Christmas poinsettias, originally intended to adorn our church interior, were sent out as gifts to many of our homebound parishioners.
With the lockdown of the churches in the Hamilton area, our parish, beautifully decorated, was to be empty throughout the Christmas season save for our pastor and his immediate family; and our custodian and sacristans doing their work of cleaning and caring for the worship space and the sacred vessels, linens and vestments. As the closure came just days ahead of the celebration of Christmas, we couldn’t cancel the whole of the poinsettia order. Those plants that were received were then designated for distribution to parishioners who would appreciate them.
Along with the plants, church calendars were also given. Our pastor, Fr. Scott Whitfield, also had a brief visit at each home — he had to carry in the poinsettias (they were quite large) as some of the recipients have mobility problems.
Most of the the “drop offs” were done out front of homes, in apartment lobbies; a nice excuse for folks to get some fresh air and an opportunity to catch up with them.
