What would Christmas Eve be without a brightly lit church, festooned with decorous decorations, from plants and paraments to icons and images of the divine babe and the holy family?
Bringing order and beauty to a nave from the chaos of a storage closet is an annual ritual for volunteer church decorators, such as the dozen good souls found Monday morning at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Perry.
After unearthing the stored goods from the bowels of the catacombs — actually, just the basement — the volunteers place the poinsettias and erected the Christmas trees, working joyfully in company with the Rev. Luis Mejia.
Across the street at the First Baptist Church, Perry’s oldest congregation, a shining creche blazed forth the birth of the stable genius, Christ the King.
Thanks, Jim. Wonderful Christmas essay. Merry Christmas to you!