Those seeking a quiet and simple ceremony to celebrate Christmas are invited to attend a Contemplative Christmas Eve program on Wednesday, Dec. 24, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Sadsbury Friends Meeting House.

The program will feature readings, brief periods of silent worship and music by the Krebs family. "The father, Matthew, plays the piano, and the daughter Anika is the singer," explained meeting member Connie Webster. "(The service) will alternate between music, reading and periods of silence." There will also be congregational candle lighting.

The focus of the readings will be from "The Other Wise Man," adapted from the novel by Henry van Dyke. The book tells the story of Artaban, a wise man from Persia, who never makes it to pay homage to the baby Jesus along with the other three wise men. However, he spends his life searching for Jesus, performing acts of service along his journey.

"Three or four of us will read the story in parts," noted Webster. "We pared it down to be shorter. The whole (Christmas Eve) program, including the music, will be an hour."

Refreshments will be served in the community room following the service.

According to http://www.sadsburyfriendsmeeting.org, the service is designed as a "contrast to the modern consumer culture that surrounds the Christmas season." The fireplace will be lit in the meetinghouse for the occasion, and the entire event will take place by candlelight. "The meetinghouse was constructed in 1747, making it one of the oldest houses of worship in Lancaster County," noted Webster.

According to a history of the Sadsbury Friends Meeting, the original meetinghouse was built in 1725. A larger meetinghouse, the present stone building, was built in 1747. Members of the Friends took part in anti-slavery activities using their homes as "stations" of the Underground Railroad. They were also active in the Christiana Resistance of 1851 and during the time of the Civil War.

A schoolhouse once existed on the property but was torn down when the public road was straightened in 1907. At one time, Maple Grove Mennonites used the meeting as a place to gather. In 1974, Sadsbury Meeting was remodeled again, and the downstairs community room was created.

Those who have never visited the Quaker meetinghouse will notice that the building has a partition in the middle of the main floor, dividing it into two rooms. "They used to have separate men's and women's business meetings, so they made these movable partitions," Webster explained. "They are in the center of the building. They could shut them and open them for worship, (but) that was in the old days."

The Sadsbury Friends Meeting House, 1089 Simmontown Road, Gap, is located half a mile east of Route 41. For more information, visit the previously mentioned website or search for "Sadsbury Friends Meeting" on Facebook.