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CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL The Labyrinth Parish Notes & Announcements Christmas Eve and Christmas Day The lights of the city were beautiful on this Christmas Eve. As shoppers rushed from one store to another, Mrs. McCorkindale was on her way home after having picked up some small things for the Anderson Family. Jeanie Anderson was at home this Christmas Eve with her children: Moira age 7, Jimmy age 5, Colin aged 3 and a new baby who was due at any moment. Jeanie’s husband, Frank, was at sea aboard his navy destroyer. Jeanie and Frank had met when they were in school, childhood sweethearts. Moira was an accident, as Jeanie’s mother would like to say, and Frank and Jeanie were married in a hurry. Frank tried hard to find work but to no avail. He was gifted but could not, in the present economic climate, find anything. The Navy looked to be a good place to find regular work at reasonable pay, but the times Frank was away were difficult for Jeanie and the weans. Christmas was coming and, for the first time, Frank was not able to be home. Mrs. McCorkindale arrived to find a level of excitement with the children that could only be described as mayhem. They were jumping and yelling at the top of their voices and singing carols loudly while Jeanie was in the kitchen. Mrs. McCorkindale gently brought the children together on the sofa and spoke very softly to them. They each spoke about how much they missed and loved their father. As Mrs. McCorkindale was speaking, she looked up to see Jeanie silhouetted in the doorway looking very pregnant. She looked for a moment like Mary on that first Christmas Eve. The children asked Mrs. McCorkindale to bring their dad home for Christmas. Mrs. McCorkindale said to the children she was unable to do that. At that moment Jeanie uttered a cry: her water had broken. Mrs. McCorkindale moved swiftly; in a firm but loving voice she began to tell the children what they had to do. As she spoke to them, they felt an unbelievable love and peace in their house. It did not take long until the fourth Anderson child had come into the world, a boy whom they named Matthew. As they gathered around Jeanie and the baby, the children spoke and said it was as if their Dad was with them for they felt his presence in their midst. The promise of God is not the removal of all our trials and tribulations. The promise of God is never to leave us or forsake us. It is a promise that became real in the presence of Jesus at his birth in Bethlehem. It is a Promise that can be real for us each and every day. Do you need to feel that presence today? A strange thing happened on the ship that Christmas Eve. Frank, although thousands of miles away from the Gallowgate in Glasgow, felt very close to home, to his wife and children and to God. Even on the deck of a destroyer, he was able to feel love and peace. It is amazing how the birth of a child can draw a family together. It is amazing how the birth of a child can draw the whole world together. Daily Services at the Cathedral Daily Offices: Holy Eucharist during the week: December 24-25, 2011 Christ Church Cathedral, 930 Burdett Ave., Victoria, BC 250-383-2714 ([email protected]) Monday: Matins: 8:45 am, Eve. Prayer: 5:15 pm Tuesday: Matins: 8:45 am, Eve. Prayer: 5:15 pm Wednesday: School Chapel: 9:30 am (not on December 28) Thursday: Eve. Prayer at West Doors: 5:15 pm Friday: Matins: 8:45 am Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 12:15 pm Thursday (breakfast to follow In Chapter Room): 7:30 am Friday: 5:15 pm Saturday: 8:45 am On behalf of the Clergy and Staff A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year! Sunday, January 1 , 2012 THE NAMING OF JESUS 8:00 am HOLY EUCHARIST Presider: The Rev. Canon Susanne M. House 9:15 am SERVICE Presider: The Very Rev. Dr. Logan McMenamie Preacher: Lt (N) The Rev. Jeannine Friesen 11:00 am HOLY EUCHARIST Presider The Very Rev. Dr. Logan McMenamie Preacher: Lt (N) The Rev. Jeannine Friesen 4:30pm CHORAL EVENSONG Presider: The Rev. Sel Caradus Flowers in the St. Christopher’s Chapel are to the Glory of God, and in loving memory of my parents, Marie and George, and my brother Noel.
