Christmas Presence

It’s the end of the semester.   Yesterday I turned in grades, tomorrow I switch roles and take a final–  I’ve been in education my whole life.   My world revolves around knowing things.   And figuring out how to know more things more quickly and remembering facts that I’ve almost forgotten.   Well the wise men knew a few things–  they knew how to decode the gossip the stars whisper on cold nights  when the constellations huddle together and make fun of humans  the wise men knew how to sift heaven’s riverways  to gather the lights of the galaxies in a bowl  and pan out the gold of the future prospects of kingdoms  the wise men knew how to ride  across swaths of sand that looked like seas  urging their mounts on with their  aching knees  eyes locked on horizon lines that swam and dived in the sinking sun  they knew how to sleep in the deep freeze of the desert  how to find water in the driest places ...

A standard feature of Christmas Presence performances is people wanting to track down their favourite pieces after the show, or to follow up with the musicians they've heard. Because we make up our set list new every night, there's no program listing or anything like that, so unless you catch somebody after the show, these remarkable pieces and artists can easily slip by. So we've taken to posting our set lists after the show. Here are links to the specific posts for various dates right here (between Garrison Keillor and Annie Dillard, below).   2024 sun, dec 15 mon dec 16 tue, dec 17 2013 sun, dec 8 wed, dec 11 thu, dec 12 fri, dec 13 sat, dec 14 | all-request matinee sat, dec 14 | eve sun, dec 15 | north shore wed, dec 18 thu, dec 19 fri, dec 20 sat, dec 21 | matinee sat, dec 21 | eve sun, dec 22 - valley "And you ought to have seen all the things that was in that wagon. Apples 'n' real oranges y'know, and stripe-itty candy, and nuts. And mama, she was ho...

Charles Dickens, Humbug The Angel Gabriel  Charles Dickens, Are There No Prisons? God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen | Michael Judy Graves, God's Christmas Party Take Me To The Alley | Vania Michelle Ochitwa, Angling | Cassie We Three Kings | Mark + The Wise Men | Sean JRR Tolkien, Noel Christ Child's Lullaby | Michael David Kossoff, Seth Go Tell It | Garth Keaton Patti, Hallmark Christmas Movie Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas | Vania David Sedaris, Macy's Christmas Elf Santa Claus Is Coming To Town | Mark Mike Mason , Chester Alleluia | Garth MehGyver, Thanks Everyone | Shona Jesus Loves Me | Mark + Sean Gayle Boss, Christmas Day (from All Creation Waits) | Cassie Candle | Michael Charles Dickens, Ever Afterwards O Holy Night | Vania Musicians: Vania Levans Garth Bowen Michael Hart Mark Glanville , piano Rick Colhoun, drums Ben Appenheimer, bass Chris Hawley, drums Readings by Ron Reed except where credited above to Cassie Unger, Sean Beckett, and Shona Struthers AND ON ...

Grim was the world and grey last night: The moon and stars were fled, The hall was dark without song or light, The fires were fallen dead. The wind in the trees was like to the sea, And over the mountains’ teeth It whistled bitter-cold and free, As a sword leapt from its sheath. The lord of snows upreared his head; His mantle long and pale Upon the bitter blast was spread And hung o’er hill and dale. The world was blind, the boughs were bent, All ways and paths were wild: Then the veil of cloud apart was rent, And here was born a Child. The ancient dome of heaven sheer Was pricked with distant light; A star came shining white and clear Alone above the night. In the dale of dark in that hour of birth One voice on a sudden sang: Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth Together at midnight rang. Mary sang in this world below: They heard her song arise O’er mist and over mountain snow To the walls of Paradise, And the tongue of many bells was stirred in Heaven’s towers to ring When the voic...

Every Sunday evening we would gather in the shabby little chapel at First United Church on the corner of Hastings and Gore.  There would be about 10 of us sitting on stackable chairs, in a circle. The people who attended were, perhaps, the poorest and most broken people in Vancouver. I came every week to bring my friend Flo. Flo suffered from a kind of schizophrenia that caused her to believe she was God. We always had to start our worship with hymns and prayers of praise, because if Flo didn't get praise up front, all hell would break out.  Usually, our Community Minister would lead the service. But sometimes a wonderful elderly pastor from the rural prairies would come to Vancouver, and he would spend his Sunday evenings leading our little group. One Christmas he told us this story. God decided to throw a Christmas Party for all his children. He created a huge room. In the corner of the room God cause the tallest tree to grow, and covered it with beautiful decorations. God c...

