By Meg Portwood - Portland 2021 Convention Planning Team Member
Remembering Creches and Nativities brings many images to consider:
Art with stained glass windows, Icons and drawings, images of the Creche and Nativity and Holy Family
and Christmas cards with greetings and calendars
Crafts of creation in fabric, thread, tapestries
Music inviting one and all to remember that Special Birth,
Literature with so many stories of the struggling young family,
Enactments started by St Francis to educate us about this extraordinary event
sharing Food of simple treats and feasts to celebrate the
Birth of Jesus while reconciling
the Family Unit of Baby Jesus, Mama Mary, Papa Joseph and
the Angel standing guard and sharing the news with the Visitors of shepherds
from the fields and towns people,
the Star guiding the Magi,
the animals from the fields of sheep and camels, the Donkey and Oxen in the barn...
In our human universe of all nations, we see the images in different shapes,
colors, materials and renderings of this Holy Family
Those who contemplate, consider and walk through the labyrinth of life may see a young struggling family,
a family fleeing from harm, a poor family returning to set up a home and a life
and all the dramas involved, but it all started with the Birth and acknowledgement
of the Arrival of the Messiah which we look forward to celebrating each year...
with others!
We look forward to our gatherings, and wonder who we will meet in our communities and at ourFriends of the Creche gatherings... a visit across the country to visit new places and meet new people...
a gathering in in Santa Fe in 2019? Portland Oregon in 2021?
rememberings of past meetings? Ahhhh, what has that Holy Family done to us?
Meg Portwood
