PITTSTON – Saint John the Evangelist Church opened its doors to the community on Dec. 15 to help people celebrate the Christmas season with music and song.
The parish held a free Christmas organ concert and sing-along just ten days before Christmas, featuring beautiful holiday music played on the church’s historic organ.
“This is a great time to just relax, take a breath, and prepare spiritually, sing some of those wonderful songs, hear some of the readings of Christmas, and take a break from the hustle of preparing and all of the things that we have to do to get ready for Christmas,” Father Joseph Elston, Pastor, said.
After a brief welcome by Father Elston, familiar songs like O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, O Little Town of Bethlehem, The First Noel, Silent Night, and Away in a Manger, rang out inside the church.
Sheryl Charbonneau, who narrated the story of ‘Silent Night,’ said the event brought back many childhood memories of songs she grew up singing.
“Thinking about all these beautiful songs, not knowing what they meant when I was little, but now knowing what the words mean, and having the congregation singing along, brings out so much more emotion, feeling, and meaning about what Christmas is all about,” Charbonneau said.
As she walked away from the event, Charbonneau felt much more in tune with the true meaning of the holiday.
“God sent us his only son here on earth as a human and taught us so much about what real love is,” she added.
The organ music was led by Michael Sowa, director of music at Saint John the Evangelist Parish.
“Singing Christmas carols is a centuries-old tradition, and we had a wonderful opportunity to have members of different faith communities come here to our church to continue this tradition, accompanied by our pipe organ,” Sowa said.
With many of the pews packed for the concert and sing-along, Sowa was pleased that so many took time out of their day to focus on the true meaning of the Christmas season.
“It is always a pleasure to play for a congregation that sings from the bottoms of their hearts. It is one of my greatest joys as an organist,” Sowa added. “Hearing everyone singing together in unison, it is a wonderful experience!”