[Magdalen] Merry Christmas

[Marion Thompson]

Further to my earlier Merry Christmas post:  Sadly, that elderly server,
almost 90, it turns out, has stepped down from that ministry.  He informed
our priest after the service.  Comes to us all, eh?  It is so hard to
retire from all that is meaningful to us when the time comes, and wise to
know when that time has come.

But, in my sparsely populated and age-challenged church, this is another
area where there is no successor.

Marion, a pilgrim


On Thu, Dec 26, 2019 at 5:08 PM Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Merry Christmas to you all.  Boxing Day is a welcome day of rest!
>
> Christmas Day at 10 a.m. was vaguely amusing.  The rather elderly server,
> who also prepares the rota, had scheduled only himself to do everything.
> Now, he does the little 8 a.m. mass on his own each Sunday.  It is always
> Traditional, his comfort zone, and the 12-15 people always sit up in the
> chancel.  So he was probably confident that Christmas Day would mirror the
> familiar.  Other than Traditional, not at all.   He didn't adjust to the
> differences as they came up, so there were a number of course corrections
> required throughout!  Perhaps it was a blessing attendance was slim!  The
> other alto and I were the choir..  Few in number, mighty in spirit.
>
> Marion, a pilgrim
>
> On Thu, Dec 26, 2019 at 1:24 PM Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> We've been attending the 10 a.m. Christmas Day High Mass at the Church of
>> the Ascension the past several years, instead of the late-night Christmas
>> Eve Mass.
>>
>> The Christmas morning Mass has grown in popularity...it used to be rather
>> minimalist but now the full choir sings for it. We had lots of visitors
>> there yesterday...the family in front of us looked just thrilled to be
>> there...looking back often to see the organ and choir; fully participating
>> using the comprehensive leaflet; very enthusiastic at the Peace. I hope
>> we've made some new friends of the parish this Christmas and that they'll
>> all return for other occasions!
>>
>> We've been growing this autumn in general...we're over the long-elusive
>> goal of 100 attending the three Sunday Masses, and that's been happening
>> even on "ordinary" green Sundays. New volunteers for acolyting, vestry,
>> and
>> other roles as well. TBTG!
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 26, 2019 at 8:09 AM Judy Fleener <fleenerj at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > We had a packed house at St. Paul's in Muskegon.  I believe that the
>> > congregation was more than 1/2 strangersto me.  I am there every
>> Sunday. 2
>> > lovely young ladies, maybe 10 and 12 and beautifully dressed,  came to
>> the
>> > usher who was distributing candles and said, "We are a party of 10."  I
>> > guess they go to restaurants more often than church.
>> >
>> > On Wed, Dec 25, 2019 at 10:51 PM Ann Markle <ann.markle at aya.yale.edu>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> > > Merry Christmas to all. My little parish had 2 Christmas Eve services,
>> > and
>> > > at 4:30 we had four (count ‘em!) girls as acolytes! What a blessing
>> our
>> > > kids are! This morning we had a spoken service, and I’m home alone,
>> with
>> > > chicken, biscuits, and gravy for dinner, and homemade (gift) treats
>> for
>> > > dessert. I must admit, I’m glad the main event is over; I’m sure the
>> > > remaining 11 days of Christmas will be better.
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > On Tue, Dec 24, 2019 at 11:30 PM Judy Fleener <fleenerj at gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> > >
>> > > > Merry Christmas to all those here  I have just returned from Mass at
>> > St.
>> > > > Paul's Muskegon.  We were packed tonight with more than half the
>> > > > congregation people I has never seen and many of whom I did not
>> know.
>> > We
>> > > > are all aging and I am especially aware of the burden that can be.
>> > Bill
>> > > > has macular degeneration and member loss.  Some days it is hard for
>> him
>> > > to
>> > > > type passwords correctly. We continue to be happy in our smallish
>> condo
>> > > > where we can walk to almost everything we need. And we look forward
>> to
>> > > > 2020. and an election! my love to all of you.
>> > > > .
>> > > >
>> > > > --
>> > > > Judy Fleener, ObJN,SSH
>> > > > Western Michigan
>> > > >
>> > > --
>> > > Ann
>> > >
>> > > The Rev. Ann Markle
>> > > Buffalo, NY
>> > > www.onewildandpreciouslife.typepad.com
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Judy Fleener, ObJN,SSH
>> > Western Michigan
>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> Scott R. Knitter
>> Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
>>
>