Crest Hill church will celebrate Lucia Fest

Plainfield East High School junior Sophia Esther Cain will portray Santa Lucia on Dec. 15 during a Crest Hill church’s annual Lucia Fest.

This Swedish tradition will take place after the 10:30 a.m. worship service at the Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant, 2437 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill, according to a news release from the church.

“I think we need those visual reminders that there is hope in the darkest of times, that there is going to be light at the other end of it, and to know that darkness doesn’t win, even when it seems really, really dark.”

—  Jake Bradley, lead pastor, Church of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant

The community is invited to attend the celebration and then remain for a fika, which is “a time of fellowship, coffee and Swedish pastries,” according to the release. The church’s women ministries is sponsoring the fika, according to the release.

During the celebration, Cain, 16, will be accompanied by children from Church of the Good Shepherd Sunday school, who will serve as “Santa Lucia’s” attendants.

Sarah Lender-Hawkins, the church’s worship leader, will sing the traditional Lucia song, and Ruby Barraza, last year’s Queen of Light, will read the traditional story of Lucia, according to the release.

Who was Santa Lucia?

St. Lucy, or Santa Lucia, was an early Christian saint martyred in the fourth century. Her feast day is celebrated Dec. 13. According to the Julian calendar (the current Gregorian calendar replaced the Julian in 1582), Dec. 13 was the shortest day of the year.

According to tradition, St. Lucy wore a wreath of candles to light her way when bringing food to Christians in hiding.

“I think we need those visual reminders that there is hope in the darkest of times, that there is going to be light at the other end of it, and to know that darkness doesn’t win, even when it seems really, really dark,” lead pastor Jake Bradley previously said.

St. Lucy was to marry a rich nobleman. Instead, she gave her dowery to the poor, so she was killed. But St. Lucy returned hundreds of years later in December during a time of famine and fed the poor.

“So I do think there’s something beautiful about caring for those in these times – the literally cold and dark times,” Bradley previously said.

Benefits of Lucia Fest today

Up until the 1940s, the Church of Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant was a Swedish-speaking church – and then the church was bilingual for another 10 to 20 years before completely switching to English, Bradley previously said.

Bradley came to the Church of Good Shepherd Evangelical Covenant about 20 years ago.

He said he feels continuing a major faith expression tied to a country of origin might also help people from many heritages feel welcome in this church.

“[They might think], ‘Look how they honor their immigrant heritage. This might be a safe place for me to find a new home,’” Bradley previously said.

Church of the Good Shepherd Cain “occasionally welcomes folks as part of the digital narthex.” Cain also is part of the church’s partnership in Ecuador.

At Plainfield East High School, Cain has been part of the varsity cheer squad, track and field, Bengal Athletic Leadership Council, and both the math and Spanish honor societies, according to the release.

Cain also works at Walt’s Ice Cream in Joliet during its open season and plans to study psychology in college.

For more information, visit goodshepherdcov.org.