December 22, 2022

It was cold as heck on the night of Sunday, December 18, 2022—but we didn’t care! Though the weather outside was frightful, we were perfectly snug at Galilee’s annual Fireside Carol event which was moved indoors. 

The frosty wind posed no problem when we set up our Bethlehem nativity tents in the narthex. There were crafts and activities in each tent manned by our own youth volunteers, and kids and adults both enjoyed learning a bit about how life might have been in Biblical times.

“I think everyone enjoyed themselves,” said Suzie Leftwich, Galilee’s Family Ministry Children’s Coordinator. “Whether it was experiencing the smell of real frankincense or making pottery with their own hands, we took people back to that first Christmas in Bethlehem.”

Vanessa Wells helped kids at the Bethlehem Painter’s Tent.

One worry about moving the Fireside Carols indoors was that perhaps no one would drink all the hot chocolate we made for the event. We need not have worried about that. Volunteer DeLane Jones was on cocoa duty and she reported that consumption was brisk. At the end of the night, we were down to our last can but one.

And then also, this carol-sing was very much advertised as a *Fireside* Carol sing. It was supposed to be behind the church with a roaring blaze going in our Eagle Scout-built firepit. Fortunately for us, longtime Galilee member Chris Makowski just happened to be the owner a perfectly respectable “fake fire,” which we set up in the sanctuary. That seemed to do the trick. The only thing we needed at that point, was congregants in good voice so we could get some Christmas songs sung.

A fake fire blazes in our beautiful Galilee sanctuary.

It turned out that we had a very nice crowd, almost as many people as we might see at a Sunday morning worship service. So we huddled together (though it was plenty warm) with electric candles, digital and print songbooks, and an enthusiasm for the songs that tell the old Christmas story.

Our set list consisted of eighteen classic hymns and Christmas novelties including “O Come all Ye Faithful,” “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,” “Jingle Bells,” “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” “Rudolph,” and more.

Maybe we sang your favorite, but if we didn’t then there’s always next year when the big decision will be do we hold the Fireside Carols inside or outside? Perhaps we can do a little of both and make it even bigger and better each year.

Here’s to hoping! And here’s to wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!