Christmas Dinners....

Wed

Sarah practicing with John

The morning prep was hectic! People in and out and then it was 12:30 and One2Four guests began to arrive. The meal went very well! They were happy with everything and most of them took two or three desserts!

Tables are ready!

Some of our Bible Study ladies
Jen and Richie standing

I gave the Epilogue or devotional thought. I shared about Christmas excess in shopping and busyness  and in the hope of Christmas in Jesus. It was well received; two pastors were especially complimentary.  I used the Four Candles story that Deirdre had shared a few weeks ago in our staff prayer time.

Twin sisters at this table

The Four Candles

 The Four Candles burned slowly. Their ambience was so soft you could hardly hear them speak.

 The First Candle said, “I am Peace, but these days no one wants to keep me lit.”

 The Second Candle says, “I am Faith, but these days I am no longer indispensable.” then Faith’s flame slowly diminishes and gout out completely.

 Sadly the Third Candle spoke, I am Love and I haven’t the strength to stay lit any longer. People put me aside and don’t understand my importance.

 They even forget to love those who are nearest to them.”

And waiting no longer, Love goes out completely. Suddenly….

 A child enters the room and sees the three candles no longer burning. The child begins to cry, “Why are you not burning? You are supposed to stay lit until the end.”

 Then the Fourth Candle spoke gently to the small child, “Don’t be afraid for I am Hope and while I still burn, we can re-light the other candles.” With shining eyes the child took the Candle of Hope and lit the other three candles.

Never let the Flames of Hope go out of your life. With Hope, no matter how bad things are or appear to be...Peace, Faith and Love can shine brightly in our lives.

While I was speaking, I heard the doorbell ring. Later I saw Tommy, a 91 year old fellow. I was told that he had a heart attack on Tuesday and was just released from the hospital. He asked to be taken to Murlough House for the One2Four before they took him home.  He wanted to see his friends!

After everyone left and the dishes were finished, we kind of collapsed. We had served 57 people including staff. It was an excellent turnout and they really seemed to enjoy being at Murlough House. Irene commented that the house was so beautiful; they don’t decorate at the Oasis.

In the evening Alasdair and Sarah were trying to get a decent rate for a trip to York for Sarah to meet Al’s parents. There didn’t seem to be a direct route. They were having to check and coordinate schedules between airlines, train routes, bus routes and considering a rental car. They worked on that for a few hours. Deirdre and I kept them company for a while, then retreated to the flat.

Thursday

Deirdre and I went to Round a Pound early. I needed gift wrap and also bought some crackers and a “special” kind of candy….Turkish Delight! (Narnia!) Upon our return, we began to prepare for the thirty guests expected for the Christmas Dinner tonight! This would be a much more formal event than the One2Four and a fuller menu.

The new cutlery and serving items would be used. And the salt and peppers that were shorted on the order arrived today. That meant I filled another seven sets with salt and white pepper….ah choo choo!! Sarah and I set the tables with soup spoons, desserts spoons, forks, knives, butter knives. The Gideons had brought the centerpieces yesterday so we added tea lights on both sides. They wanted the dinner to be candlelight only. We did set up a lamp and the small Christmas tree in the Dining Room provided some additional light. We also put crackers out at each place (Crackers are a traditional Christmas fun thing…two people pull…on each end and they pop and come open. Inside is a tiny toy, a joke and a tissue paper crown.  Children and adults alike enjoy crackers!). We were so busy all afternoon and evening that I did not take one photo of any of it! Just before they arrived I slipped away from the food prep and lighted the luminaries placed outside plus all the candles inside.

In the midst of all the flurry in the afternoon, the doorbell rang and it was Leonard. I went to prepare tea. We didn’t have any biscuits (cookies) so I took him six pieces of shortbread and a chocolate. He was not impressed. He said that the mint in the chocolate would ruin the taste of the tea. I suggested he keep the chocolate for later. He told me that he needed more shortbread so I went off to fetch it! He ate one more piece and the chocolate, told me he didn’t have to catch the bus until 4 pm (it was only 2:45) and then finished up his second cup of tea and was off. He had asked when I am going home so he promised to see me before I leave. He did bring a Christmas card for the staff at Murlough.

In midafternoon Martin received a call that his wife had fallen so he left to take her to the doctor. While he was there he asked about his hands. His skin is irritated. He was put on steroids for dermatitis so he won’t be back for a few days. That took a big chunk out of the labor force for the meal!!  We adapted but it put a lot of stress on Deirdre.

Daniel also popped in for a while in the afternoon. He is a "high maintenance" kind of guy but he could sense that things were very busy so he ate a bit of supper and went to wait for Alasdair. They are going to the Belfast Street Outreach tonight. Sarah will remain here to serve.

The meal was to be served at half seven. They began arrived at 6:45 and were warmly greeted by Alan, who looked quite handsome this evening, and served a mulled punch by Tori. Sarah with four teenage volunteers (Nathan, Emma, Tori, Rachel) served the meal.  Katherine, a friend of Deirdre’s, Deirdre and I were in the kitchen preparing the plates. (The teens are volunteering because it looks good on a C.V. –resume--when they apply for a job.)  The menu was soup with dinner rolls; turkey and ham with dressing, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, carrots, peas, Brussels sprouts or roast beef with all of the aforementioned veggies plus cheesy cauliflower. There was also gravy and cranberry sauce. There was schloer to drink….a nice sparkling grape juice: there was red and white grape and one with elderflower.  I haven’t seen sweet potatoes or green beans at any Christmas dinners.

The dessert selection was either Christmas pudding with custard or whipped cream OR a Berry trifle. One man said he didn’t care for either so Deirdre offered chocolate cake. He doesn’t like chocolate. She had an apple tart and he accepted that. Tea followed dessert and each table was served a plate of shortbread, individual mince pies and chocolates.

They called us in to the dining room after they had finished the meal and gave each of us a Gideon NT with Psalms. At 9:45, Deirdre released me and I was grateful! The others remained to finish the cleanup. Richard had come in at 7:30 to begin washing the pots and pans and was still at it when I came upstairs. Nathan had run “Deloris” so all the plates, cups, glasses, bowls and cutlery went through there.

The Christmas Dinners are a lot of work but they are a good way for people to see the possibilities at Murlough House. There are two settings on Saturday; 12:30 and 2 p.m. Sarah and I will set up for them tomorrow. The menu will be the same. You can guess what we will all be eating for lunch tomorrow and supper on Saturday. Leftovers!!

Later....I took a 2 hour nap and at 12:30 a.m., Deirdre came up to the flat. We chatted for a bit and decided we were hungry so I grabbed the hot water bottle to fill (it is so cozy to have the bed heated in my cold little alcove room) and we went to raid the kitchen. Richard was mopping the floor having finally finished all the pots and pans and cleaning up the stove. We fixed a ham/turkey sandwich and added shortbread to our plate, prepared a pot of tea and back upstairs for another hour of conversation before calling it a night.

*The woman I thought was Katherine was in fact, Sandra, a friend of Sarah's.