Christmas festival to be held in Laurens

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
November 17, 2005

LAURENS - For the third year in a row, Father Verne Stapenhorst, pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Laurens, will hold a Christmas festival.

The open house will include trees and collections in the setting of Father Stapenhorst's natural world.

There will be five trees decorated with such things as dried flowers, grasses and weeds, many of which are from the prairie on the Laurens trail, noted Father Stapenhorst.

"Nature is the language of God," said the priest. "Beauty is God's handwriting on every Christmas tree and everything that we see."

A new thing this year will be a license plate totem pole with license plates from each of the 50 states. Father Stapenhorst explained that the pole will remind people that the 50 states are unified in celebrating Christmas.

"We all celebrate for the same reason - the birthday of the baby," said Father Stapenhorst. "Since each state has a logo, it brings out our diversity and yet we are one republic, one nation."

The cedar fence post collection will feature photography by Father Stapenhorst.

"On each fence post, I am going to have one of the pictures that I took of Laurens and Pocahontas County," said Father Stapenhorst.

He continued that the pictures are large, 12x18 pictures and portray the four seasons and "some of the unique beauty that we have in our own backyard."

Snowmen and Santa Claus collections will remind people about past Christmas memories.

"Most of these collections have been given to me by my students and parishioners," said Father Stapenhorst. "There are very few of them that I purchased myself. When I unpack them at Christmas time, it gives me a wealth of memories."

Another new addition this year will be a collection of petrified wood from Montana and North Dakota displayed in a nature motif.

The entire display will be focused on the true meaning of Christmas. There will be four nativity sets, creches in the middle of the room - the Willow Tree Collection, given to Father Stapenhorst by his parish; the Saguaro Manger and Baby Jesus that dates back nearly 100 years from Carroll County; the Foundation Collection; and the Heartland Creek Collection.

"I am going to have those in the center this year so that everyone will kind of understand that all the other decorations and so forth are all focused on the true meaning of Christmas - a birthday," said Father Stapenhorst.

The festival is open to the public from Thanksgiving weekend through Jan. 6. The hours are Monday and Wednesday 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. People can also make an appointment.

"I would like to invite people to come and celebrate the true joy - an alternative to the department store Christmas," said Father Stapenhorst. "This is an alternative that I would like people to think about and enjoy."

In addition to the Christmas festival, the vestibule of the church will be decorated with purple trees during advent. Also a large white Christmas tree with unique decorations will prepare the church for the season of Christmas.

"The Christmas season is a time for joy and a time to talk about the real meaning of Christmas which is manifested in my creches and my cribs. The good Lord gives all of us different gifts. One of my gifts has always been being able to decorate for the holidays," said Father Stapenhorst.