Christmas Week

     The week between Christmas and the secular New Year is like a quiet valley between peaks. After the long climb up to Christmas one can breath a sigh of relief and slide down into the valley. If you live in Quebec you can toboggan down into the valley since we have had a LOT of snow!!! Just as every Autumn day includes a bout of raking so each day this week has seen most of my neighbours, and myself out with our shovels dealing with the snow mountains. More is predicted tonight when, for the very last time, I will be driving down to St. Stephen’s House with Nick for our Closing Service of Holy Communion. The whole week has been tinged with sadness and each day I’ve found myself dithering between planning to attend and wimping out at home but when Nick phoned this morning to ask if I would be there, offering me a lift as he has done so many times, I had to say “yes”. Even as I write I find myself tearing up thinking back over these past four and a half years during which I have found refuge in a safe community after the sorrow of St. Matthew’s closure. Unfortunately I am, as yet, no closer to deciding on another church and really feel that a few weeks “space” is going to be required before braving the task of visiting possible congregations.

 Paul told me about The Liturgists , this group includes Gungor whose music I really love especially Vapor, which we have used as a Liturgical Dance at Crossroads. I’m thinking I will listen to their podcasts on these winter Sundays and see where that leads. I do believe that Scripture teaches we should meet in community for Worship and as a mentor to a large number of Day Camp Team Members (past, present and future) it is incumbent upon me to follow that injunction, but right now I feel that I just have to take time to work through grief before moving forward.

 I guess Monday morning will see me sending out some plaintive reminders to Chapter writers, we will see what that produces.Reminders also need to go out about the Epiphany Team Gathering-taking place next Saturday.
As of Wednesday the house will once again be stripped of decorations and changed over, this time to the Epiphany/Winter arrangement. I try to hang on to all things “Christmas” right up to the Feast of Epiphany but with the Team Gathering falling on the 7th  it means the work has to be tackled by mid-week.After the Christmas Eve Service I packed up the Crèche that I brought with me from St. Matthew’s to St. Stephen’s and which has been well used these past four Christmases. It holds great sentimental value since, about 25 years ago I helped our Youth Group at St. Matthew’s to make it. I hauled my sewing machine and a bunch of craft supplies from home and we set up a workshop in an upstairs room of the Parish Hall. Several Saturday’s over the Autumn months the Group joined me for sewing and crafting and the finished crèche became an integral part of our Advent and Christmas worship  each year. I had felt it was important to build a nativity scene that the children could pick up and touch without fear of breaking and  they delighted in arranging and rearranging the figures,  placing Jesus in the Manger at our annual “Jesus Birthday Party” and adding the Magi at Epiphany. I now have it here in my living-room and hope that my own Godsons and others will continue to enjoy playing with the figures when they come to visit.

The Epiphany/Winter décor is clean, calm and restful so surely it will be beneficial in helping to set the tone for personal reflection and discernment in finding a way forward before the Lenten Season begins. The usual collection of visitors (both expected and “un”) has dropped by during the last few days and Monday it will be lovely to have Janice (who is home for Christmas from her internship with IVCF at the University of Regina) and her sister Jillian (who is completing her Education degree at McGill AND Directing our sister Ministry of Crossroads) join me for lunch. Both young women have been key members of the Day Camp Committee and are sorely missed this year with Janice away in Saskatchewan and Jillian very busy with University and other commitments. As occurred last Saturday, tonight’s supper will be eaten late after returning from church so I’m planning on a reprise of Salmon Chowder because it is quick to heat up and makes for an easy “Comfort Food” dinner after what is shaping up to be a rather stressful experience!