It has been a wonderful tradition at St. John to have a Candlelight Service on Western Christmas Eve. This year was no exception, more than 200 faithful gathered together to sing Christmas carols along with the St. John Choir, to hear the scripture readings by our dedicated deacons, and to watch our wonderful Sunday School Children present the Nativity scene.

During the service Fr. Mesrop Ash asked the faithful to pray for all the deceased during the singing of the hymn Der Voghormya, and also give thanks for all the babies who were born in 2013. Fr. Ash also gave a short spiritual message about the nature of gifts we receive, both by God and our loved ones, and who we should strive to be worthy of them.

Following the service the faithful gathered at The Paul Family Fellowship hall for reception. We would like to take this opportunity to thank and express our gratitude to everyone who donated food for the reception. We thank our Sunday School students, parents, Mrs. Paul Boghossian Sunday School superintendent, for organizing the pageant, Choir members and Choir director Linda Lester, and all the altar servers for their dedication and hard work.