Christmas Eve and the typical Bowen response to these kinds of high holidays is, of course, music.



We had a beautiful Choral Evensong at the United Church on Sunday night. Just me, Alison Nixon (our director) and Carol MacKinnon, as beautiful an alto as there is. We sang our usual repetoire of chant but we did a twist for the anthem. With only the three of us there, Alison and Carol sang a duet while I filled in on flute and Alison added some on violin. It was great. Must have been a strange thing for our little audience of five to hear, the choir suddenly becoming a band and then going back to being a choir again.



If you're on Bowen, I hertily invite you to spend every second and fourth Sunday evening from 8-8:30 with us at the United Church. The service is all music with one reading and generally the people that come out get into a meditative state pretty early and stay that way until well after we finish singing. Our repetoire is a mix of Gregorian Chant (from the Missa de Angelis), contemporary chant (some from the Iona Community) and classical liturgical anthems.



And in the true spirit of do it yourself music, it seems that carolling broke out down in Deep Cove this evening. Beautiful. We have no snow but we have the voices of the people rising into the cool night air, breath swirling by the light of the waning moon, bringing on a deeply reflective season.



Merry Christmas to all...

It's coming on Christmas

They're cutting down trees

They're putting up reindeer

And singing songs of joy and peace

Oh I wish I had a river

I could skate away on

But it don't snow here

It stays pretty green

I'm going to make a lot of money

Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene

I wish I had a river

I could skate away on

-- Joni Mitchell