Geneva church throws b-day party for Jesus

Giving and receiving presents are a major part of Christmas, but the most important gift is the one Jesus Christ shared with all of humanity.

That was the message for the children of Rejoice Lutheran Church in Geneva Sunday, during a Christmas service celebrating the Savior's birth.

In story and in song, the youngsters relived the nativity and were reminded that Jesus came to earth to save mankind.

"It helps the kids remember what Christmas is all about," church member Kimberly Kozar said. "They'll be receiving all these presents, but sometimes we lose sight of the greatest gift of all."

The children received gift bags, each with a candle, a piece of straw, a star and a heart. As the program progressed, the little gifts were pulled from the bags to help illustrate a lesson.

"The candle reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world," Kozar said, and the piece of straw symbolizes Christ's birth in a stable in the company of animals. The star reflects the special star chosen by God to lead the shepherds to Jesus.

"The heart reminds us to share the love of Jesus with everyone we know," Kozar said.

Dressed as Joseph, Mary and the shepherds, the children worked their way through scripture readings and Christmas carols to the story of Christ's birth.

After the program, the church celebrated a birthday party for Jesus, complete with games and cake.

Located on Geneva's far west side in the Mill Creek development, Rejoice Lutheran is a growing church, bringing in members from Mill Creek, the Tri-Cities area and Elburn.

There currently are about 600 members, filling the church sanctuary for both of the two Sunday services, Pastor Lou Quetel said.

"This is a congregation of extreme energy," Quetel said. "The strength of this congregation is the involvement of its people," he added, pointing to the church's mission work in Mexico and Honduras.

Children's Ministries Director Barbara Loomis said the church operates programs every Tuesday for children in grades one through five. For Christmas, the program focused on Christ's gift to all his children, Loomis said.

"We learned different ways to share his love through relationships, rather than commercial giving," Loomis said.