Churches offer yuletide pageants, concerts, services

With Christmas Eve a week away, area churches are celebrating with pageants and concerts.

• Covenant United Methodist Church, 15515 N. Gleneden Drive, is presenting “New Beginnings … A Journey of Fresh Christmas Music” Sunday at 7 p.m.

Pianist Brad Greene will perform new arrangements of favorite Christmas carols.

Child care will be provided. For more information, call the church office at 466-1768.

• St. Ann’s Choir and the Celtic Nots are presenting the third annual Candlelight Christmas Concert Sunday at 4 p.m. at St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, 2120 E. First Ave.

The concert will feature secular and sacred Christmas songs.

Admission is by donation of either money or a nonperishable food item. Proceeds will benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank and the East Central Neighborhood Sunday Lunch Program.

For more information, call 535-3031.

• Westminster Congregational Church, 411 S. Washington St., is hosting the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus Holiday Concert today at 3 p.m.

All five of the SACC choirs will perform English and French carols, as well as contemporary favorites.

Tickets are $5 for general admission and $6 for reserved balcony seating in advance, or $7 and $8 at the door. For more information or tickets, call 624-7992.

• Bethany Presbyterian Church, 301 S. Freya St., is hosting “A Concert for Peace in a Season of Peace” today from 7 to 9 p.m.

Performers Laddy Ray Melvin, Not Your Average Jyo, Keeler, Melvin and Morse, and others will use contemporary folk music to address the war in Iraq. The event also will pay tribute to those who have died in the war.

For more information, call Bill Kostelec at 363-0144.

• The choirs of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 127 E. 12th Ave., are performing the traditional Service of Nine Lessons and Carols Sunday at 7 p.m.

Members of the church will read lessons, and there will be performances by the Handbell Choir, the Children’s Choir, the Cathedral Choir and the Gentlemen of the Choir.

A free-will offering will be taken. For more information, call the church office at 838-4277.

• The People of the Promise Ministries of Covenant Christian Church, 5616 S. Palouse Highway, and the Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs are presenting “The Voiceless – Among Us” during the church’s 11 a.m. worship service Sunday.

The Voiceless is a choir made up of homeless families in the Spokane area.

For more information, call the church office at 448-1311.

• “Christmas: The Eternal Story in Dance” will be presented Sunday at 3 p.m. and Monday at 7 p.m. at the Metropolitan Performing Arts Center, 901 W. Sprague Ave.

Dancers from local churches will perform the retelling of the Christmas story through dance.

Tickets are $7 in advance, available at the Spokane Sower Bible Bookstore, 5023 N. Addison St.; the Coeur d’Alene Sower Bible Bookstore, 7352 N. Government Way; and TicketsWest outlets (325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com). Tickets are $9 at the door.

For more information, call The Met at 227-7638.

• The All Nations Warriors for Christ is presenting its Christmas program Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, 828 W. Spofford Ave.

This year’s play, “The Littlest Angel,” will be performed by Native American children. The evening will include small gifts for everyone, prizes and refreshments.

For more information, call Peggy at 326-6082 or Loretta at 484-7757.

• Manito United Methodist Church, 3220 S. Grand Blvd., is presenting three events.

On Sunday at 10:30 a.m., the children of the church will perform the Christmas story during the worship service.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, carolers will meet at the church to spread Christmas cheer to shut-ins and those in nursing homes. There will be chili and cinnamon rolls in the church fellowship hall for the carolers.

The church also is presenting its annual Blue Christmas service on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Christmas can be a sad time of year for many people, and this service will include healing music and hopeful words and songs.

For more information about any of these events, call the church office at 747-4755.

Special worship services

• First Covenant Church, 212 S. Division St., is presenting worship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday followed by a Lucia pageant.

A free-will offering will be taken. For more information, call the church office at 747-2818.

• St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 316 E. 24th Ave., is hosting the German-American Society’s annual German Christmas service on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The service will be in both English and German, and the Concordia Choir will perform traditional German Christmas carols. After the service, everyone is invited to coffee and cookies at the Deutsches Haus, 25 W. Third Ave.

For more information, call Eberhard Schmidt at 928-2595.

• Colbert Presbyterian Church, 4211 E. Colbert Road, is offering a Longest Night service Wednesday at 7 p.m.

No child care will be available. For more information, call the church office at 468-9923

• St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 5720 S. Perry St., is presenting a Wassail celebration on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

For more information, call the church office at 448-2255.

• Ancient Traditions Community Church, 1928 E. Rich Ave., is presenting its annual winter solstice celebration Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The celebration will include a finger-food potluck, handcrafting prayer ties; and kinikinik, a mixture of tobacco and dried sumac leaves. The ceremony will include prayers and chanting to cast off last year’s worries and call in a new vision for the new year.

For more information, call 981-5202 or visit www.ancienttraditions.org.

Christmas party

Heritage Congregational Church, 1801 E. 29th Ave., is presenting an all-church Christmas potluck and party Sunday at noon.

The event will include carol singing and storytelling. For more information, call the church office at 624-5090.

Craft sale

Unity Church of Truth, 2900 S. Bernard St., is presenting Just in the Nick of Time Last Minute Holiday Craft and Bake Sale today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Items for sale will include quilts, crafts, art, jewelry and baked goods. For more information, call Chevy at 838-3717.

Christian singles

• Fourth Memorial Church, the Greater Spokane Association of Evangelicals and Christian Singles Fellowship is presenting the 18th annual Areawide Singles Retreat from Dec. 30 through Jan. 1 at Riverview Bible Camp in Cusick, Wash.

The weekend will include square dancing, a gift exchange and indoor and outdoor activities, as well as a morning and evening message from Pastor Bob Smith.

The cost of the weekend is $55. Registration is required by Friday. For more information and registration forms, call Laura at 483-5582, Marge at 927-0304 or Susie at (208) 667-8692.

• Christian Singles Fellowship is holding its monthly meeting today at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of North Addison Baptist Church, 6120 N. Addison St.

The meeting will include a Christmas celebration and potluck. For more information, call 893-2865 or visit www.csfspokane.org.