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Article: CHRISTMAS 2002; Christmas Eve no silent night for churches; Packed parishes see chance to reach out to unchurched with old-fashioned services.
- Article from:
- Sunday News Lancaster, PA
- Article date:
- December 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 Sunday News Lancaster, PA. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The parking lot at Hempfield United Methodist Church will be full
of orange traffic cones and volunteers with reflective vests,
flashlights and walkie-talkies at Tuesday's Christmas Eve services.
And all that traffic control is just for visitors.
Members of the church are asked to park at a nearby business and
ride shuttle buses to the sanctuary.
Christmas Eve is the biggest day of the year in terms of
attendance at Hempfield. It's also the biggest evangelism opportunity
of the year.
In some churches, Christmas Eve is catching up to, or passing,
Easter as the most popular time for unchurched people to attend a
service.
The trend isn't across the board. But in churches that do see a
growing ...