As Scrooge's nephew went out,  he let two other people in.  They were portly gentlemen, pleasant to behold.  “Scrooge and Marley's, I believe.  Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr Scrooge,  or Mr Marley?” “Mr Marley has been dead these seven years.  He died seven years ago this very night.” “We have no doubt his liberality  is well represented by his surviving partner.” It certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits.  “At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge,  it is more than usually desirable that we should make  some slight provision for the Poor and destitute,  who suffer greatly at the present time.  Many thousands are in want of common necessaries;  hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.” “Are there no prisons?” “Plenty of prisons.”  “And the Union workhouses? Are they still in operation?” “They are. Still.  I wish I could say they were not.” “The Treadmill and the Poor L...

Quartet | The Truth From Above  Ron |   God In The Doorway , Annie Dillard      from First Christmas: An Entertainment (1984) Garth | Alleluia Nelson | O Tannenbaum (" Jazz Daredevil " edition) Ron | Charlie Brown's Inside Job, Caitlin Flanagan ( linus & jerry ) Taylor | Put The Lights On The Tree Ron | Christmas Drinks Party, William Nicholson (from Shadowlands) Quartet | Halsway Carol Jennie | A Peek Into My Christmas Garth | Hello Christmas Nelson  | We Three Kings Ron | Southern Magi Quartet | The Twelve Days After Christmas Ron | Chester , Mike Mason Taylor | That Was The Worst Christmas Ever Nelson  | Revelers , Lynn Unger Garth | God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen Ron | Birth Nelson | Huron Carol Ron | Angels Taylor | I Wonder As I Wander Ron | A Child's Christmas in Wales, Dylan Thomas Robyn Klassen | O Holy Night * Readings by Ron Reed, Jennie George, Nelson Boschman Quartet | Robyn and Courtney Klassen, Kira Fondse, Kurtis and Katie...

1. ANNUNCIATION God spoke.                                 My own true love.      My chosen.      My handmaid       has silence in her soul, untrammeled love.        A time to be born. Sudden dive by dream into reality.                          I felt soft inward flutterings,                                    the Life       trembling through.         Love blooms,  bright  and wild.                              Veiled in flesh, Jesus begs to be born,                                ...

Call it a spare time - dark afternoons and the bones of trees rattling against the sky. We could use more hope, or reason for hope. The sea is rising, and bombs are planted  in the marketplace. It might be better to just go to bed.  It might be better to turn out the lights and wait  for the end to come. The only other choice is to dance. That and to sing  sturdy songs that have held up  across the winters, drink wine the red of blood  that has not been shed, feast, tell tales of heroes who  strode or stumbled through  their own bleak times. When in doubt, revel in the darkness.  Each act of celebration is a spark.  Gathered together they call back the sun.

December 21, 1999, and I’m upstairs in my office working on a book about joy. Already it’s dark out and snow thick as a test pattern flows past the window. Suddenly I hear voices downstairs—loud voices. My wife’s, and a man’s. I try to ignore them, until Karen calls up the stairs, “Mike, come and meet someone wonderful!” I’m not in the mood to meet someone wonderful. Truth to tell, I seldom am. “Honey,” I call back, “I’m working.” Honey is what I always call Karen when I’m annoyed. “Too bad,” she replies—a favorite phrase of hers. “You won’t want to miss this.” With a groan, I rise from my chair and trudge downstairs. In the living room, beside our Christmas tree, stands a tall, lean old man clad in a bedraggled Santa suit. He looks very, very old and his long, straggly beard is the real thing. Not only is this fellow lean, but he leans to one side as if into a wind, or as if unable to support his full height. Even so, he’s taller than the tree. His red suit is both too big and too sma...

