SPECIAL WORSHIP SERVICES
For more than a decade, one evening service has established itself in the church and larger Portland community as a regular and popular event. This is the Winter Solstice Service presented by the Worship Committee on the evening of the solstice with help from many others, including our music director. The event features a large chalice made from ice, performers in masks, much music – some of it from bagpipes and harmonium – chant, and spoken words reflecting both pagan and modern approaches to the turning of the year. This service has become so popular that we have found it necessary to offer it twice during the evening to accommodate the volume of the crowd.
While the solstice celebration is the most recent addition to our traditional holiday season, Christmas Eve services have been held ever since Allen Avenue was built. We enjoy two Christmas Eve Candlelight Services : an early evening version with an emphasis on participation by our children, and a later version that is especially geared toward older children and adults. And for almost as many years, members and friends have enjoyed a “potpourri service” on the Sunday after Christmas. Our music director and worship leaders provide a framework of song and ritual words for the potpourri; congregants fill the rest of the worship hour together with any words or music they have to offer.