Services were held at Fourth Presbyterian this morning, despite a lack of power. We hauled in piano from the Fellowship Hall, and had an abreviated service in a very cold sanctuary. With the bright sunlight filtering through the stained glass, and given the simplicity necessitated by a lack of printed bulletins, it was a very nice service. At one point Rev. McSween stated, "At this point in the service, the choir was to sing an anthem entitled What Is this Lovely Fragrance? Since most of us have not showered in several days, we figured that would not be appropriate." We did end by singing "In the Bleak Mid-Winter."
Many churches cancelled services today, and we probably would have done the same if we had been able to get word to the congregation. As it was, we figured that people would show up even if it were cancelled, so why not go ahead. Given the unique nature of the service, I’m glad we did.
Thinking about cancelled services, several churches in our area got themselves into hot water by cancelling services on Christmas Day. The funny thing is, most of the ones that called off Christmas Day services are the large mega-churches – many of the same ones that were decrying the "attack on Christmas" and taking offense at the phrase "Happy Holidays." Most of the traditional denominations are having service on Christmas day.
Walking back to my truck after service, I noticed that my laptop and two cases of firelogs I had managed to purchase were in plain view. If someone were to break in, I think I would miss the firelogs the most. My, how priorities change.
Later in the afternoon, Glynda stopped by with a Christmas present – a bag of coal. Seems like I’ll have to get on the "naughty list" just so I can stay warm.