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Show fit , Sttri$fma6 4 tfff HIS," said the quiet voice of VfcJ the young minister to his waiting audience, "might be called 'A Christmas Meditation.' We shall try to give you merely a reverent impression of the spirit of the season. A bit of carol singing . . . some lighted candles ... a reading from the Bible and one tableau." There was a soft rustle of expectation expecta-tion throughout the church. The lights snapped off. All was dark and still. Like the slow uprising of a far wind came the sweet, subdued voices of a hidden choir. The beautiful notes floated over the heads of the people like a benediction. , Noiselessly candle after candle sprang Into flame at the windows, each taper lighted by the hand of a small boy. Then the screens about the stag under the pulpit were removed. And there was the dear and troasnred scene so loved and so cherished at this season. The manger . . . Mary bonding over It . . . Joseph standing near by. A soft glow from the rude cradle suffused the faces about it. Mary all In spotless white . . . Joseph bearded and dressed in blue, with a scarlet mantle over his shoulders, a striped headdress and a broad sash about his waist. The music slid softly Into "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night." From the front of (ho church came a (all figure with a crook. A shepherd from the hills, who knelt In front of the manger and (hen stood near. Then another and another, rough men with kindly, awkward manners. man-ners. Two Utile fellows followed, ihelr eves round with awe. Again the music changed. "Wo Three Kings of (he Orient Are." A Ihrlll passed through (he church. The slrnge miles of this uncle ushered In H' lm"-c-' :'.(,. i In. M'lviineeil toward the man, -.or will! nival dignity. His dress gleamed richly. He carried a gift high in both hands. Then came the second king, also bearing costly presents. Then a third, who knelt with bowed head in front of the stable scene! The tableau took on a deeper and more tender significance. The young minister read the Christ- ' mas story from the Bible. His voice v was low and clear, keeping in perfect tune with the surroundings. When he had finished, soft music drifted down from the choir-loft. "Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem." The notes seemed to caress the entire en-tire place. A husli of reverence enveloped en-veloped everyone. Silently from the side of the church near the altar came a procession 'of white-robed' children, each bearing a lighted taper. They arranged themselves them-selves in a sort of frame about the manger scene, standing one above the other on the two flights of stairs leading up into the pulpit. This was the final impression. The transcendent glow from the manger . . . Mary bending over it lost in rapt adoration . . . Joseph at her elbow . . . the shepherds ... the wise men . . . and the frame of lighted candles. Then the screens were again set up. The church flooded with light . . the minister dismissed the people with a short prayer and benediction. A simple service, as he said, bn. one which left an 'inforgettable impression im-pression of the true reverence and spirit of Christmas on all who attended. at-tended. ((9, 1926. Western Newspaper Union.) |