Christmas in the country

Annual church tour showcases the history and holiday traditions of country churches in Cape, Perry counties

As early as mid-November, Janet Fiedler had already fielded phone calls from people inquiring about the annual Christmas Country Church Tour -- and for good reason.

"It is just a most awesome experience, because it really brings Christ back into Christmas, and out of the shopping center," says Fiedler, who helps coordinate the tour. "It gives people an opportunity to get out in the country, to see the beautiful landscape and these churches, all of which are over 100 years old." The churches average some 400 visitors over the two-night tour, coming from throughout Missouri and even other states, including Kansas and Illinois.

Most of the churches on the tour feature live music, and most serve refreshments to their guests. "They take so much pride in dressing up their church for the holidays," says Fiedler, who has worked with the tour for the last four years. At Immanuel Lutheran in New Wells, Fiedler says a large group from the community comes to the church between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday to sing carols in German.

This year's tour will be Thursday and Friday, December 16 and 17 from 3 to 9 p.m. In case of ice or appreciable snow the tour will be cancelled. Call Fiedler at 573-833-6188 for more information, or log on to www.immanuelnewwells.org.

A variety of Christian denominations are represented in the self-guided tour, which includes stops in Crosstown, Farrar, Brazeau, Frohna, Altenburg, New Wells, Pocahontas, Daisy, Oak Ridge, Friedheim, Biehle, Apple Creek, Uniontown, Longtown, Fruitland and Friedenberg. When you visit the first church you will receive a list and map directing you to the other churches, says Fiedler.

"The people who participate so thoroughly enjoy it," says Fiedler. There's so much to see on the tour -- and because the churches are spaced out geographically -- that she recommends spreading the tour out to both nights, instead of trying to fit everything into one evening.

~TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

A sneak peek at some of the highlights to look for on this year's Christmas Country Church Tour.

--Apple Creek Presbyterian Church in Pocahontas and Peace Lutheran in Friedenburg: Both churches use luminaries as the primary light source for the event, giving it a very special feel, says Fiedler.

--The Brazeau Presbyterian Church, built in 1819, features cut paper ornaments called Scherenschnitte. In the church balcony, you will see where slaves carved their names in the wood.

--The architecture of Trinity Lutheran in Altenburg is quite unique. To find a beautiful example of medieval European church architecture in the mid-west makes it special, says Fiedler.

--Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna, constructed in 1839, launched an extensive reconstruction project. They preserved the original sanctuary with a ground up restoration.