As I go for my walks each day, it is becoming more and more apparent that the Christmas season, at least for many people, is over…. over just as soon as the presents are opened and the last of the dishes from the Christmas feast are stacked in the dishwasher.
At least that’s the conclusion one gets from seeing the number of Christmas trees placed out on the curb for a collection that is far off in the future.
But according to the Christian church year, we are still in the midst of the Christmas season, a season which started on Dec. 25th and extends to Jan. 5, the twelve days of Christmas.
And so, as a New Year dawns, we are reminded that the church year starts in September, and despite some of the mangled interpretations of a popular song, we indeed are still celebrating Christmas, and will do so for several more days.
Pulpit supply
There have been several pieces of communication recently concerning interim ministry, the search process and the desire of Rev. John Duff to ease back from his responsibilities at Knox. When John was first approached about taking on the interim ministry role at Knox, his contract was for the period from Sept. 1 to Jan. 31, but for the month of January, he will be sharing some of his responsibilities with the Rev. Bob Docherty, retired from St. John’s, Grimsby who will assume pastoral care responsibilities in January while John continues to preach on Sundays.
But saying that, John will not be in the pulpit to start the New Year as he is on vacation, and so for this date we will have as our guest minister, the Rev. Willard Pottinger, who served at Val d'Or, Montreal, Ottawa, and St. Paul's, Hamilton, before retiring from full-time ministry work. In an online bio, he notes that he alternated between teaching and ministry several times to preserve his sanity, teaching English and French at several schools in Ontario, as well as at Zhenjiang, China. Now an avid curler, you can also spot him on a bicycle as he rides around Hamilton Bay twice each week.
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