Christmas Morning in the Thumb

 

 

 

 

Morning on the Sunrise Side

 

 

We are well beyond the holiday season, but I want to share a Thumb story of Christmas. I admit I am a “Christmas Catholic”, pretty much go to church on the holidays. Here in the Thumb the Catholic Church has seen a great loss of members. As a result, a priest will serve several parishes. In my area, a nun actually runs the day to day operations of three parishes whose area encompasses probably a 60 mile radius.

It is a snowy Christmas morning and we set off for Wilmont, normally about 30 minutes away. But, any snow here can make driving treacherous; the wide open farmland allows the wind to blow the snow into an icy path. Wilmont is a town of 800 people and is about 75 miles northeast of Troy. The parish we travel to is St. Michael’s founded in 1935. It is a simple but lovely country church several miles from the town surrounded by farms and cows. I bet the concrete block building seats no more than 100 people. We arrive just 5 minutes before mass is to begin.

We pull into the parking lot, ours is the only car. Do I have the wrong time I wonder? Rod (hubby) goes to the door and the gentlemen says “yes, we are having mass, come on in”. I was a little intimidated to go in worried we will be the only people inside. The church is vacant except for the organist and an old man sitting across the aisle, he looks at least 90. That’s it. And the old man is the priest conducting mass, he drove in the weather over an hour from Bay City so we could celebrate Christmas, me and Rod.

11am approaches and I am feeling really nervous, what if no one else comes? But, a few others arrive along with the nun who runs the parish. We now have a total of 10 people in this little country church. Sister lights the Christmas tree and orders the priest to the back of the church to make his entrance. He asks, “are we going to sing?” Sister responds, “you bet”, the priest is too funny and cracks, “bet she takes a collection too!”

The mass goes on and I feel a connection to these 10 people that I have never felt going to mass in my life. For some reason I feel truly joined with them in this celebration. By the end of the mass and the Wilmont rendition of “Silent Night” I am actually tearful, it is a bittersweet moment. This has been the most memorable Christmas mass for me ever, filling me with warmth and the spirit of the day. But, because so many people have moved from the area, St. Michaels’s will close in July. What a sad thing for these special people. I will never forget this day and how special my Christmas morning was, sharing the joy of the day with my ten new friends. 

 

Saint Michael's in the Warm Summertime