After a hectic day of touring San Francisco, a last-minute visit to the doctor (everything turned out copacetic), and a family gathering at a local restaurant, we went home to change. We tucked, pushed, and squeezed into our coats, ties, non-denim pants, and dresses.
The weather outside was frightful, and attendance at the "midnight" (actually 10:30) mass was down from last year. The choir began singing at 10 PM, and we listened quietly to the familiar carols. The atmosphere was more contemplative than joyous. The church seemed to be a haven from the storms outside and the tumult of a stress-filled year. A handful of happy teens showed up, brightening our spirits and inviting hope that the Episcopal church will survive for at least one more generation.
Kneeling to the strains of Silent Night, we lit our candles, symbolic of that evening two millenia ago when the Light came into the world and told us that Darkness is not our ultimate fate. Gloria in Excelsis Deo.
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