The Historic Gaslight Christmas Star
At First Reformed UCC Church in Lancaster:

One of Lancaster City’s most unique Christmas traditions is the annual display of the gaslight Christmas star at First Reformed UCC Church.
This cast-iron star has accompanied Christmas services with its flickering gas light since 1854, when this church building was newly constructed. Historian Colin Williams described the star in his 2002 church history book as “probably the oldest artificially illuminated Christmas star in the United States.”
In December 1954 a Lancaster newspaper referred to this star as “…a masterpiece of the ironworker’s art, the star was welded on an anvil so perfectly that the pieces fit without seams showing at the different angles.” The star originally used coal gas as fuel.

 1954: The 100th Anniversary of the Christmas Star:

2023: Another Christmas Anniversary at FRC Church
25 Years of Christmas Concerts by QuintEssentially Brass:

  In 2023 First Reformed UCC Church celebrated the anniversary of another Christmas tradition. It was the 25th year of Christmas concerts by the brass quintet QuintEssentially Brass. The concerts are an annual benefit for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This concert has become a much-anticipated holiday event. The quintet always plays to a full house.

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