't become careless with the familiar. It's a real privilege to be part of carrying forward such a beloved tradition.”

The conclusion of the service is recessional by the choir, again by candlelight in the darkened sanctuary, while singing Silent Night, with the first verse sung in the original German language.

This year the church was filled with more than 300 church and community members attending.