Hi everyone,

Well tonight was an amazing evening at the ball room of the Sheraton Hotel.  It was the anual gathering of L'Arche Daybreak for their Christmas dinner.

For many years an anonymous gentlemen has paid for the dinner.  This year there were 177 people (at $25 each) so you do the math and see the generosity.  People were invited to bring a donation that would go to our sister communities in Hondouras who live in poverty.

This night is highly anticipated by the community as are all our gatherings.  But this night is a chance to everyone to bring out the best suits, fancy hairdo's as we are wined and dined in great style.  It is a powerful sight as tables are mixed up with folks from differet houses.  I love the sense of dignity as the core members (and some of the assistants) are treated like royalty.  It starts with the drycleaning and laying out of clothes for the night.  There are the shower routines and often parents come and pick up their sons/daughters and go together.

There is a great sense of hospitality as people arrived and handshakes, hugs and pecks on he cheek were exchanged.  It was a chance to rekindle old friendships, introduce family members and mingle with other houses.

The night was a feast of a veggie tray entray, a beautiful tomatoe herb soup, garden salad, choice of chicken or pasta with baked potatoes and grilled veetables, a beautiful apple pie with tea coffee and wines of your choice.  But it was also about beautifully decorated tables, linen napkins and a sense of this evening being a real treat for the community.

Many of the assistants treated us with music of violin, classical guitar, piano and then a choral singing of core members (and me as Tom Krysiak had hurt his hip and I had to be beside him) of Christmas songs.  There were many Christmas hats that peppered the ballroom.  The finale was two songs: The first was a tradition in Peter Porter, a core member from Green House who once a year leads the gathering in "here comes Santa Claus".  Peter doesn't really sing, he just rocks back and forth which is a major sign of excitement.  Then in comes Santa (another core member) with a santa hat and fake beard.  He shakes Peter's hand (who doesn't fall for it at all).  We then finished off with a rousing rendition of "the 12 dys of Christmas".  Each table had a line to sing and each one wanted to outdo the other which resulted in the liveliest version I have ever participated in.

Well with full bellies, a heart full of memories, and a tired bunch, we loaded into the van and headed home under a sky of light show flurries that aded to the Christmas lights that lit the drive home.

Evening came and morning came....and God saw that it was good! Until next time.

Jeff