At Duke Chapel for the holidays

Even in a place such as Duke Chapel, the holiday spirit doesn't appear by magic. It happens because of people such as Ellie Ferguson. 

 

"We just all love the building and we love what happens in that space, and that's why we're there," says Ferguson, a member of the interdenominational Congregation at Duke Chapel. "We're not encumbered by any traditions, other than the traditions that we're making."

 

Ferguson is part of those traditions. Out of their own pockets, she and husband Jim started decorating the chapel for Christmas some 30 years ago. "We see it as our gift to the community," Ferguson says. "We're so happy when we hear people around us in the service talking about how much they appreciate the decorations, who don't have a clue about who we are.

 

The Holiday Guy

"I'm the December guy," says Rodney Wynkoop, director of chapel music and of the Duke Chapel Choir. Duke Chapel choral concerts and holiday services beginning Dec. 1 will allow Wynkoop to prove that this year.

First out of the gate are three performances of Handel's complete "Messiah" by the Chapel Choir and Orchestra, conducted by Wynkoop, on Dec. 1-3.

 

"The choir lives and breaths this music. They adore it. Some know it by heart," says Wynkoop, who has been leading the "Messiah" since 1989, an annual chapel event dating to the early 1930s.

 

Jayne Swank, a Trinity junior in the 150-member Chapel Choir and a veteran of past "Messiahs", says it's one of her favorite performances.

"Filling the walls with that kind of sound, it's really amazing," Swank says. "And it doesn't get old. Every performance is really fun."

 

Wynkoop also leads the Duke Chorale in a Christmas Concert on Dec. 5, and the Choral Society of Durham in Bach's "Magnificat" Dec. 9 and 10.

 

The Congregation at Duke Chapel plans a special Children's Christmas Eve service every year. Complete with story time and nativity pageant, the kid-centered worship begins at 3 p.m. Visiting kids sit on the floor, while children of the congregation act out the Christmas story. Every child who attends the service gets a chance to join in costume as an angel or a shepherd and to take part in the manger scene. Music for the 30-minute service includes a harp, flute, organ and bagpipes.

 

"What started as a service for our own children 15 years ago almost immediately began to attract children from outside the congregation," says senior pastor Nancy Ferree-Clark. "If you can imagine a chapel full of angels and shepherds, you can imagine how exciting this service is!"

 

Other Christmas Eve services include the Service of Carols and Communion at 5:30 p.m. and the Service of Lessons and Carols at 11 p.m. The Christmas Eve Community Choir takes volunteers. All singers are welcome if they can attend rehearsals. Conductor Allan Friedman leads the first open rehearsal call at 7 p.m. on Dec. 20.

Christmas Eve services at Duke Chapel are usually filled to capacity, and early arrival is recommended.

"It is sort of a magical place if you spend a lot of time there," says Ferguson about the Gothic building's stone, wood carvings and stained glass. She and her husband were married in the chapel in 1975. Soon after, they realized that although Christmas Eve services were well attended, there wasn't much in the way of decorations.

 

"There were some candles along the windowsills," she recalls. "The people who come here deserve more than just a few candles."

 

The Fergusons received permission from then-Chapel Dean William H. Willimon to add some holiday greenery. The first attempt had some challenges. "The problem was, we put decorations up on the 24th, and we had to take them down the same night," she says. "We were up until 2 in the morning."

Today, hanging wreaths with red bows on all the columns, setting candles in glass globes in the nave windows and draping 32-foot garlands speckled with tiny white lights from high up in the triforium takes their crew of eight volunteers about five hours to accomplish. The handmade wreaths are delivered fresh from a farm in western North Carolina; swags and giant poinsettias come from area florists; the Duke grounds crew supplies fresh magnolia leaves to garnish the display. The Fergusons' decorations go up Dec. 12 this year and will remain through Epiphany on Jan. 6.

 

"There are two guys that have worked with us from the very beginning, Leroy McRae and Charlie Roedel," says Ferguson. Both are also members of the congregation.

 

"The first time all the candles are lit, it's really very magical. The low light enhances the architecture," Ferguson says.

 

The chapel invites the public to experience the holiday atmosphere at its open house, "Duke Chapel by Candlelight," from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14.

 

"That building is quite extraordinary, it's surprising what happens in that space," says Ferguson.