I love the Christmas Eve services and the traditions that go along with them. In our church, it means lighting candles and passing them symbolically from one person to another. As I envisioned this tradition on canvas, I began to imagine that in an ideal world the Christmas Eve service would happen in a country chapel along a snowy wooded lane. The crisp night air is filled with silent snowflakes as a classic one-horse sleigh jingles through the frosty scene. Footsteps in the snow lead to the chapel door, suggesting that the church is filled with merry worshippers. The chapel is brilliantly lit against the darkening forest and a blazing cross atop the log steeple reminds us of the spiritual significance of the season.

I envision this painting as the first in a series of three Christmas Chapels, each taking their inspiration from a classic Christmas carol. My prayer is that this series will give each of us a chance to rekindle the simple joys of the Christmas season.