[Magdalen] Christmas Trees

[Jay Weigel]

Reformation has an amazing tree that is covered in gold and white Chrismons
which were made by several women of the congregation. It also has about a
zillion white lights. It's probably 10 ft. tall and gets lit on the second
Sunday of Advent by one of the kiddies who gets to crawl around to the plug
and plug it in.

Last Sunday we had a near disaster with our Advent wreath as two of the
candles steadfastly refused to light during the little ceremony that goes
with it. The ceremony and singing went on without them, and two Altar Guild
ladies came up, took them "backstage", fixed them (I assume that involved
scraping them down somewhat and digging the wicks out from wax
accumulation) and replaced them. I should have been giggling along with the
family next to me, but instead I was near tears because I was reminded of
one of Adam's acolyte friends, also prematurely deceased, and the time he
was trying to light the window candles at All Saints' with a taper that
wouldn't stay lit. Benjy was an African-American kid who was possessed of
amazing dignity, and he continued around, "faking" lighting the candles,
while an usher followed in his wake, lighting them with a cigarette
lighter......and we in the choir tried like hell to keep from losing it
entirely.

On Sat, Dec 24, 2016 at 5:47 PM, Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Our clash was solved by the advent of the pre-lit tree.  Jim then could
> cover it as he wished with balls, etc., and that job we seemed able to
> share amicably enough.  Millions of them.  Gone with the wind ....
>
> Funnily enough, the other day I was to help to decorate the church .  The
> tree, for whatever reason, had but one string of lights, mixed blue and
> white LED with no more to hand. Underwhelming, to say the least.  I still
> had in my shed numerous strings that somehow had moved with me.  They are
> now on the church tree and it shines wondrously.  Things happen for a
> reason. :-)
>
> Marion, a pilgrim
>
>
>
>
> On 12/24/2016 5:29 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford wrote:
>
>> We discuss what we are going to do, and that usually does it. Some stuff
>> one of us decides they want to do it, and the other plays along. No fair
>> trying to get the other to do stuff they don't want to do ("I got this
>> tree, but jeez, I can't decorate it all by myself."), but also no fair
>> raining on the other's parade either. Works pretty well.
>>
>> As for the twits who say crap like "Aw c'mon. It's Xmas." there are a
>> whole
>> assortment of relies, some of them polite, if that is appropriate. I too
>> am
>> impatient with folks who just assume everyone is on the same page and get
>> all offended or self-righteously hurt if others do not see things the same
>> way.
>>
>> Remembering that they really do not stay awake at night trying to dream up
>> ways of annoying me helps a lot too.  Uh, that IS true, isn't it???
>>
>>
>>
>> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
>> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
>> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
>>
>> On Sat, Dec 24, 2016 at 2:42 PM, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> We used to order a tree from Upper Michigan and our handsome UPS man
>>> would deliver it.
>>>
>>> This year my partner assumed I'm rabidly against all things Christmas
>>> and angrily complained a couple of weeks ago that he's tired of
>>> fighting against this. I thought I was doing better this year by not
>>> complaining about the holidays as much.
>>>
>>> But our finances do make it difficult to justify some spending, and
>>> I'm not sad not to have a tree. I'd just like to get credit for better
>>> behavior. One of these years I'll stop feeling like such an outsider
>>> who no longer "gets" the usual Christmas necessities and feels alone
>>> in that. It's something everyone else does and loves. I'm OK with that
>>> until someone comes along and gives me the "Aw, come on!" treatment. I
>>> hope I've prepared for that and won't bristle too much.
>>>
>>> Looking forward to church in the morning, and then Monday. The party
>>> tomorrow could be quite fun, although I feel like we always go
>>> shorthanded in terms of gifts...I'd like not to receive any. But "Aw,
>>> come on! It's Christmas!"
>>>
>>> On Sat, Dec 24, 2016 at 1:03 PM, Susan Hagen <susanvhagen at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have a table top sized iron ornament tree that looks like bare tree
>>>> branches.  I always hang the Jesse Tree ornaments a friend painted for
>>>> me.  Some years I switch them on Christmas Day to my Peaceable Kingdom
>>>> ornaments.  These started as just cats and birds but now span most of
>>>> the food chain.  I don't think I'm going to bother this year.  I do
>>>> need to get the small lighted ceramic tree up from the basement.
>>>>
>>>> Tonight I will put the baby in the creche.  The wise men are still in
>>>> a distant land (the dining room) with their small wooden casket that
>>>> has real frankincense and myrrh chunks in it.
>>>>
>>>> Susan
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Dec 24, 2016 at 11:52 AM, Ann Markle <ann.markle at aya.yale.edu>
>>>>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I had one of those sweet Martha Stewart trees for years (artificial
>>>>>
>>>> snow, a
>>>
>>>> few berries, pre-lit); some years I put on ornaments, some years I
>>>>>
>>>> didn't.
>>>
>>>> For the last few years I've had one of those small, slim, urn-contained,
>>>>> pre-lit ones.  The lights on top died, but I replaced them with my own
>>>>> string, and just yesterday I brought it down from the attic.  No
>>>>>
>>>> ornaments,
>>>
>>>> unless I get hit with some kind of holiday fever that has eluded me so
>>>>> far.  Now I've got to go fill the bird feeder and give the birds a
>>>>> merry
>>>>> Christmas Eve.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Ann
>>>>>
>>>>> The Rev. Ann Markle
>>>>> Buffalo, NY
>>>>> ann.markle at aya.yale.edu
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Dec 24, 2016 at 10:27 AM, Marion Thompson <
>>>>>
>>>> marionwhitevale at gmail.com
>>>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> Sadly, the slim pre-lit Christmas tree that had served for about 25
>>>>>>
>>>>> years
>>>
>>>> ended up in the pre-move dumpster, ultimately the victim of too much
>>>>>> manhandling.  I got a Martha Stewart tree from Home Depot last year,
>>>>>> no
>>>>>> sample on display, and it is exactly right for the space and ease of
>>>>>> storage.  Archie likes to nibble on the frosty sparkle .... hasn't
>>>>>>
>>>>> made him
>>>
>>>> sick.  All the tree ornaments either went off with Kevin, the
>>>>>>
>>>>> miraculous
>>>
>>>> handyman/friend, or into the dumpster.  Too late I realized that the
>>>>>>
>>>>> few
>>>
>>>> really sentimental ornaments had been tossed, too.  Oh well, it's only
>>>>>> things ....  This tree is prelit and pretty and needs no further
>>>>>>
>>>>> adornment,
>>>
>>>> I tell myself.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What a state of poorly-suppressed hysteria I was in during that whole
>>>>>> business!  I am more grateful than words can express for my new life
>>>>>>
>>>>> and
>>>
>>>> metaphysical state.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Marion, a pilgrim   ... today my sail I lift ....
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among
>>>> you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the
>>>> land of Egypt.
>>>> Leviticus 19:34
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Scott R. Knitter
>>> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
>>>
>>>
>