Annual carol service well attended

ABERDEEN — Over 100 people attended the Christmas Carols evening at the Aberdeen Dutch Reformed Church the Sunday before last.

The church had been beautifully decorated by Christa Beyers and Joan Barnard, with elegant and colourful floral arrangements by Lydia de Jager.

As well as the congregation in the church, the concert was also broadcast through live to Aalwynhof Old Age Home, where many residents gathered to enjoy the Sunday evening’s entertainment.

Dominee Abe Beyers introduced the congregation to the group Die Stemme, three very talented men from Somerset East.

Originally Tiaan Lötz and Sid Watson performed very successfully together, and then about five years ago, the group was enriched by the addition of the powerful voice of Prieur de Plessis.

The very professional concert included a variety of mostly traditional carols and Christmas songs, starting with Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, performed by Prieur.

There were a few smiles in the audience at the thought of a snow-filled Christmas in the heat of the Karoo! Prieur later showed his language versatility with a verse of the traditional carol O Come, All Ye Faithful in Latin, and a verse of Silent Night in German.

There were several opportunities for the congregation to join in the carols, with the words projected onto a screen at the front of the church. A few of the songs were unaccompanied, but most featured the accomplished Sid on the keyboard.

The theme for the evening was “What is Christmas with Christ?”, and Tiaan introduced several of the items with passages from the Gospel of Luke. He also spoke briefly on the theme, encouraging those present to not be afraid but to live a life full of joy and full of hope.