I spent 25 Christmases in Bangalore, India. Early on in the month, on a cold December morning (and by cold I mean 18 degrees), my sisters and I would wake up excited to decorate the house. Our tradition demanded that the 1963 Jim Reeves cassette ’12 Songs of Christmas’ be played on an old cassette player. I’m not sure why we didn’t use a CD, or just play it off of YouTube, but bringing out the cassette player and the cassette was just as important as bringing out the tree and its trinkets. As his gentle, rich baritone filled our living room, my sisters and I would dance around, using the tinsel as fancy scarves, and baubles as sparkly jewelry. Cotton balls were gently pulled apart and fluffed so we could pretend our living room had just encountered the first snowfall. Our tiny 3 foot tree had to be beautifully trimmed, and placed upon an ornate wooden ottoman, delicate tree skirt in tow. Under the tree, in front of the ottoman was a rustic little nativity scene, which had to be carefu...

Elliott Klassen (Linus) and Jerry Granelli, 2019 Courtney and Robyn Klassen sang at Christmas Present tonight - if you were there, you won't forget Robyn's O Holy Night that closed the show. Well, they were really paying attention to the Flanagan reading about the Charlie Brown Christmas Special. After the show I found out why. Some years ago, their son Elliott played none other than Linus in a very special stage production of the Charlie Brown Christmas show. The production featured Vancouver-area school children and the accompaniment of a top jazz combo led by Jerry Granelli - the drummer from the original Vince Guaraldi Trio that recorded the music for A Charlie Brown Christmas! 

The Truth From Above | The Prairie Trio + Emmanuel, by Frederick Buechner & Madeleine L'Engle | Ron, Allen, Cassie, Shona Little Town | Allen  Seven Principles For A Successful Christmas , by Frederick Buechner Christ Child Lullaby | Michael Snow Angel , by Tom Carson Let the Cold Wind Blow | Allen  Love To Keep Me Warm | Prairie Trio + The True Meaning of Christmas, by Garrison Keillor Candle | Michael  Don't Be Afraid, Mary. by Frederick Buechner O Day of Peace | Prairie Trio + Somethin's Brewin' in Gainesville | Allen, Spencer, Ron, Becca Cotton Patch Nativity, by Tom Key The Angel Gabriel | Michael  Thanks Everyone, by MehGyver | Shona  O Come O Come Emmanuel | Prairie Trio + Seth , by David Kossoff (afternoon) / Joseph's Lullabye, by Ron Klug (evening) Welcome To Your World, Allen  All Creation Waits, by Gayle Boss | Cassie  Wexford Carol | Prairie Trio + Feast Days , by Annie Dillard Silent Night | Michael + everyone * Musicians Allen Desno...

My father and my grandfather were shepherds. It is a thing that runs in families. My sons own their own farms and their own sheep, but that is progress. I always looked after other people's sheep. That was not unusual when I was younger. We were looked down on, I suppose, for often we had to work every day, ignoring the sabbath, and with so many priests among the people, we were often told we were breaking the law. Though where the priests would have got their perfect lambs for sacrifice without us I don't know. They could be very rude the priests especially the young silly ones. It's the same today, and not just with priests: people speak before they think. That's one good thing about looking after sheep: you get into the habit of keeping quiet. If you have to use words, you take your time to get them right. Words are important.  People often tell me that mine was a dull life. Well, maybe. I like to watch the night sky, the moon and the stars. Once I saw, at night, a s...

  Christmas is not just Mr. Pickwick dancing a reel with the old lady at Dingley Dell or Scrooge waking up the next morning a changed man.     It is not just the spirit of giving abroad in the land with a white beard and reindeer.    It is not just the most famous birthday of them all    and not just the annual reaffirmation of Peace on Earth that it is often reduced to so that people of many faiths or no faith can exchange Christmas cards without a qualm.    On the contrary, if you do not hear in the message of Christmas something that must strike some as blasphemy and others as sheer fantasy, the chances are you have not heard the message for what it is.   Emmanuel is the message in a nutshell.    Emmanuel, which is Hebrew for "God with us."    That's where the problem lies.   God is "the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity," says the prophet Isaiah.    When a person looks up at the stars and pon...