Christmas Past at FUMC

Christmas Dinners and Bazaars - The Ladies Aid Society and succeeding women’s organizations had an annual Christmas Bazaar in early December with each individual unit having a booth with items to sell. Each group became known for its specialty. Luncheon was served, "tea" was available, and the annual turkey dinner was served in the evening. The event usually lasted two days and was the main fundraiser for the mission work of the Ladies Aid Society.

When this actually started isn’t clear, but in 1905 the treasurer of the Ladies Aid Society reported that, "The Bazaar had income of $784.39 from the following booths: baby, candy, aprons - gingham and white, cheese cloth, white hankies, dolls, eatables, and from the luncheon." The bazaars were held in the large auditorium of Mulvane Hall, except for the years after the 1921 fire.

In 1913, the cost of the evening turkey dinner was $.50! By the 1930s the Ladies Aid Society was called the Women’s Federated Societies, the bazaar was renamed the "Gift Shop," and the dinner became more elaborate, with a program and music.

After the Mulvane Building was remodeled, there was no longer a large space for the bazaar or Christmas shop and the event was discontinued. The 1954 Parish Visitor mentions an Annual Turkey Dinner on a Wednesday evening, but no gift shop. The dinner became an all-church dinner - in the 1950s and 60s there was a church cook who prepared the meal; in later years it became a potluck.

Regardless of the group sponsoring the dinner or how it was prepared, we remember:

The programs of church music groups, short plays or skits,
Reading of the Christmas story
Singing favorite Christmas carols and songs
Table games to keep everyone content before dinner was ready
The many novel ways used to call the tables of anxiously-waiting dinner guests to the serving lines!

Christmas Eve services - The first mention of a Christmas Eve service was in 1938; the next year the Parish Visitor announced "a new thing" – a candlelight midnight Christmas Eve service of organ music and chimes with special readings. In the mid-60s an earlier family service was instituted in addition to the midnight service. For many years, real candles have been carried by the choir members and then distributed throughout the congregation for lighting at the end. Musical traditions at the midnight service include the youth bell choir leading the processional, part of the sanctuary choir singing from the balcony before the processional, and the organist playing "Noel" using both the main organ and the antiphonal balcony organ. And, of course, Christmas services included the tradition of Dr. Ormal Miller’s "Christmas Creed," first used in 1938.

Deja Vu Department - The oldest December worship bulletin in our files was for 1910. The music for the Sunday before Christmas included "Silent Night," "While Shepherds Watched," and "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus." The sermon title was "International Peace vs. the Menace of Militarism."