A Warm Christmas Day

My Christmas was bittersweet. I went to mass on Christmas eve with a co-worker at a small Catholic chapel here in Macha. We were a small crowd, 24 by the end including children. My friend Carol with her strong voice led the singing and rejoicing abounded. Afterwards we walked home in the dark silent night.

Christmas morning four of us gathered at the Books' house for breakfast before church. Then I headed off to Lupata BIC church a 30 minute walk away. It was a pleasant sunny day and all was quiet except for the birds. There was a bit of water in the river, but I easily crossed on carefully places bricks and rocks. The service was to start at 10. When I arrived at 10:30 there were less than a dozen people gathered. My friend Priscilla was there so we visited until the service finally started around 12. I was asked to give the opening prayer which was a first. Few people there speak English, so not so sure many understood. The young lay pastor (one of the youth of the church) decided to change the order of service and he preached first before the music. He spoke mostly in Tonga, but that was okay. Later there was music and skits by the young adults and middle schoolers. The young adults perform throughout the year, with a great choir. Church activities are about the only healthy outlet for young people who have finished high school but are not yet settled into family life. The middle schoolers though perform less often since school takes up most of their time. They are mentored by some of the young adults and it was fun to watch some of their enthusiastic but less perfected dance performances and skits. The young adults did the main Christmas story skit which was a series of scenes beginning with the angel speaking to Zachariah. They did a couple subtle things which I think made quite a statement. First the young men wore pink dress shirts while the women wore blue polo shirts for their choral outfits. During the skit, the angel was played by a young man. King Herod's two advisors were women and his two servants (who constantly fanned him and his advisors) were men. Lastly, the three wise men were three wise women. This was not due to a shortage of men, there are actually more young men in the group than women. I just think it was the youth trying to make a few statements. I was most impressed.

After all the performances we all got in line to receive salt. It is a BIC tradition (at least in Zambia) to give salt away at Christmas to remind us all that we are the salt of the earth. Then it was time for the feast. I went out back to sit in the shade with the women who had been cooking all morning and now would serve us all. We had chicken and nshima. The adults were served in the church and the children out back where I was. The chairman tried to get me to go inside with the adults, but I much preferred outside in the shade with the breeze blowing across the plain and the blue sky speckled with white clouds as my backdrop. After eating I helped the pastor's wife serve cake and coke to everyone. She had returned from RN school the day before and spent most of the night baking cakes to surprise everyone.

All and all it was a most pleasant and relaxing day. I walked home with a strong sense of gratitude in my heart for having spent the day in a meaningful way worshiping, feasting and sharing in a community of people. This sense of love and belonging prepared me for the shocking news that came to me that night via e-mail that my friend Rosemary Allen had died unexpectedly a few days before. She had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and was undergoing treatment, but she was strong physically and mentally/spiritually when due to her suppressed immune system she contracted a rare infection in the colon. She went to the ER on Friday and died in ICU on Saturday night. Her husband, son, daughter and other family were at her bedside singing songs. Rosemary was a strong, vibrant, justice seeking woman who will be missed dearly. We had been in contact recently and were planning to do a hike together when I return to the States later this year. Now I will have to do that hike in her memory.