The Calm Before the Storm

The Church was decorated yesterday morning and everything is pretty well in place for Midnight Mass tonight.

The Nativity Scene characters are all in place but the bambino is not in the manger. He's hiding on the window sill near an electric cable from where he'll be collected during the opening hymn and placed in the crib.

One of my colleagues and I will take the two services in different places (Penicuik and West Linton) tonight at 11:30 pm and will switch churches on Christmas morning for what are usually rather cozy and informal services in both churches.

The list of parishoners who will want Holy Communion brought to them over Christmas is about a third done. I managed to get to a couple of nursing homes yesterday. We've eight or nine parishoners on this year's 'shut in' list who suffer from some degree of immobility or dementia who will need to be visited this Christmas.