My girlfriend Lori and I were driving home from dinner out with her daughter last night, when she asked to see some of the Christmas lights on the houses. This is a small Vermont village, and there was snow and streets lit only by candles in paperbags. Very pretty.
We also have in this town a remarkably beautiful stone church with vaulted ceilings,exposed beamwork, etc. Quite beautiful, and often the site of concerts I've attended. She asked me to find it. She's lived in the area for 20 years, but didn't know any of the back streets. Being a former JW pioneer, I knew every street and every house, and quickly drove to the church. I was thinking they would be having Christmas Eve Mass (Episcopalian), so I said, "Let's go in and see it."
Having been raised Catholic, Lori recognized everything. Being a lifelong JW, this was my first experience of the sort. There was a moment, when everyone held a lit candle, there was a harp and cello playing, and the church lights were all turned out, when it was quite nice. The congregation reading back to the priests and others during this scripted ceremony felt a lot cultic.
Anyway, Lori hates religion more than I do, and said she hoped I wasn't going to suddenly become religious again. No danger there, just an interesting experience for a former lifelong JW.
How did you spend Christmas Eve?
S4