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December 24, 2005The place to beChristmas Eve services among most popular all yearTRAVERSE CITY - With four small children, Amie and Jeremiah Mleko seldom get to stay through their church's entire candlelight service on Christmas Eve.But even if they have to take turns with their sons in the church family room, the couple never misses a service. "We just try to bring books or treats so we can stay as long as we can," said Amie Mleko. Attending a midnight Mass or other Christmas Eve services at church is as important a Christmas tradition for many families as setting out the Nativity scene or putting up the tree. And not all of them are regular worshipers like the Mlekos. First Congregational Church of Traverse City expects between 1,200 and 1,400 people to attend its three Christmas Eve services, each featuring a candlelight ceremony, said the Rev. Gary Hogue. Among them will be the "unchurched" - those who only attend church for a holiday service or for special events such as a wedding or funeral - who are drawn to the trappings of Christmas Eve services. "You try to prepare for the fact that there are a lot of people for whom this is the primary exposure to the Christian faith," said Hogue, First Congregational senior pastor. "We call them 'C and E' people: Christmas and Easter." Light on sermons and heavy on music and atmosphere, Christmas Eve's is one of the most engaging services of the year, Hogue said. "It's romantic for many people in terms of the candlelight and the carols. Even if they're not regular worshipers, they like the candles, the choirs, the pomp," he said. This year, Christmas Eve attendance may be even higher at area churches, thanks to an accident of the calendar that last occurred in 1994. Because Christmas falls on a Sunday, many people who normally attend Sunday services will be staying home with their families and attending Christmas Eve services instead. The Mlekos usually go to services at New Hope Community Church in Williamsburg. But tonight they'll attend church with Amie's family in the Upper Peninsula. Regardless of where she is, Dec. 24 is her favorite day at church, said Mleko, who grew up attending Christmas Eve services in Baraga. She dresses the couple's four boys - ages 6, 3, 2 and 4 months - in sweater vests and button-down shirts for the occasion. "It's the time that you get to just concentrate on the meaning of Christmas, of Christians," she said. "It's been such a busy month getting ready for Christmas - shopping, cooking, baking - you just get to calm down and focus on Christmas without the activity." Christmas Eve services also are special for the boys - Isaac, Elijah, Samuel and Jonah - because they get to sit in the sanctuary with their parents, a change from regular Sunday services. When they get home, they get to open their Christmas stockings, another tradition Mleko carried over from childhood. Even without the Mlekos, New Hope will attract about 800 for its Christmas Eve Candlelight Communion Service, said the Rev. Dave Standfest. This year, the church has taken a dramatically different approach to the Christmas season, which will be reflected in the Christmas Eve service, he said. Besides traditional elements, the service will include the recitation of a list of projects the congregation has completed for others as part of its Christmas Community Impact program in November and December. "There will still be a time of communion, an intimate time of worship and candle-lighting - all those areas will still be in place," Standfest said. "We're just tying it all together in a different fashion." Mickey Clayton grew up in Grand Rapids, where she went to the Congregational church most Sundays. But Christmas Eve services were not part of the family's holiday observances. After she had a family of her own, she started her own tradition. She and husband George attend services at First Congregational Church with their two grown children visiting from Los Angeles and Virginia. "I think they do it for me, but that's all right," said Clayton, a retired computer draftsperson. This year, Clayton will be a lay reader at First Congregational's popular "Lessons and Carols" service in the grand English cathedral style. The story of Christ's birth through Scripture readings, carols and anthems, the service is modeled after the one that takes place on Christmas Eve at 3 p.m. in the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge. "It very much puts me in the mood of what Christmas is about," Clayton said. "When we leave the service, I feel very peaceful and excited and happy." An edited version of last year's local service will be broadcast at 11 p.m. today on TV 29&8. Because some people may feel a stronger connection to their community than to a church, Genisis Church of Petoskey is holding a community Christmas Eve service at the new Emmet County Fairgrounds community building. The three-month-old church passed out 500 invitations to the service at Petoskey's recent Christmas Open House, said Norm Byers, lead pastor. Like its regular services held at the Petoskey Cinema, the 45-minute service is an effort to reach out to the 70 percent of Americans who say they do not have a meaningful home church or church affiliation, Byers said. "We believe the culture has changed and we're trying to reach people where they're at - in movie theaters, school or wherever," he said. "We're trying to create at our church a culture of invitation."
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