Messages for a Christmas Eve : From Churchs Large and Small Come Holiday Celebration

From lavish productions to small, solemn gatherings, flocks of Orange County residents celebrated Christmas Eve by attending candlelight services Friday night.

Majestic sounds, a starry backdrop and a televised message from Jesus’ birthplace brought more than 21,000 people to Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove.

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, a fixture at the huge glass cathedral, preached via satellite from Bethlehem, a broadcast that will be beamed to millions of other viewers around the globe by the end of Christmas.

“You can see behind me the lights of the city of Bethlehem, 1/8where 3/8 Christ was born,” he said. “We’ve come here to celebrate the greatest event in the past 2000 years--the birth of the person who became our God, our savior, our best friend.”

Schuller preached a message of tolerance and said extremism must be forced out of religion in the coming millennium.

“We need to go back to square one, away from the dogma and the creeds and the theological books, and go back to the manger,” he said. “You cannot look into the face of Jesus without becoming beautifully involved in faith and God.”

A tuxedoed orchestra, bell choirs, several choruses and two soloists performed throughout seven hour-long services, which drew visitors from throughout Orange County. There was even a dusting of fake snow.

Jane Hobkirk of Fountain Valley has been a member of the church and attended Christmas Eve services there for more than two decades since her husband died of cancer in 1977.

Two days before Carl Hobkirk died, he and his family watched the Christmas Eve service on television.

“I found a home here and friends,” she said. “I still tear up” during the service.

While she appreciated the pageantry of the service, Hobkirk, who is now an elder with the church, said her favorite part will always be “the music and the meaning of the music.”

Awed by the ‘Hollywood’ Show

Bob Rosenberger and his family were in awe of soloist Elizabeth Stefanko, a young girl who angelically sang “Candlelight Carol.”

Rosenberger, who is from Lincoln, Neb., and was visiting family in Mission Viejo, described the enormous Christmas production as “Hollywood. It’s California.”

Miles away in Irvine, worshipers were attending a candlelight service of a different nature, probably similar to the many small church gatherings that dotted Orange County on Friday night. At the Woodbridge Community Church, participants greeted each other by name, hugged and exchanged yuletide greetings.

About 150 people attended each of two services. The setting was simple--a wooden cross and a wreath hanging behind a podium. A keyboardist and a guitarist accompanied three singers as they led the crowd through several traditional songs.

During “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” Senior Pastor Dave Beckwith asked the crowd to clap along, since the drummer was unavailable.

Such simplicity and warmth, he said, is the whole point of the Christmas season. “It’s not about gadgets and glitter.”

Amid the noise, hustle and bustle of the holiday season, Beckwith urged worshipers to set aside quiet time for solitude with God.

“There is no Christmas without some reflection,” he said.