The snow had melted, but more was on the way. As we headed out the car was sluggish, like a wet sponge, yet we were excited about going to our first Christingle Service at the church. What is that you might ask? It is a large building typically with an organ and pews where people go to worship, but that’s not important right now. As I informed our pastor that we didn’t know what a Christingle was, he said, “Surely you can’t be serious.” I replied, “I am serious and don’t call me Shirley. Just tell me what it is.” “It is a church service where you stick a candle in an orange with some other stuff sticking out of it and light it.” A little odd, I thought, but intriguing. Christingle started in 1747 by a Bishop in Germany, but was not introduced to the Anglican Church until 1968. Literally Christingle means “Christ-Light.” The orange represents the world, the candle is Christ (the Light of the World), the red ribbon represents the blood Christ shed on the cross for us, the four sticks are the four seasons and the dried fruits represent the fruits of the earth and the earth’s riches with which God has blessed us.
Despite the sluggishness of our car, we still arrived a little early. I asked the kind, old man sitting next to me, “How much longer until it starts?” He replied, “I can’t tell.”
“You can tell me, I’m a lawyer.”
“No, I mean, I’m just not sure.”
“Well, can’t you take a guess?”
“Not for another 15 minutes.”
“You can’t take a guess for another 15 minutes?”
“No, I mean, it won’t start for another 15 minutes.”
The service started (after about 15 minutes) and we sang songs, the kids dressed up like nativity scene characters and the pastor gave a short message about the Towering Inferno and how in difficult times we should expect our hero (Christ) to come to save us. At the end, we lit the candles on our Christingles and sang Silent Night sort of like our traditional Christmas Eve service in America. We really enjoyed the service.
As our conversation turned to the student protests regarding the increase in the university tuition rates, we decided to turn on the TV to get an update. Sure enough the crazy students were rioting in London again. Basically their argument appears to be that even though the entire government is trying to make real spending cuts (unlike the U.S.), the students don’t want the tuition increase because there are still some rich people who could afford to pay more taxes to cover it. Crazy argument. As we watched the student mob heat up and as Prince Charles and Lady Camilla left the theatre in their Rolls Royce, they had a run in with the mob in which apparently Camilla may have been poked with a stick. As a BBC reporter interviewed the chief of police for City of London, the obviously angry chief stammered, “I promise you; whatever scum did this, not one man on this force will rest one minute until he's behind bars. Now, let's grab some tea.”
We left our friends’ house and since mulled wine and mince pies didn’t fill us up, we decided to stop and get some fish and chips. As we finished off the fish and chips in the corner of the chip shop and then climbed in the car, we soon realized why no one else was in Steve’s Fish & Chips and why the guy working there didn’t look like he would be named Steve—we all felt violently ill. A kind lady happened to be walking by at the time, so I asked if she knew how to get to the nearest hospital. Terrified, she said, “Oh no! A hospital! What is it?” I replied, “It’s a big building with patients and doctors, but that’s not important right now.” I still think it’s strange she asked that question. Now, you need to remember that we still don’t have a real comfort for driving on the wrong side of the road and in particular the wrong side of the car, but one thing was clear, the life of everyone in the car depended upon just one thing: finding someone who could not only drive our car, but someone who didn't have Steve’s fish & chips for dinner. Nonetheless, we decided to roll the windows down and give it our best shot to make it on our own. We needed some motivation, so I tried my best, “It’s fourth and fifteen and we’re looking at a full court press, but we can do it.” We eventually made it home and felt better in the morning.
We also attended a performance of A Christmas Carol at Sloane’s school. Always the aspiring actress, this was Sloane’s first real acting performance. She was Mrs. Fezziwig which is a character from the scene with the Ghost of Christmas Past. All of the parents were to attend the performance, so it was going to be a packed house. We had told our friends that this was her acting debut, so one of them asked Sloane, “Are you nervous?” Sloane replied calmly, “Yes.” “First time?” Sloane retorted, “No, I’ve been nervous lots of times before.” Since she was apparently uptight I had to give her a little word of encouragement, so I told her, “Sloane, just remember, when you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” That must have been the encouragement she was looking for because she nailed her performance. We are very proud of her.
While A Christmas Carol was the same Charles Dickens’ story we are used to, we also went to see a performance of Carol which is a rather loose and modern day version of the traditional story. Bob Hartman, the author of Carol, stayed with us for about 10 days while he and the Lacey Theatre group practiced the show. Lacey Theatre is a small Christian theatre group that is based out of our church, so we have had the privilege of getting to know and enjoy time with them. Bob is not typically an actor—he is an author, pastor and storyteller, but he did an outstanding job at the dress rehearsal that we were able to watch. We had several meals at our house with Bob, so we had the opportunity to discuss many things with him. On one occasion we asked him if acting was very different from his story telling that he does in schools. He replied, “It involves a totally different skill set altogether.” So, we all looked at each other, shrugged and all said in unison, “It involves a totally different skill set.” I’m still not sure why he asked us to do that. Anyway, the Lacey group has toured around England and has performed Carol over 25 times. When Bob came back through Brighton toward the end of the show tour, we were wondering if he had lost his edge yet after performing it that many times. He said, “No. Like a midget at a urinal, I have to always be on my toes.” When Bob left us for the last time, he looked a little sad, so I tried to break the sadness. “Cheer up, Bob. This isn’t goodbye; it’s just that we won’t ever see you again.” I’m not sure it worked, but as you can tell, we had a great experience with Bob.
On yet another night, we decided to participate in singing Christmas carols outside of a neighborhood pub near our house. The event was organized by St. Luke’s church just down the street from our house. Although the temperature was below freezing, the turnout was excellent. We sang Christmas songs—only a couple of which I was familiar. It is odd that the Christmas songs are so different from what we are used to in America—even the familiar songs were sung to a different tune. There is a great one with very catchy tune that we really need to introduce back home. The catchy Christmas song is about a little donkey and is called Little Donkey, Little Donkey. After the singing, since we were outside the pub, some of our neighbors asked if we wanted a night cap. Michelle answered, “No thanks, we don’t wear them.” So we went home to warm up.
I do find it ironic that in the public schools here the kids sing Christmas carols including Silent Night, yet in America there is no chance of that happening anymore. Nonetheless, while Christmas is celebrated and traditional songs sung by virtually everyone (even our atheist next door neighbor decorates and celebrates), Christ is nowhere in the picture. I assume that since the Church of England was so intertwined with culture and everyday life for so many years that it is still lingering. Nonetheless, most of the churches are empty. It is a bit paradoxical that evidence of Christ is everywhere yet He is in very few lives.
That is the end of my Christmas story, but if you weren’t paying attention, here is a recap:
Christingle – good
Mulled wine – good
Spending time with new friends – good
Rioting students – bad
Steve’s Fish & Chips – bad
Sloane’s acting – good
Bob Hartman – good
Lacey Theatre – good
Unfamiliar Christmas carols – generally bad
Little Donkey, Little Donkey – good
Empty churches – bad
Jesus Christ – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace . . . Savior
Merry Christmas,
Keith
I loved it! Well done Keith.
ReplyDeleteWe so enjoyed reading this Keith and here's wishing you all a wonderful "New Year!" Blessing and prayers for all the work that each of you are doing! :) Love, Mike, Laurie, Ty and Abby
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