By Shirley Huffman, Church Historian:

During the 1930-1940 era, children of the Almena Church prepared for the Christmas Program that was held for many years on the Sunday night before December 25th. The program consisted of the usual nativity scene, recitations, poems, singing together and sometimes a short play. The adult choir always practiced on Thursday evenings weeks before. In the early 50's, I can remember well how the program progressed, and each year it was somewhat repetitious and usually depended on the same talented people each year.

The smaller children wore little white cotton half-length robes, sometimes portraying angels. The Adult choir was elated to finally have choir robes. It was quite an undertaking for the church to obtain them, and they were worn for years, one set being purchased from another church.

Each year the choir would march into the sanctuary to the singing of O Come, All Ye Faithful, and the first verse was sung in Latin. Program night the choir and others would gather in the old foyer (now the front office) as the new addition had not yet been built. There the performers would remain quiet, as the piano and organ played the prelude. Excited children had to be quieted until the choir marched down the aisle singing and heading to the choir loft.

As the program progressed, the minister would ask for a freewill offering for the Detroit Children's Home. Later, he* prayed and invited the overflowing crowd to cookies and the variety was overwhelming.

As a child, I remember performing during the various stages. The anticipation of the children, full of excitement as they waited for their surprise gift that each would receive after the program. The church Trustees made small sacks of candy, and offered an orange to each child. During this era, children didn't receive candy as they do now, and gifts were not as plentiful, so the bags of goodies were well received.

In the basement dining room, a Christmas tree always stood with piles of Christmas cards stacked underneath. Each family brought cards for one another, even though they saw each other often. The Trustees would take a good hour to sort the cards for each family. I remember our family getting a good bunch of 20 or 30 cards, and enjoyed sharing them at home. My mother was especially delighted with the greetings, and they were her favorite Christmas present.

The basement dining area before 1967 was the space called a Michigan Cellar that is under the sanctuary. It is where we held money-raising dinners, coffees, and wedding receptions, and during the Christmas celebration it was where the congregation visited while enjoying the refreshments.

The cumbrous stairway to the downstairs was/is under the space where many sit today for church, and is west of the old foyer where the sound equipment sits, and east of the entry doorway to the new foyer. The stairway is there yet today, and is probably full of spiders and dust, and was never used again. as a teen, I always thought that it would make a good hiding place.

The Christmas program was an event that neighborhood families looked forward to. It also brought together those that didn't attend church weekly. It gave these friends a time to chat and enjoy each other while catching up on news and wishing a cheerful Merry Christmas with smiles and laughter to all.

*Almena Methodist Church's first woman minister was Pastor Beverly Gaska in 1987.