It was a busy weekend getting ready...
...for the all-church Christmas party at our house after church!
Despite a high of 1 degree yesterday (I don't want to think about the wind chill factor), and a few more inches of snow to add to the 13 or so we got on Friday, we had a good turnout with 37 people (including our family), although we sure missed the three families that couldn't make it.
We enjoyed a potluck lunch with baked potato soup, chicken and rice soup, chili, braided herb cheese bread, tortilla chips with fresh pico de gallo, green salad, two fruit salads, pumpkin bread, gingerbread men, almond shortbread, raspberry puffs, rice krispie treats, decadent chocolate cake and a variety of beverages including an icy Christmas punch!
We gathered 'round the piano and handed out the 20 caroling books that have been handed down from Papa Rooster's side of the family (they are stamped "_____ Sales and Service," an old family business, on the inside cover). After harmonizing our way through nearly every carol in the book, we switched to a hymnal for a few more from memory.
Then somebody began a schmaltzy rendition of one of the old Baptist hymns in the hymnal, and 6 or 7 of the 9 adults present joined in, complete with parts and harmonies. So we spent another quarter hour singing through some of the golden oldies from our childhoods. Those who were a generation too young or who had been raised Catholic or Episcopalian just shook their heads in disbelief as we sang, from memory and in parts, "Wonderful Grace of Jesus," "Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul," "I Come to the Garden Alone," "Love Lifted Me," "Blessed Assurance," and others. Some of us hadn't sung those songs in years!
(And maybe some of you sing them every Sunday and are wondering what kind of music we do at Light of Christ? It's a mix of contemporary choruses and classic hymns. Growing up, I thought these were the classics, but someone pointed out that most of the above titles were written in the early 1900's. "Heaven Came Down" is from 1961!)
It was a delightful time together, and all too quickly everyone was goodby-ing and heading back out into the unthinkable windchill.
But we'll all see each other again in a few days--at our first-ever Christmas Eve service!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I love all of the "classics" you mentioned! I think a lot of the 'vintage' hymns are getting to be rare, as most churches don't do hymns anymore at all, at least where I live! Your Christmas party sounds like it was a lot of fun!
OH WOW!!! HOW FUN!!!
I love all those old hymns! And no matter how long you sing, it's never long enough! I could go to an All-night Singin' and it wouldn't be long enough!
I saw how cold it was up there!!! BRRRRR!!! We had 70 on Sat and then it dropped to a high of 30 on Sunday! Today was "only 45ish"! I'll send some warm(er) weather your way, and you can send a little snow our way!
I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!!!
Kathy
How fun to celebrate the birth of the Light of Christ at its first Christmas Eve service. Blessings on you all this Christmas.
Annie
What a wonderful evening!
I feel quite toasty after reading about your weather.
Have a good, safe, Holy and MERRY Christmas!
I think we would have braved the 35 below windchill if it weren't for the drifting snow and long stretches of rural two-lane that raised the real possibility of spending some serious time in those temperatures. And that was just for a potluck. Now I find out we missed a hymn sing! When can we do that again?
Meanwhile, this is day three of eating the chili we planned to bring. Come Sunday, you'll have no trouble finding our um, family pew!
Post a Comment