It's beginning to look a lot like Advent. Our church is filled with beautiful blue banners and frontal cloths and the priest's blue satin vestments. One addition this year is the Advent chapel at the front of the chancel, just under the cross--lots of candles on blue satin, sparkly, cloth covers. That is where Father Nick has Compline every Wednesday evening at 6:30. Frank and I went the first time, but missed the second one due to snow. (He has a very justified fear of slipping and falling on icy sidewalks.) Next Wednesday I will go alone because our Church Council follows immediately after Compline and goes for an hour or more. Frank would have to find somewhere to sit for an hour, waiting for me. So, again he'll have to stay home. :(
This year we actually got our Christmas cards written and mailed off in good time, I think. Our grandson came over and put up lights around our patio and Frank added lights inside our kitchen window. The Advent candles are on the coffee table, surrounded by Christmas cards we've received so far. And in a day or two, we'll pull out the little artificial tree and set it up in front of the gas fireplace that we never use. Our daughter told us how to get Christmas music of the classical type from Google Home. Just ask Google for Mid-Winter's Eve Music, and there you go.
We'll go to church on Christmas Day. Spend other days around the Holy Day with family and friends who are nearby. Then we'll start to get ready for our real celebration: Epiphany when we'll chalk the door again, and play games and eat and remember to choose gifts for the poor using a catalogue from World Vision. It's a Monday this year, but we'll celebrate at home with family on Sunday, January 5th. We'll miss the church service that day, but it's that or see family members we see so seldom. God understands.
Monday, December 16, 2019
ending 2019
Ended November with a Women's retreat. Almost every year the women of St. Saviour's Anglican Church in Penticton, BC, have a retreat. This year, it was at Seton House of Prayer, near Kelowna. Nearer to home than our previous few retreats at Sorrento at Salmon Arm.
This year, instead of two people taking on the task all by themselves, they invited a few of us to help out. I was privileged to be assigned from 10am to 10:45 and 11am to noon, for a program of my own design. I chose the theme of colours (the others confirmed that and added Light, so the weekend was "Colours and Light". I claim to have squished a Curisllo weekend into an hour and 45 minutes. Actually, we had a short get-acquainted game followed by Bible study based on colours mentioned in the Bible. We sang De Colores. Then after coffee break, we made "Palanca" bags for our fellow retreatants. Little bags of "love notes" to be taken home at the end of the retreat. In the afternoon, another member of the team taught us how to make candles with coloured wax, thereby completing the theme of colours and light.
Our retreat ended back in Penticton at our church with the celebration of Christ the King, which we claim as our patronal festival, given that there is no saint called St. Saviour. At the church the following week, we sang Las Mananitas to our priest, Nicholas Pang, for his name day, St. Nicholas Day, December 6th.
Thus ended the Church Year. The first Sunday of Advent which falls on December 1st this year, is the Church's New Year. Not January 1st. So, Happy New Year!
This year, instead of two people taking on the task all by themselves, they invited a few of us to help out. I was privileged to be assigned from 10am to 10:45 and 11am to noon, for a program of my own design. I chose the theme of colours (the others confirmed that and added Light, so the weekend was "Colours and Light". I claim to have squished a Curisllo weekend into an hour and 45 minutes. Actually, we had a short get-acquainted game followed by Bible study based on colours mentioned in the Bible. We sang De Colores. Then after coffee break, we made "Palanca" bags for our fellow retreatants. Little bags of "love notes" to be taken home at the end of the retreat. In the afternoon, another member of the team taught us how to make candles with coloured wax, thereby completing the theme of colours and light.
Our retreat ended back in Penticton at our church with the celebration of Christ the King, which we claim as our patronal festival, given that there is no saint called St. Saviour. At the church the following week, we sang Las Mananitas to our priest, Nicholas Pang, for his name day, St. Nicholas Day, December 6th.
Thus ended the Church Year. The first Sunday of Advent which falls on December 1st this year, is the Church's New Year. Not January 1st. So, Happy New Year!
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