CHRISTMAS CANDLELIGHT TRADITION AT PRAIRIE GROVE CHAPEL
Waynedale’s antiquated tiny Prairie Grove Chapel will be holding a Christmas service on Sunday the 22nd starting at 7:00 PM. The doors will be open at 6:30. Admission is free and there will be no need to pick up tickets in advance. There is space for about 100 people.
This quaint little white-framed chapel along Old Trail Road will also be holding a service on Monday the 23rd at the same time.
There is hope of having a service on the 24th at 7:00 pm (Christmas Eve) but currently they do not have music set up for that day. If anyone is interested and/or has access to a choir (adult or children) please contact Glenn Ellenberger at 260.760.7194.
It will be a great time of worship! Cookies and soft drinks will be provided following the service.
A free will offering will be collected during the service. ALL funds collected will be put back into the chapel to complete other projects. Most recently, new front doors were built and installed which resemble the original doors. They were purchased using donations from prior years.
This peaceful, holy Chapel was nearly destroyed a few years ago from a fire that was set by vandals. “You could see right through the back wall to the outside. Some window sashes were completely burned and had to be duplicated and replaced. One of the original pews was completely destroyed. Sixteen of the original pews remain,” reports Ellenberger.
The chapel was built in the late 1850s. It is a pre-Civil War structure built after the Revolutionary War and is referred to as an antebellum. Two rows of 8 pews holding 5-6 parishioners line the inside of the Prairie Grove Chapel with a brightly lit Christmas tree in one corner and 2 chairs and a pulpit in the front of the church. Each of the 8 Gothic windows are adorned with a candle.
The Prairie Grove Chapel is now at a level of completion that the Board of Directors will allow the Chapel to be used by the public for various purposes. “I’d like to see it open for community use ie., weddings, funerals and holiday services. Christmas services would be a great tradition to continue,” said Glenn Ellenberger.
Glenn invites readers who want more information or a requested use of the chapel to contact him at 260-760-7194, or email him at Glenn@GlennEllenberger.com, putting “Prairie Grove” in the subject line. Donations can be sent to Prairie Grove Chapel, 6312 Old Trail Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46809. Be sure to note that the donation is for the chapel restoration.
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