The Sadsbury Friends Meeting House, which was constructed in 1747, making it one of the oldest houses of worship in Lancaster County, will be site of the sixth Contemplative Christmas Eve program on Friday, Dec. 24, from 4 to 5 p.m. The event will include candle lighting, a time of silent prayer, a poetry reading, readings from Scripture and music.

The event was canceled in 2020 but is resuming this year. According to http://www.sadsburyfriendsmeeting.org, the quiet, thoughtful program is designed as a "contrast to the modern consumer culture that surrounds the Christmas season."

The underlying theme for the program will be "Light in the Darkness" as told through the traditional Swedish legend "The Christmas Rose."

"We have divided the story into four parts, and each part (will be) read by a different reader," said Connie Webster, a member of the Meeting. "This will be interspersed with music and a few moments of silence."

The fireplace will be lit in the meetinghouse for the occasion, and the entire event will take place by candlelight. "When we start at 4 p.m. there is still some light outside, and we light a few candles on our candle tables early in the program," said Webster. "We have three times when attenders - the congregation - can come up and light little tea lights. By the end, the rooms have a soft illumination."

Those who have never visited the Quaker meetinghouse will notice that the building has a partition in the middle of the main floor, dividing it into two rooms. "They used to have separate men's and women's business meetings, so they made these movable partitions," Webster explained. "They are in the center of the building. They could shut them and open them for worship.

"Since we are a small group at Sadsbury, we usually just use the one room for our regular Sunday worship every week," she added. "(For the Christmas Eve event) people will space out and we will open the partition."

Following the service, weather permitting, the group will gather outside for refreshments and fellowship. "We usually have people go downstairs to the community room, but we are not doing that this year," Webster said, adding that the Christmas Eve program is open to all, but because of the pandemic attendance is limited.

To register for the event, visit http://www.eventbrite.com and search for "Contemplative Christmas Eve Program." A link to register is also available at http://www.sadsburyfriendsmeeting.org/events.

Following CDC guidelines, masks are strongly recommended, and every attendee will be asked to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within the last 72 hours.

The Sadsbury Friends Meeting House, 1089 Simmontown Road, Gap, is located one half-mile east of Route 41. For more information, visit the previously mentioned website or search for "Sadsbury Friends Meeting" on Facebook.