Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year – my favorite holiday. The only stressors involved with Thanksgiving are whether the turkey will be juicy, whether some relative will say something to upset another relative, and whether State Fair Spirits is open for another bottle of wine in case those things go south.
Christmas, though, is another story. Stressors abound. Did I buy the right present for my now-teenage great-niece? Will Max send his nieces’ gift cards on time? Is Emily going to be able to come home? Will the tree be dry and flammable by the time the big day rolls around? Can I guiltlessly throw away some of the decorations I no longer use? And how do some of my friends give me perfectly wrapped gifts on December 5 when I haven’t even begun to think about shopping?
Yes, Christmas anxiety abounds in this house.
But I find solace in one thing. Music.
From the time I was a little tyke, my mother turned up the sound – to loud – on the Western Auto cabinet stereo that played one vinyl album at a time, and we listened to Christmas music all day, every day as we prepared for December 25. All the time my mother slaved in the kitchen making German fruit bread – Stollen – and spiced tea mix, Bing Crosby, Mario Lanza, Perry Como and other musical artists would sing Christmas carols over and over, so that by the time I was 10, I knew most of the verses to most of the songs.
By the time I was in high school, I hadn’t met a Christmas carol I didn’t like or could play almost from memory. And when Mr. Oliver directed the Thayer High School choir singing “Still, Still, Still,” I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
Music gets me through.
And music is probably the reason, though I cannot adequately express the amount of anxiety I suffer in anticipation, that I actually look forward to the third and fourth Sundays in Advent. The third Sunday in advent is Broadway Presbyterian’s traditional Vespers service, and the fourth Sunday is when the choir presents its annual cantata.
This Sunday, at 4 p.m. at Broadway Presbyterian, you will be able to experience not only beautiful, but also meaningful music as we celebrate “Christmas on Broadway – a Vespers Service.” This is the fourth year that I have been essentially in charge of putting the program together, an overwhelming responsibility, and each year, I have tried to find a theme that will touch each person’s heart. This year, that theme is “Gifts.”
Christmas, you see, is really about a gift. We don’t necessarily think about it in those terms, other than to sweat over buying enough – and the right – presents for everyone, but really, the whole Christmas story is about gifts, given to ordinary people like you and me.
Mary receives a gift, the shepherds do, the Magi bring valuable gifts to a baby, and humankind is given a gift that we cannot possibly comprehend. All of these gifts are beautifully translated into words and music.
The children’s choir from Amigos de Christos will be presenting their gifts to the congregation, as will Broadway’s spectacular choir, some special guest artists, and our dynamic duo, Mark Piepenbrink on the pipe organ and Katie Dake on the piano. I have even convinced excellent pianist Sandy Larson to play a piano duet with me, and One Track Train will play, as usual, music that everyone will love.
But we will be presenting another special gift: “Esther’s Gift,” a story from Jan Karon’s Mitford series, enacted by the inimitable Lucy Lemke Clark and Chris Clark, with radio sound effects by Aaron Hughes, a teenager who always says “yes” when asked to contribute to a service, and Mary Lee McGuire as the omniscient narrator.
Vespers is Broadway’s gift to the community. This year, “Christmas on Broadway” will be quiet and contemplative, as we think about what we all have received and given. I hope you will find time in your Sunday to come to Broadway, receive our gift to you, and share cookies and punch afterward with those to whom music is a gift.
Merry Christmas.
