The Christmas church hopper strikes again

It has been a few years since I was free to roam on Christmas Eve. The thrill has not waned, and I am happy to report that this year, some disappointments have waned.

My wife and I attended three services; two on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas morning. All three with organ, naturally. Two with choirs. And a bishop in a pear tree. We sang and sang, and we heard choirs and organ voluntaries and about 1.25 good sermons out of 3. No one played "The Chord," if you know what I mean.

I have blogged before about the magic of Christmas for me when I spend half of it in church. That's just my thing. Suit, tie, cold weather, people everywhere -- it just thrills this heart of mine. My hat is off to the musicians who work and work to pull it off each year. I miss the Christmas madness that occurred on my own organ bench each year. Depending on the church, I used to play between two and five services each Christmas Eve and Day, but no more. (I divide my time between two states each year and am unable to serve a congregation regularly anymore. In case you wondered.)

Only because it's on my mind and because it's part of me and this is my blog: The ubiquitous screens just don't do it for me and probably never will. I am dumbfounded by the useless information on them, and I am equally dumbfounded by the sudden lack of information on them when it's time to sing. The movie clips from Elf to illustrate heavenly concepts during the sermon don't do it for me and definitely never will. The regular organist handing off Christmas Day to someone else doesn't do it for me -- unless they're handing it to me, which I'm glad to have.

But, hey, the magic is still there, and I have been refreshed this year with some much-needed forays into three other worshipping circles, none of which I had previously encountered at Christmastime. As of this writing, Christmas Day 2024 is sixteen hours old, and so I hope yours was grand and that you have discovered some magic along the way, too.