Installed: Associate Pastor Taylor Hall


In a joyful and thoughtful culmination of a long process of search and call, First Presbyterian installed a new Associate Pastor for Youth and Faith Formation, Taylor S. Hall, on Sunday, January 19, at 4 p.m.


Te celebratory service brought together a wide range of ministers of Word and Sacrament, including Nina Reeder, honorably retired from the Presbytery of New Brunswick, who delivered the sermon extolling Taylor’s gifts and commending FPCA for its call. Scriptures, proclaimed by Maddie Brown, were Psalm 40:1-11 and 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. Former FPCA associate pastors Mike Drake and Cindy Simmons were also among clergy on hand during the service. A reception in Fellowship Hall followed the installation.


Partnering on Twelfth Night


“God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.”


“All the kings that have ever reigned … have not affected our lives … like this baby, this infant … our Savior!”


Tese are the messages and meaning of the annual Twelfth Night festival held at Christ Lutheran Church—messages that continually inspire our faith and bring joy. Held this year over the weekend of January 10 to 12, the festival celebrates the arrival of the Wise Men traditionally thought to have arrived at the manger on the 12th day to bring gifts to Baby Jesus, whom they knew would become the greatest king.


Christ Lutheran Church has produced this festival for 38 years. Members of First Presbyterian Church of Allentown have participated throughout those years, but for the past two years, FPCA has formally been a partner in the production.


Plans are already under discussion for the January 2021 festival. Each year, about 300 people plan, prepare, rehearse, and perform for Twelfth Night. Performances are open to the public, but tickets are required, always in demand, and available from the churches beginning in November.


Besides bringing the message of Christmas to the community, financial contributions support Christ Lutheran’s St. Stephen Outreach Center, which provides spiritual, educational, and recreational programs and facilities to the center city neighborhood.


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Te production includes staging of a medieval boar’s head dinner in the beautiful sanctuary, with music, dancing, and costumes, along with props and symbols, processions and tableaux, juggling and tumbling, and more. Forty choir


Taylor was ordained on Palm Sunday, April 9, 2017, after earning a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Teological Seminary. He has previously served as Ordained Resident for Christian Formation and later Associate Pastor at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church in South Bend, Indiana; a pastoral intern at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, New Jersey; and a chaplain extern at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora.


“I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.” – Psalm 40:10


members and 20 professional orchestra musicians, as well as pipe organ and bagpipes, fill the hall with heavenly sounds. Trough the church’s aisles move shepherds, pipers, dancers, royalty, saints, jesters, maids, woodsmen, sprites, angels, huge colorful stuffed birds, a boar’s head—and the Holy Family.


Te event inspires awe at the sounds, lights, colors, and activities, along with smiles, laughing, handshakes, and hugs. Some of the best moments of the night for participants and attendees alike take place behind the scenes and outside of performances.


Folks who have participated for years now share the event with children and grandchildren. Teenage shepherds greet singers from other churches whom they’ve met for the first time. Carpenters assemble or take down sets, with the help of FPCA youth.


Te first adoration of Baby Jesus was long ago, but this festival each year renews joy and excitement through a unique pageant. For more information on FPCA’s involvement and how you can help, please contact me at fnpreuninger@gmail.com.


—Fred Preuninger


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