Special to the Daily Herald

Preparing for Christmas Eve services at Rosemary Methodist Church are (from the left): the Rev. Jim Bell, minister; Wayne Williams, lector; Deborah Williams, server; and Dwight Berry, organist-choirmaster. Hank Dewald | Daily Herald Advertisement

On Christmas Eve at 10:30 p.m., the ministers and musicians of Rosemary United Methodist Church at 900 Jackson St., in Roanoke Rapids will conduct the 24th annual Festival Celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

The service, written and arranged from ancient and modern liturgies by Rosemary’s organist-choirmaster Dwight Berry, will be filled with the music of Christmas, sung and played by the choir and instrumentalists of the church. The congregation will also participate in the music and the liturgy.

Following the solemn procession, led by the tintinnabulum (from the Latin meaning “banner of bells”), the 29-voice choir, minister, and lector will lead the worshipers through the liturgy of the Sacrament of Holy Communion for Christmas Eve. Christmas music, dating from the Renaissance to the present, including works from the Anglican liturgy, works by Holst, Vaughan Williams, Rutter, Handel (Hallelujah Chorus), Adam (O Holy Night), and Mozart, as well as several original compositions and arrangements of traditional carols by Berry, will be included. The major parts of the Communion Liturgy, to include the Kyrie Eleison, the Sanctus, the Credo, the Gloria, and the Agnus Dei will be sung by the choir. The service will conclude with a candlelight recession.

The service will be facilitated and made more meaningful for participants of all faiths and worship styles by a 10-page program containing the complete service.

The Rev. James D. Bell, senior minister, will serve as the celebrant and deliver the Christmas sermon. He will be assisted by Wayne Williams, who will serve as lector. Other servers include Laura Foley, crucifer; Emily Bratton and Bryan Dean, torchbearers; Colby Lyles and Justin Vincent, banner bearers; Reid Lynch, acolyte; and Brad Foley, tintinnabulum bearer. Deborah Williams will assist the senior minister in administering the Sacrament. Oboists Laura Wright and Leigh Anne Moody and trumpeter Kelly Kinnin will further enhance the service with their instrumental talents.

On Christmas Eve at 5 p.m., the Rev. James D. Bell will conduct an informal, candlelight Christmas Communion service in the fellowship hall of the church, the building connected to the main church building by a covered walkway. The service will include carol singing, a Christmas sermon, and Holy Communion. It will conclude with a candlelight recession.