Christmas Merriment

Last night I arrived in the Chapel around 10:15 and the place was already full.  I don't know the attendance figures, but the place comfortably seats around 50 and I would guess there were probably 80 or 90 people there.  There were still a few seats available but not many.

Music started at 10:30.  They had a harp, some flutes, some light percussion instruments and maybe a guitar (along with the organ).  It was a nice way to fill the space while we waited and meditated.  All the guests were there and a fair number of people from the local community... a few had traveled some distance to go to the monastery for Christmas Eve worship.

The service was an enhanced Eucharist with all the bells and whistles you'd expect on Christmas Eve.  The hymns were glorious.  It appears that many of the people who visit a monastery are singers.

Afterward, we all retired to Pilgrim Hall for the "Christmas Merriment" portion (started around Midnight... I left around 1:00 AM).  There we had Eggnog with Rum, Hot Spiced Cider, any kind of hors d'oeuvres you can imagine... cheese stations, Italian-style anti pasta, shrimp, some sort of Spanish almonds that were incredible and I'm sure I probably missed some things (as you can see it was a bit tight in there and hard to move around). 

It was interesting talking to some of my fellow travelers... what brings a person to a monastery for Christmas?  The answers varied... some were no longer connected to family, some were seekers, others couldn't get into offerings by the institutional church, and a few had been doing this for years.

There were two clear differences from a typical Christmas eve at a local church.  First there was a lack of children.  There were a couple who showed up to help trim the tree and one or two families at the midnight service, but by and large this was an adult event.  The second was the sense of community.  The brothers went out of their way to ensure everyone felt welcome... I was watching a few of them reach out to a few of the people who didn't seem connected to the place.  Even at Midnight after a whole day's worth of activities they took the effort to ensure people didn't stand alone for too long.  I don't remember exactly, but think that's one of Benedict's rules and it was nice to see they lived it.

I can tell you the Eggnog with Rum was incredible... and I ate too many of the Spanish almonds.  I'm sorry if the photo above isn't the clearest one I've ever captured.  ;)