Spirit Sunday in Wildwood

By CAROLINE KLAPPER, DAILY SUN

WILDWOOD — The Christmas spirit got a big boost last Sunday at Rock of Ages Lutheran Church.

For the first time, the church put on a special Christmas cantata full of music and singing.

The cantata tells the story of the birth of Jesus through narration and song, which for choir leader Winnie Dixon, is the best way to celebrate the holidays.

“I love music, (and) for this church, they never had anything like this,” she said.

Creating a community cantata

Rock of Ages didn’t even really have a choir before Dixon came up with the idea to create a Christmas cantata.



She said she had been noticing several good voices among the congregation, and when she brought up the idea of forming a choir for the cantata, everyone was excited about the plan.

“They’ve got a lot of talent in this church,” Dixon said. “They all wanted to really be a group. They really inspired me.”

The event was planned not only as a celebration of Christmas, but also as a way to bring the community into the church.

According to the Rev. Zachariah Harris III, pastor at Rock of Ages, the cantata achieved both goals.

“It’s the whole spirit of being able to celebrate the story of Christmas in all kinds of different ways,” he said. “It’s a way for us to get the community ready for the coming of Jesus at Christmas time.”

The Wildwood community also played a big part in bringing the cantata to life, because many of the evening’s performers were from other churches in the area.

Such community spirit is wonderful to see at this time of year, Harris said.

“It stretched across different churches and congregations,” he added. “Subsequently, it was Rock of Ages’ gift to the community. It’s our congregation reaching out to the community.”

Joining the celebration

More than 100 people attended the event, often singing along with the choir to “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World,” “Away in a Manger,” “Mary Did You Know?” and other Christmas songs.

The evening closed with everyone standing up to sing “Amen” together with obvious enjoyment.

For choir member Dolores Riel, the cantata was a perfect way for the church to start the Christmas season.

“I think it’s important not only to honor Jesus at this time of year, but also to get the Christmas spirit out to everyone,” she said. “It’s a really spiritual booster.”

Her favorite part of the evening was singing “Amen” with all of the other people in attendance, because she said it represented the sense of community the small church is trying to promote.

“You could see, at the last (song), everyone was joining in,” Riel said. “We want to try to get the word out to them (the community) that we’re here.”

Dixon agreed that the cantata was a success, adding, “It seems that everybody left in a happy mood. Everybody was in a joyous mood.”

The community is invited to attend the next special event at Rock of Ages Lutheran church, the Christmas Eve candlelight service, which starts at 7 p.m.

Rock of Ages Lutheran Church is at 201 Barwick St. in Wildwood. Sunday services are at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The Christmas Eve candlelight service begins at 7 p.m.

Caroline Klapper is a reporter with the Daily Sun. She can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 9018, or caroline.klapper@thevillagesmedia.com.