This was my second year attending an evening Christmas service at Orchard Hill. We went on a…read moreWednesday and despite showing up early the parking lot was already filling in steadily and the room was full when the event started. I can only imagine what it's like Christmas Eve or Day. The building is very large and modern, a vast difference from the Catholic churches I grew up in and Greek ones I've visited here and in Europe. As an artist I always appreciated how detailed they were, full of stained glass, statues, painted ceilings, stonework, candles, rows of pews, etc. Warm, dark, historic, holy feeling; you definitely knew you were in a place of worship. This, however, definitely gives me evangelical megachurch vibes, feeling more akin to my high school/college auditoriums. In fact I don't think I saw a single picture of Jesus, Mary/Joseph, saints, or apostles anywhere in the main areas we were kept to. Very unusual in my experiences at other churches with lots of iconography, but perhaps that's common at these kinds of nondenominational places? I understand though that a 'church' can be anywhere, and modern features and expectations will result in a different kind of venue. But hey that's just my preference. Catholics definitely have that graphic imagery beaten into them of a defeated looking Jesus on a cross statue with a bloody hole in his side, haha.
The lobby is spacious with lots of seating areas and entrances to various other parts of the building. The theater room has two levels and sloped floors, providing everyone a good view of the stage. Two large screens are of either side, and were always changing views using the cameras situated around the room. The lighting was also very good too, and was timed well with the program. My only gripe was the audio, it was fine when the pastor was speaking or when one person was singing. But if the whole group on stage began to sing it seemed to become muddled and was perhaps just too much for the system? Maybe an instance like those I seem to encounter at too many music events where the urge to just make things louder doesn't necessarily make the experience better. Overall it was a nice event, especially involving the kids on stage to reenact the nativity, and passing out candles for the audience to light.
