‘Greening’ adds special touch to services

    HOULTON — The Church of the Good Shepherd will be all decked out in time for their special Christmas services.
    The church, which for decades has been adorning its sanctuary with massive sections of greenery, will start their “greening of the church” following Sunday services. The adornment will be in place for Christmas Eve services, including a 4 p.m. children’s service and the traditional 10 p.m. first Mass of Christmas.
    Rev. Leslie Nesin said the special effort for Christmas has come to be an important part of the church’s Christmas celebration.
    “People talk about the fact that it’s really beautiful,” she said. “And we like to have it look beautiful to celebrate the birth of Christ. We’re here because of Jesus Christ not because of presents or other things.”
    Church member Gerald Jackins has been part of the Christmas greening work “every year for 40 years.” In decades past, putting the greenery together involved tipping live evergreens and putting the boughs together in swags and wreaths. Now, due to insurance requirements, the church uses artificial greenery, each section carefully marked for placement.
    “It’s all artificial, but it all looks so good when everything gets hung up,” said Jackins.
    “And when all the flowers arrive, everything starts to look really beautiful,” added Nesin.