With Christmas Day almost here, lights and decorations are everywhere.
— Photo by Michelle Dryden
Close to home in New Jersey, we can visit Rockefeller Center in New York City to see their famous Christmas tree. Also, residents from the southern region of New Jersey can visit Philadelphia to see their Christmas Tree at their City Hall as well.
But right here in Trenton, the capital city of New Jersey, the community can visit First Baptist Church of Trenton (FBCT) to enjoy that church’s “Hanging of the Greens” decorations that took place Sunday at the church.
FBCT Pastor Rev. Calvin Powell explained the “Hanging of the Greens” tradition at the church as a “time when we come together, and we share in decorating the church. It’s all about love. We come together and we share in love. We have fellowship. We have some food. We have some fun.”
Rev. Powell explained that “Hanging of the Greens” at FBCT is more than a 35-year-old event that takes place the first week of each Advent season.
He said Advent means “coming,” and that for him it signifies the coming of Jesus’s birth that would bring peace into the world. This year Advent began Dec. 1 (the Sunday closest to St. Andrew’s Day) and will end Dec. 24.
By decorating the church, the FBCT congregation is “just trying to get into the spirit of the season,” said Powell.
A fairly new pastor at the 214-year-old church that just celebrated an anniversary in November, Powell also just had his own 4-year anniversary in October.
He enjoys his congregation and the “Hanging of the Greens” activity, among several other ministries at FBCT.
Powell compares the multicultural congregation of his church to Heaven.
“It’s beautiful because we have so many different ethnicities here” like you will see in Heaven, he said.
Other church members who were decorating the church talked about the tradition. A new member, Jacqueline Jones, said it will bring a festive mood so that all who enter the church will be in the holiday spirit.
Also, Naw Martha Hla from Burma, who has been a member at FBCT for 10 years, says she was having fun with the “Hanging of the Greens,” and was happy to celebrate with family and friends.
Meanwhile Jim Russo, says he has been a member of FBCT for more than 30 years, and has been a part of the Christmas decoration activity for a long time.