Flathead Valley churches honor Christmas season

The children of First Presbyterian Church in Kalispell every December decorate a Christmas tree in the church’s sanctuary. 

The around 9-foot tree gifted to the church by an attendee boasts more ornaments and red ribbon thrown around like tulle on its bottom half than its top. It’s a testament to the little arms who carefully placed each ornament on various limbs.  

Behind the tree sits a series of handcrafted backdrops, a historical look at winter in Kalispell throughout the years, featuring a snowy Elrod Elementary School and an 1891 snapshot of First Presbyterian, when the church was founded.  

The tree is seen as a gift the younger members of the church give to the congregation in preparing for Christmas, Parish Pastor Breanna Stanfield said.  

The build-up to Christmas is a time of joy and thankfulness for churches across the valley, many of which have special services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

“I think it’s just great to be able to celebrate,” Stanfield said. “For people of faith, [that’s] Christmas.”   

Christmas traditionally is a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, whom Christians say is the son of God, is observed on Dec. 25. Over time the holiday has also been observed secularly marked by the exchange of gifts.  

First Presbyterian — and other churches in the Valley — have celebrated four weeks of advent to prepare for the holiday, which Stanfield says is a time to prepare for the coming of Christ.  

Advent, in Christianity, refers to the four weeks leading up to Christmas, anticipating the arrival, or “advent,” of Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah in the Christian faith. For four weeks, at Sunday services, a candle is lit, representing a certain virtue of Jesus: hope, joy, love and peace. 

“You just spend a moment reflecting on those things and lighting those candles as a way to prepare your hearts for Christmas,” she said.  

The Advent season is celebrated across denominations but varies in the way it’s marked.  

St. Richards Catholic Church in Columbia Falls has also spent weeks preparing for Christmas Day by celebrating Advent. Together as a parish, following the fourth and final Sunday advent service, members decorate the church for Christmas. 

From Christmas trees to garland on the balconies to wreaths, St. Richards will be decorated for eight days, up until Epiphany Sunday, when the three kings visit baby Jesus in Bethlehem, his birthplace.  

“[Advent and approaching Christmas is] a prayerful time and taking the time to pray is really important," said church administrative assistant Colleen Konopatzke.  

The church is also putting together a nativity scene reflecting the traditional Christmas narrative that tells the story of when Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem there was no room at the inn, so they were offered a stable where the Christ Child was born.  

It’s important to pray, Konopatzke said, because after Thanksgiving it is a time to prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. However, it is not just the birth of Christ to celebrate, but also the second coming of Christ, an event that is implied in many Old Testament prophecies and explicitly stated in parts of the New Testament that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to heaven.  

St. Richard’s is expecting a high attendance at services and will have an overflow room ready ahead of the services to accommodate everyone who wishes to attend. The Christmas Eve service will be combined with St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Whitefish as the two churches share a parish priest.  

Crossroads Church in Bigfork has multiple options for Christmas Eve services, according to Pastor Paul Bernard. To accommodate more services, each will be a bit shorter than a typical service but will consist of a candlelight celebration, a common across churches on Christmas Eve.  

“It’s kind of a traditional candlelight Christmas Eve service. We do the classic candles and sing Christmas songs and enjoy a nice evening together,” Bernard said.  

The candlelight service resonates with many churches, especially around holidays like Christmas Eve or Easter. In Christian faith, light remains a motif for hope, a concept seen in today’s candlelight services, where each member of a congregation holds a lit candle and sings hymns or worships.  

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,’” the New Testament of the Bible states in John 8:12.  

The candles are often lit by each member using their own candle to light the person’s next to them. 

Fresh Life Church in Kalispell has four candlelight Christmas Eve services, beginning on the Sunday before Christmas and ending on Christmas Eve.  

“Our church is very blessed in the sense that we have a very active body of people that contribute in a lot of ways, we’ve spent this whole month as a church spending time to become what we’re called to be in the Flathead Valley,” said Kyle Heinecke, the Kalispell campus pastor at Fresh Life.  

Part of that calling, he said, is to be a church that people can come to when their life isn’t in perfect order, a place to be seen and safe, he said.  

“We’re always looking for ways to reach people for Jesus,” Heinecke said.  

Canvas Church is hosting five Christmas Eve services focusing on the emotions of Christmas, according to Duncan Mattern, the kids coordinator at Canvas. 

The holidays are exciting, but can also be hard, according to Stanfield at First Presbyterian in Kalispell. For those who have experienced loss, adversities and more, sometimes holidays may bring negative feelings to the surface rather than joyful ones.  

She invites any and all to their service to regain a sense of community and joy. 

Konopatzke at St. Richard’s agrees. Remembering the joy and spending time with community is a good way to make the holidays warmer, and she invites all to celebrate with them in Columbia Falls.  

Prayer during this time is essential, Konopatzke says, as it allows you to “get out of the business of the secular Christmas season.” Prayer helps keep “Christ in Christmas,” she said.  

“Keeping the joy in it, if you find yourself worried about things and busying yourself just stop and take a minute and pray,” she said.  

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@dailyinterlake.com. 

    Members of the Flathead High School Choir perform at a holiday concert under the direction of Jennifer Stephens at First Presbyterian Church in Kalispell on Wednesday, Dec. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Members of the Flathead High School Choir perform at a holiday concert under the direction of Jennifer Stephens at First Presbyterian Church in Kalispell on Wednesday, Dec. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Members of the Flathead High School Choir perform at a holiday concert under the direction of Jennifer Stephens at First Presbyterian Church in Kalispell on Wednesday, Dec. 18. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider