An upcoming church service will have candles, carols, and a celebration of the savior Jesus Christ.

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church will hold its annual Christmas Eve church service at 6 p.m. with Pastor Doug Francik, other organizers, and a congregation of cheerful churchgoers at 56095 Pena Road in Anza.

"There will be carols and a message of hope and joy on Christmas Eve," said Francik. "At the end of the service, the whole congregation will light candles as we will sing ‘Silent Night.’"

The church holds a candlelight service because it represents Jesus as the "light of the world."

The church provides the candles for the lighting service, said Francik.

Leftover candles will be recycled for future events.

"We’ll use (the candles) again next year or for another event we have," he added. "We might have another lighting service some time during the year. We also use candles on our alter every week during regular services."

Francik said he didn’t know how many people would be showing up to Friday’s service, but the church doors are Advertisement

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"We open our doors to anyone who wants to come join us," he said.

Francik noted that he has seen many people getting into the holiday spirit by volunteering their time to help community members in need this season. The church lets nonprofit organizations and other groups use its facilities to hold their events.

"We open our church to people to come use our facilities such as From the Heart and the Men’s Service group," he said. "We let people from all over the area use our congregation to serve in many different ways."

The weather has been cold lately; especially, with all the rain hitting the inland areas, which began hard last weekend. The forecast expects Christmas Eve to be warmer and not as wet.

"We do have snow at times," said Francik. "But, we don’t have snow at the moment."

More information about the church can be found on its website at www.shepherdofthevalleyanza.org or by calling (951) 763-4226.

"We’re really excited about our Christmas," said Francik.