Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A group of people sing “Silent Night” in the Elwell Fishing Lodge at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge near Soldotna on Christmas Eve.

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion A group of people sing “Silent Night” in the Elwell Fishing Lodge at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge near Soldotna on Christmas Eve.

A night made brighter with song and light

Candlelight walk marks Christmas Eve

Roughly two dozen people carrying battery-powered candles braved a short section of the trail at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, for a candlelit walk hosted by Soldotna’s Christ Lutheran Church.

Pastor Meredith Harber said the tradition of the walk began as an easy way to gather and mark the holiday in 2020, against a backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s remained a part of the church’s programming because it “feels a little easier than a whole church service.”

She encouraged the group to take the walk slow and easy, to be careful on the ice and snow.

“This is supposed to be fun and light,” she said. “Talk and laugh, throw a snowball, do whatever you want. We’ll make our way down to the cabin, say a prayer, sing a song and make our way back up. Easy peasy.”

Over the course of around 15 minutes, the group proceeded down the trail to the Elwell Cabin, made brighter by the candles in each person’s hand.

The group together sang “Silent Night,” cards with the lyrics provided at the same time as the candles. Harber closed the program with a brief prayer.

“Good and gracious God, we thank you for the gift of this day,” she said. “We thank you for another time to gather and to think about what it means for Christ to have been born into our world.”

Further Christmas Eve services were held at Christ Lutheran Church and many others around the Kenai Peninsula that night.

For more information, find “Christ Lutheran Church” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Kenai Middle School Principal Vaughn Dosko points out elements of a redesign plan for the front of the school on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Work soon to begin on Kenai Middle security upgrades

The security upgrades are among several key KPBSD maintenance projects included in a bond approved by borough voters in October 2022.

The Kenai Fire Department headquarters are photographed on Feb. 13, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Kenai adds funds, authorizes contract for study of emergency services facility

The building shared by Kenai’s police and fire departments hasn’t kept up with the needs of both departments, chief says.

Kenai Parks and Recreation Director Tyler Best shows off a new inclusive seesaw at Kenai Municipal Park in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai awards contract to develop Parks and Rec master plan

The document is expected to guide the next 20 years of outdoors and recreation development in the city.

Balancing Act’s homepage for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget. (Screenshot)
KPBSD launches ‘Balancing Act’ software, calls for public to balance $17 million deficit

The district and other education advocates have said that the base student allocation has failed to keep up with inflation.

Natural gas processing equipment is seen at Furie Operating Alaska’s central processing facility in Nikiski, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Harvest Alaska announces proposed redevelopment of Kenai LNG terminal

The project could deliver additional natural gas supplies to the Southcentral market as early as 2026, developers said.

A depth marker is almost entirely subsumed by the waters of the Kenai River in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
After delay, borough adopts updated flood insurance maps

The assembly had previously postponed the legislation amid outcry from the Kenai River Keys Property Owners Association.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche points to where the disconnected baler ram has bent piping at the Central Peninsula Landfill in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough approves federal request to fund recycling redesign

A large baler that was used for recycling was recently left inoperable by a catastrophic failure in its main ram.

A person is detained in Anchorage in recent days by officials from the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (FBI Anchorage Field Office photo)
Trump’s immigration raids arrive in Alaska, while Coast Guard in state help deportations at southern US border

Anchorage arrests touted by FBI, DEA; Coast Guard plane from Kodiak part of “alien expulsion flight operations.”

Jamiann S’eiltin Hasselquist asks participants to kneel as a gesture to “stay grounded in the community” during a protest in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday focused on President Donald Trump’s actions since the beginning of his second term. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Trump protest rally at Alaska State Capitol targets Nazi-like salutes, challenges to Native rights

More than 120 people show up as part of nationwide protest to actions during onset of Trump’s second term.

Most Read