Cantata ‘Joy’ & special singer presented by Grace Lutheran Church

 

Christmas 2017 brings in a wealth of musical experiences old and new at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of Oak Ridge.

“Joy,” the cantata by Joel Raney, will be presented by the Chancel Choir on December 17 at the traditional service at 11:15 a.m.

Then on December 24, two Christmas Eve services will feature special music by the bell choir and youth choir, plus the late service will feature Colette Boudreaux, an operatic soprano from the New York area. The family service begins at 7 p.m. on December 24, and the Candlelight service begins at 9 p.m.

Boudreaux, who grew up in Knoxville, will sing “Rejoice Greatly” from Handel’s Messiah. Boudreaux keeps a busy performing schedule, and she also teaches voice and dance, is a professional choreographer, and to pay forward what she has learned, directs productions for high schools that have no formal theater programs. She recently started a professional theatre company in Easton, Pennsylvania, along with her husband, John Andreadis. Everyone is invited to attend.

The only Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregation in Oak Ridge and Anderson County or counties north and west, Grace has a long history of serving the community, a press release said. The ELCA is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Grace holds two Sunday services: 9 a.m. (contemporary) and 11:15 a.m. (traditional). Grace Lutheran Church is located at 131 West Gettysburg Avenue in Oak Ridge. For more information, call or go online at (865) 483-3787 or www.graceoakridge.org.