Courtesy photo

On Sunday, Dec. 6 from 7 to 8 p.m., Cave Spring United Methodist Church, a Moravian Church, will hold their 35th annual Love Feast.

The Moravian Love feast began in the 1700s in Germany when the Moravian Church was rediscovered. It was originally adopted at the church as a way of sharing the Christmas Season. Hot chocolate and Moravian buns were prepared at the church and every two parishioners shared a bun as a symbol of sharing the season.  This tradition has evolved and now every congregation member receives their own bun, symbolic of CSUMC sharing the beginning of this holy time with the community.

The love feast service is described in the dictionary as “a service dedicated to Christian love” which “seeks to strengthen the bonds and the spirit of harmony, goodwill, and congeniality, as well as to forgive past disputes and instead love one another.”

Cave Spring UMC’s love feast takes the help of the entire church congregation.

The church youth group, which consists of about 50 youth, spends many months collecting used milk jugs for their luminaries which are filled with sand with a beeswax candle inside. They also lite the guests candles and make the hot chocolate for the service.

The youth group plays a big role in the service. They will place 800 luminaries throughout the sanctuary prior to the service and light them and every single person’s candle. They are also responsible to make sure the luminaries stay lit.

The service which lasts about an hour is a huge hit within the community and includes about 550 guests. Open to the public members of the church and the community attend each year.

A nursery is available during the service and community members who would like to attend are asked to carpool to save space in the parking lot. Dress is casual.

“We extend a warm invitation to our Cave Spring neighbors to come and join us for this annual celebration.  It is our gift to the community,” Pastor Ronnie Morris said.