Porch Story :: December 2018

• Porch Stories host Kristin chose Faithful as her word for 2019. Will I claim a guiding star word to follow during 2019? Along with the number of books for my good reads challenge, I don't yet know. On this second day of January, I'm letting life gradually reveal itself. Like the month's namesake Janus, on this second day of January I'm glancing backward with my December photos and by pre-dating this post for the last day of December, hoping forward with a still shiny new liturgical year, with a very recently born calendar year.

• My first Porch Story of 2019 summarizes December 2018—last calendar month of the year, first four weeks of the church's New Year of Grace that included all four Sundays of Advent, Christmas Eve/Day, and the First Sunday of Christmas. As usual for my monthly roundups, I don't have much commentary or many observations, but I did collect a few pictures.



• From long ago at Harvard's Memorial Church when you needed a ticket to attend one of the two or three offerings, to truly truncated versions at a series of almost random local churches, to my fourth time in Current City, a Service of Lessons and Carols has become a perennial for me. I designed the cover for this year's Second Sunday of Advent Lessons and Carols.



• Christmas Trees trio: in Glendale from our December 14^th environmental meeting; in the bordering city of Torrance from the rehab where my landlady has been staying; {one of several decorated Nativity Trees} at the West LA church.



• Although I didn't get an good enough photo of the worship bulletins stacked up in the narthex, their design and the Facebook page banner coordinated with this postcard I designed for Christmas Eve. I attended out of obligation because I'd missed the late afternoon service at the nearby church, but quietly spectacular choir and instrumental music gave me no regrets.



• Since back when I lived on the Wasatch front I've been a Sizzler fan because they have one of the best salad bars, the atmosphere approaches fine dining, but it's never stuffy or formal. Plus it's perfect for a friend, friends, a group, or a crowd, For Christmas Day dinner, long-time friend A and I enjoyed a wonderfully celebratory meal at the closest Sizzler; afterwards we enjoyed conversation and much-needed dreaming.



• For the First Sunday of Christmas I played guest keyboards at church and brought home one of the bouquets of chancel flowers.

• Did you notice my L.A. Yay header banner? I still love Current City, and hope to make it work a lot better than it has been.