German Christmas Service at St. Paul Lutheran Church December 16th

St. Paul Lutheran Church at 100 S. School St, Mount Prospect will be hosting a German language Christmas service on Saturday, December 16th at 5:00 p.m. This is the congregations 7th annual German service. The "Weihnachts Gottesdienst" has been growing in attendance every year and draws worshippers from across the northwest suburbs. While the traditional Lutheran service will conducted in German, an English translation of the sermon will be made available. Musical selections will be sung by the German-American Singers of Chicago Choir.

St. Paul Lutheran Church was founded in 1912 by German farmers and small businessmen in the area soon to become the village of Mount Prospect. It was originally a satellite church f St. John's Lutheran Church in Elk Grove Township. St. Paul held services in German until the mid-1030's and the congregations Lutheran School taught German into the late 1970's. In 2011, the church reintroduced a German Christmas service as a kickoff to the congregations 100 year anniversary. The service was so well received that the it has been turned into an annual tradition. Pastor Chris Whitby noted that the service "is not just for Lutherans or German speakers for anyone who would like to experience the joy of Christmas worship in the tradition of out area's earliest residents.