A pair of Orrville churches offered a warm welcome on a cold night during the city’s first ever Candlelight Church Tour, Dec. 8. The congregations opened their doors for the public to tour their historic church buildings and enjoy the Christmas decorations, live music and refreshments.

Christ United Church of Christ pastor Randall Gehres said his church was invited by Main Street Orrville, Inc. to participate and felt it would be a good way of sharing in the activities of the downtown community. He and other church members led visitors on tours of the sanctuary, which was completed in 1909 and is surrounded by large, elaborate stained glass windows.

“I’ve been a member here all my life, and these windows have always been an important part of the church,” said Bob Hershey. “Over the last decade, all of them have been taken out and re-leaded.”

Some of the scenes featured in the windows are Jesus and the woman at the well, the Good Shepherd and the Nativity. “They pretty much cover Creation through Revelation,” said Gehres.

Christ United Church of Christ’s musical lineup for the evening included piano solos, a bell choir and later the chancel choir, all performing seasonal selections. Alex Huffman, one of the younger members of both the bell choir and chancel choir, said the bells perform about once a month and the choir sings every Sunday during the school year.

At the nearby Augsburg Lutheran Church, Council President Jim Curtis said his church was pleased to be part of the tour as well. “We were asked by Main Street Orrville, Inc. to participate in this event, and it sounded like a good opportunity to showcase the Christmas season,” he said.

Candles flickered in the stained glass windows of the 135-year-old church as a 12-member bell choir took the stage. Augsburg’s Praise Ringers performed both sacred and secular Christmas music with everything from bells, chimes and flute to sleigh bells, wood blocks and slide whistles.

Also in the evening’s lineup was Jenny Curtis playing sacred Christmas carols and hymns and a handbell/piano/flute performance by Sue Lemmon, Jenny Curtis and Rebecca Mullet.

Donna Berkey and her husband said they came specifically to hear the bell choir perform and revisit the church they were married in. “It’s a nice evening and we’re enjoying it,” she said.

It was a busy evening elsewhere in Orrville as well. In addition to the regular Thursday evening extended hours at the downtown stores, the Orrville Historical Society hosted the final night of A Christmas Celebration at the Smith Orr Homestead including their Christmas Tree Silent Auction. Santa Claus paid a visit to Serpentini Chevrolet as well.

The Candlelight Church Tour was organized by Main Street Orrville, Inc. “We were looking at some way to engage the faith community in a special event,” said executive director Darren Wasniewski. “We have the Home for the Holidays event which engages the business community. But we recognize that the downtown is made up of more than just the business community—it is also a center for worship and other transactions. We are excited to involve the faith community in this event.”

Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company, Smith Dairy and the Wayne County Community Federal Credit Union all sponsored the tour.

Main Street Orrville’s mission is to create a sustainable Orrville through renovation, innovation, communication, and participation. The organization is part of the Ohio Main Street Program and accredited by The National Trust Main Street Center.

For more information on Main Street Orrville or upcoming events, visit www.mainstreetorrville.org or call 330-682-0317.