– This has long been a tradition at West End UMC as one of our Christmas Eve services.  It is one in which children are encouraged to come in costume, dressed as one of the shepherds, wise ones, angels, or animals that were said to have been present in Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus.  Christmas carols are sung, and a couple in the church who have an infant appear dressed as Mary, Joseph, and the baby.  The story is told, and the costumed children are made to feel a part of that story.  They enter the scene following a star.  Communion is an integral part of the service, too.  At the end, all who are present hold (battery powered) candles and light them, the house lights are dimmed, and everyone leaves singing “Joy to the World, the Lord is born.”