A Vision of Christmas
This story was sent to us from Jacqueline Neun who relocated to Powell River in March 2020 to be closer to her family after receiving a diagnosis of Stage 4 Cancer.
She attended her first PRUC Worship Service on March 15th, 2020, which was the last service we had before everything closed down due to Covid.
In this story, originally written and published in Contact Newsletter, for Port Hope United Church of Ontario, Jacqueline fondly recounts a very special Christmas in 1987 during her second term in Zambia with her late Husband Ron Neun, and her United Church family in Zambia Africa.
Christmas in Zambia
No stores decked out in Christmas trees and decorations in mid-October… or even in December. No rush to send out last minute cards or mail packages; no Santas in the streets. No hype to buy, buy, buy! No crowds pushing and shoving, looking for things people don’t really need. No snow or heavy boots, hats, gloves, scarves or weighty coats. No icy streets that cause you to fall; no frosty air so cold that your forehead hurts and your nostrils are dry with every breath you take.
Instead, imagine attending a beautiful one-hour service each evening at 5 pm during the week before Christmas Day. Just imagine a congregation where one person or another quietly begins to sing a Christmas hymn and the others join in, without benefit of organ, piano, choir, or even a hymnbook. The service is completed with prayers, more carols, Bible readings, and a short homily from the Minister or one of the Elders.
Of course, on Christmas Day itself, no one would dream of not attending church. On this special and holy day the churches are more than over-flowing as the children are also present. Across the aisle from us sits a woman, baby on back and four other children, all in a space meant for one!
It is also considered a “family” day so the service is kept short to 40 to 50 minutes, rather than the usual two or more hours, and then the “drama” begins. The play commences with Old Testament prophesies and carries through to Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus fleeing into Egypt.
It is well done and we will never see the likes of it again! Little boys play the parts of the sheep, crawling up the entire length of the church, and bleating as they go. Herod has far more lines than can be found in the New Testament but is a marvellous actor. A star is attached to a wire, running the length of the huge church; it moves ahead of the wise men, guiding them to Jesus.
As we leave the church, row by row, singing joyously as we go, each person is given a roll of “sweets” (fruit life-savers). For the majority of the congregation, this is the only gift of monetary value they will receive.
Oh that we could catch a vision of the peace, love, and joy that the Christians in Zambia share with each other!
