Mary Rocap

I was invited to give a Zoom Reading by Jeannette Stokes, founder of the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South. My long-time friend, Georgann Eubanks, was asked to be the moderator. We were to introduce each other at the beginning. These were the remarks that I prepared. Of course, in the real time and space I didn't stay on script or even cover all the bases! So, here is what I intended to say:  

Georgann Eubanks is a writer of non-fiction, poetry, and songs. She calls herself a “writer for hire.” She has a long and distinguished resume of Showing Up for the Arts. 

I have known her quite a while – since the mid-seventies. First as a performer on the stage of Somethyme, then as a faithful customer and generous contributor to our sense of ourselves. The line on our advertisement “Sunday and the Thymes” I believe is attributable to her and her poem “A Place to Come To” was printed on one of our menus. 

I say, with some shame, that our association has primarily been a benefit to me. My attendance at the yearly Wildacres Retreat, to which I go for songwriting, accustomed me to writers and their world, paving the way for my own writing. As far as songs go, I can’t tell you how many songs I and others have written based on her prompts. And then, there was the Murphey School Radio Show which introduced me to many seriously talented singers and musicians, actors, play writers, and poets as we shared the stage all the while raising money for Durham and Orange County non-profits. 

From my close association and friendship (which I am privileged to have) I have discerned that Georgann has an extraordinary curiosity about people and places, a deep-seeded appreciation for their gifts or uniqueness, and a determination to create spaces that support those gifts and qualities within the construct of community. 

In her bio for her current job as Executive Director of the Paul Green Foundation she has made a list of ten things she must have – one of them is space for a garden. 

I am here to tell you that WE are her garden, and with the love and attention she bestows, we are thriving. 

Thank you, Georgann.      

Click HERE for the link to the zoom reading.

Other than selecting a new calendar based on the pictures, a calendar is something we rarely think about. It’s something we take for granted. We don’t, consider that a calendar is a mathematical and cultural construct. But, know this, we are in a kind of time warp tonight. We are, right now, straddling two calendars, three millenniums, and two liturgical seasons: Christmas and Epiphany. We are both the shepherds in the fields hearing the angels sing and we are the magi following the star. 

It might seem odd to us now but Christmas Day was not given a place on the church calendar until the year 336. Easter and Pentecost were earlier placed. And, back then there was not an overly marked distinction between the birth of Christ, Christmas, and the manifestation of Christ, Epiphany. 

In the 4th century, the Julian calendar, which was established in 46 BC, was the calendar in use. The calculations on which it was based were close but not close enough. It was 11 minutes too long per year. That doesn’t seem like much but over time it was getting out of sync with the natural order: the spring and autumn equinox, the summer and winter solstice. Something had to be done. And so, in 1582 under Pope Gregory XIII, the Gregorian calendar was introduced to correct the misalignment. To accomplish this ten days had to be eliminated: a hard sell in a world distrustful of Papal authority. It would not be until 1752 that England adopted the calendar and those intervening two centuries now required the elimination of eleven days rather than ten. Since 1752 is the year that Orange County and the Parish of St. Matthew’s were established, it is not implausible to think that we, ourselves, had not yet heard the news from England about the calendar switch and may have celebrated Christmas according to the Julian Calendar (Old Christmas) rather than the Gregorian (New Christmas).  

Tonight we celebrate Christmas as if we were still using the Julian calendar like our brothers and sisters of the Coptic Church in Egypt and the members of The Eastern Orthodox Church and like some who live deep in the heart of Appalachia. The folk lore and wisdom of Old Christmas tell us that it is a night when the Holy Spirit manifests itself upon the earth in many strange and wondrous ways. Elderberry bushes may sprout up out of the frozen ground, animals may kneel upon the stroke of midnight and pray. Tonight we are giving homage to the old ways: serenading each other in song, gathering with friends, family, and neighbors, sharing the old stories. In her book Fair and Tender Ladies, Lee Smith’s character Ivy Rowe remarks: “Daddy allus said Old Christmas was a time to stay home and think on what will last.” 

Think on what will last. Let this be a gentle reminder, because how quickly we forget. But have the elderberry and the animals, be they tame or wild, forgotten? Maybe, maybe not. So walk outside tonight at midnight and see for yourself . . . look for signs and wonders . . . see how the earth, the natural world, moved and stirred by the Spirit of God is remembering and celebrating a babe, a star, angels, dreams, visions, God with us and God revealed. 

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and a Glory-filled Epiphany.