CHRISTMAS

Jean and I went to Canyon City yesterday to do a Christmas Eve service at St. Thomas. We left about 3:30 in a snow storm and drove in snow all the way to Canyon City. We got there about 5:30 their time and all the restaurants were closed except Subway, so we had Subway sandwiches for dinner.

The service was super! The original 1876 oil lamps along with the altar candles were the only lighting and they provided the perfect mood. The singing was great and there were about 40 people present including the pastor of the Ukiah Presbyterian Church. The people of St. Thomas are well aware of the jewel that they have in that little rustic church and it's heart warming to see the way they work to keep it up. (In the 1870's there was a carpenter/priest named Ruben Nevius and he went through Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington building churches. He would build the building and stay long enough to get a congregation started and then move on. All told, he built over 30 churches and many are still in use. In Eastern Oregon there are at least 5.