Our Traditions
Moravian Love Feast
Northminster’s choir joins with the choir of St. Thomas of Canterbury to celebrate the Moravian Love Feast.
In December 2006, Northminster celebrated its seventeenth Moravian Love Feast; it is a mainstay of our special Christian worship services. While the Moravian tradition of Christianity can be traced back to John Hus in 1457, the Love Feast was begun in 1727 as a continuation of a Moravian worship service. Moved by what they had experienced during one particular worship service, a group of Moravians imbibed a simple meal while continuing their prayer and song. These days, a bun or cookies with coffee or lemonade are served to continue that sense of community and worship. At Northminster, the Love Feast is celebrated on the first Sunday in December as part of the Advent season. It is a Service of Lessons and Carols, with cookies and lemonade to share and enjoy!
Apple Butter Making
Each autumn, the turning of the leaves and the beginning of the football season are joined by Northminster’s apple butter making. Jars of delicious homemade (churchmade!) apple butter are presold; the apples are peeled on a Thursday and then cooked and jarred on the following Saturday. Special care is taken to prepare and butter the apples—as well as make sure the given Saturday isn’t on a home game day! Proceeds from the sales are used to give honoraria to graduating seniors, pay for scholarships for kids to attend summer camp, and other worthy youth causes.
Rally Day
The second Sunday in September is always Rally Day—the day our new Sunday School year begins. The day begins with breakfast at church, after which students tour their new Sunday School rooms and meet their teachers. After the worship service, a picnic is enjoyed by everyone in the cooling autumn air. Rally Day reminds us that Christian Education is about Christian doctrine, Christian theology, and Christian living—but it’s about Christian fellowship, too...
Pumpkin Carving
Christ promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against his Church, so we try to do our part each October by scaring off those pesky devils with our hand-carved pumpkins. Hay rides, fall games, and food galore add to the festivities as young and old spend Saturday together getting ready for All Hallow’s Eve.
Ski Trip
Can Ski School be our Sunday School?
Sometimes it’s good to get away for a day, and what better place than the Homestead? Every winter, Northminster members from every age group caravan up the mountains for a day of skiing and snowboarding. . .or watching others ski and snowboard. . .or sitting by the warmth of the inn fireplace while sipping hot chocolate! Whatever the winter sport of choice, the trip is always a welcome getaway during the colder months.
Easter Egg Hunt
Who said all our cool events are in the autumn and winter? At the end of Lent, Northminster’s kids gather at the church for an entertaining Easter egg hunt. Some of the eggs are tough to find for the older children, while the younger kids will have no trouble scooping up the eggs ‘hidden’ for them. While the eggs are stuffed with candies and prizes, our little treasure hunt isn’t all get and no give—after the egg hunt, everyone takes Easter baskets to the sick and shut in. It’s a Lenten meditation and an Easter celebration all in one.