The church recognizes the liturgical season of Christmas as extending from Dec. 25 through Jan 6 each year. Celebrating Christmas as a season helps us to enter more fully into the meaning of the incarnation. Christmas is the first in a series of celebrations (Christmas, Epiphany, the Baptism of our Lord, and the Transfiguration of Jesus) that affirm the identity of Jesus as fully human and fully divine.
Generally held on the first Sunday in December, our congregation and neighbors come together on Park Avenue in front of the church steps for words of remembrance and celebration and a rousing Carol Sing with our community. The tree lights are thanks to contributions to the Fund for Park Avenue.
In 1945, following the end of WWII, Mrs. Stephen C. Clark and some of her friends who had also lost sons and daughters in that war, installed lighted trees along Park Avenue as a memorial not only to their children, but to those from throughout the city who had given their lives. These trees were first lighted on Dec. 17, 1945, and dedicated to the memory of those who had died in all of our country’s wars. Subsequently, they became known as the Park Avenue Memorial Trees. In recent years, the memorial has expanded to involve and celebrate all faiths, while furthering the cause of peace and invoking reverence for those who have sacrificed their lives.