While twinkling houses festooned
with sparkling strands of lights, goofy garden elves and glowing reindeer may
have become a merry drawcard for families and others looking to ingest a
complimentary bit of Christmas cheer, the lack of these at Fernvale’s community
park on that balmy night on Saturday
December 14th did in no way diminish the season’s spectacle and the
notion of giving that underpins the joys of Christmas. It was the goodwill of churches and charity
organizations whose members dispensed from marquees all manner of food, drink
and kind words. It was the families on rugs and fold-up chairs; strangers becoming
friends around picnic tables; children abandoning iPads and other devices for
light sticks, their gay abandonment creating something magical. It was all these amid the cacophony of
corellas and lorikeets in the trees and the singing of Christmas Carols… these
simple pleasures… that created a spectacle of its own and lit up the lives for
all who attended.
Freedom Road, the small
but sublime ensemble of singers backed by their equally talented band members
from Bundamba’s Salvation Army even captured the silence of the birds with
their consummate singing of Carols. It
was with gratitude to the capable and confident direction of Kathleen and the
polished accompaniment by the ever adaptable Margaret on a borrowed piano, that
the Esk Community Choir Carollers were able to remind the gathered crowd
and especially the children who joined with them on the mound that, through
their singing, Christmas is not all about presents but the presence of loved
ones. It was a privilege to have been
invited to partake of this special occasion and we are grateful for the
generosity of co-ordinator Andy Bickerton, the community organizations and the people
of Fernvale who, with us, were happy to spread the joy.
By: Sue Walker
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