If you are around long enough, you will always get one, and the village of Grand Valley has been around more than long enough to have earned a considerable one. Once you get it, it is often hard to shake. It sticks like epoxy to a broken hoe and hardens like Cambrian rock once the glue dries. Most folks simply call it a reputation and it is as visible as a multi-coloured tattoo on your bicep and as permanent as a bronze plaque in a rural church sanctuary.

I couldn't believe it was happening. Oh, how I wish I could turn back the clock. It was Maundy Thursday — it was indeed the last supper that I would have with my husband.

During the restless rule of Emperor Tiberius, a Jewish Nazarene by the name of Yeshua bar-Joseph began teaching and preaching in Palestine. He was but one of many whose messages were variously political and religious, challenging the depth of people's faith as well as prophesying the end of the Roman empire under whose yoke they laboured.

What is an innovative Presbyterian? This is what we were looking to find out when the good people at PIM decided to hold a synod-wide conference.

In Presbyterian communities, a 50th birthday celebration is not a sign of old age — in some congregations the recipients of such well wishes still constitute the “young people!” Likewise, when the British Columbia Presbyterian Extension Fund celebrates its 50th birthday this month, it will be doing so thinking of itself as a young organization more concerned with its strong future than its past acts.

Evangel Hall, a ministry of The Presbyterian Church in Canada since its inception in 1913, opened its new building in February. The $13-million six-storey facility in downtown Toronto includes 84 low-income housing units, as well as a medical clinic, commercial kitchen, counselling space, thrift store and a chapel. Between 50 and 200 people drop in for meals daily, with more attending special events and outings, addiction support groups and numerous outreach programs. The 130 residents are encouraged to get to know their neighbours, making the building a safe place to live. The building was funded by the federal government, the city of Toronto, the province, the PCC and individual donors.

“Angels we have heard on high / Sweetly singin' o'er the plains.”

130 years ago:

In July 1959, some friends and I decided to form a folk song circle to further interest in traditional folk music from different countries. We welcomed anyone who wished to sing, play or listen. It was a great success. Soon our house became too small and we moved into a local hall where we met every first and third Wednesday of the month. Performers usually were limited to three or four songs as closing time came quickly. Forty-six years on we are still meeting.

It keeps changing as I hear new ones, though I nearly always return to the old ones. But perhaps I return most often to Mary MacDonald's Child In The Manger:

I saw Jesus in Georgetown today. Yes!

No, we don't need no manger

Christmas Eve In the dark the streets are silent, Tumult in the city has ceased. In the light the snow is drifting, But no mortal […]

We are fighting for our rights as grannies,” says Magdeline Ramakobo of Alexandra, South Africa, shouting to be heard over the roar of grandmothers' voices filling the streets of Toronto. “We have to be recognised. We are so tired of not being taken like people.”

From the bairn in the byre

The new Evangel Hall building does more than offer shelter for Toronto's less fortunate. It offers safety, respect and a place to call home. At the grand opening celebration on October 19, those gathered listened to Khatija Tammi, a woman with two young children who fled her abusive husband. She told the crowd that being homeless was the most difficult for her eight-year-old son, Shawn.

Never heard a Christmas carol I didn't like. If they're played all day long from November 1 to December 25, that's fine with me. When else are you going to hear those beautiful old songs that speak profoundly of Jesus' birth? After December 25 that's it — no more carols until next year, except maybe for one or two that carry on until Epiphany.

My favourite thing about Christmas is singing Christmas hymns! I love so many of them that it's hard to pick a favourite.

They begin playing on the radio earlier every year — those old familiar sounds alerting us to the oncoming season filled with joy, hope, family and friends. There are so many favourites, how to choose just one … Joy To The World brings fond memories as it has always been the last hymn sung by candlelight on Christmas Eve before we head home, visiting friends and family along the way. But I think O Holy Night is my favorite. “The stars are brightly shining” triggers memories of starlit walks on frosty snow, thinking about how these same stars are shining over loved ones near or far on this very night and how they once shone over the baby in Bethlehem. “It is the night of our dear Savior's birth” — that God loved us enough to send His only Son into this world as an infant — “A new and glorious morn” — that Jesus is still being born into people's hearts around the world on this very night, that there is still so much hope in such a dark world. It all brings tears to my eyes with a hope that many will come to believe through the message of song during this special time of the year.

Christmas is an emotional time. And depending on what has been going on in my life over the year, it is experienced accordingly. Who is around? Who is no longer around? What has been gained? What has been lost? Christmas is a time where the weight and the release of life's fullness is absorbed and processed for me.