Swedish native will preach at Batavia church on Christmas

Magnus Hillbo of Arlington Heights is an adult, but he is looking forward to Christmas morning with the excitement of a child.

"I can't wait," Hillbo said.

The native of Sweden and divinity student at North Park College will preach in Swedish at the 8 a.m. Julotta service Christmas morning at Bethany Lutheran Church, 8 N. Lincoln Ave. in Batavia.

Although the Swedish service is a church tradition, it is the first time the congregation will have a native of Sweden officiating. Usually, the service is done by a pastor who has studied Swedish.

Hillbo learned about the opportunity from a fellow divinity student who knows Bethany vicar Jim Andrews.

"I was baptized and confirmed a Lutheran," Hillbo said. He has been in the U.S. for 15 years and spoke English fluently when he arrived. "I told them the liturgy is the same as when I was confirmed in the early 1980s. It will be like getting to spend time with an old friend on Christmas morning."

Hillbo is now a member of the Evangelical Convenant Church. He is planning to become an ordained minister and he may become a hospital chaplain, a ministry he has become more familiar with after working as a paramedic for the last three years. However, he is keeping his options open.

"The Lord may have different plans for me than I have now," he said.

Hillbo has preached in Alaska on a mission trip, but he has much more experience in front of audiences as an opera singer and soloist. He is a tenor who has performed with Chicago Light Opera Works out of Evanston, and in other opera companies. He has also performed in repertory theater and in many sacred concerts.

"My foundation as a preacher is the same as that of a singer," Hillbo said. "You're in front of people expounding on scripture."

According to Bethany special projects assistant Marsha Schuster, the church was founded as a Swedish immigrant church in 1872. All services were in Swedish until after World War II, when the congregation went to Swedish and English. Now all services are in English except for the Julotta service on Christmas Day, which has remained as a tradition through the years.

"It's the only Swedish service in the area," Schuster said.

The service will be followed by a Swedish breakfast featuring cardamom bread, fruit soup and pickled herring.

For information, call the church at (630) 879-3444.