A COVID Christmas at St. James Anglican

Submitted by Dana Bachman

Christmas will definitely be different this year. On November 28 the Santa Day committee was still able to come up with a way to create some holiday magic for children -- a drive by Santa! Children can still submit letters to Santa at the library and volunteers from our local post office will write responses. Are you longing for the candle lit Christmas Eve service? Or have you and your family attended the Bethlehem Live Christmas Eve service at St. James, complete with sheep, donkeys and the traditional Christmas pageant? Unfortunately those will not be happening this year, but there are still opportunities for you and your family to experience the message of hope and rebirth at Christmas. And we could all use a little hope right about now. 

St. James Anglican church will be offering a Service of Holy Eucharist on Christmas Eve at 4:30 pm. Pre registration is necessary. We can have a maximum of 40 people. Masks must be worn and social distancing of 6 feet is observed. Hand sanitizer is used before and after the service. Call the church office 705-887-2537 and leave a message to register. 

Two other opportunities are available at St. James. In front of the church located at 7 Bond St. E., is a manger scene which is illuminated at night. Drive by and explain to your kids why sheep, why there is an angel and why the manger is empty until December 25th. While in the vehicle, sing some of those old carols with your kids "Away in a Manger" or "We three Kings of Orient Are". Also inside St. James we have a beautiful detailed creche scene laid out by one of our parishioners, Peter Mancini. There are hundreds of pieces, some from Peter's Italian heritage. Take your children to look at the little vignettes. Fun fact, Peter has hidden (in plain view) several tiny cats in the display. Be sure to look for those! Our church is open on Sundays from 10:30am to 12:30pm. We welcome you to spend some time in quiet reflection.