Christmas Eve in Indianapolis

The first night in Indianapolis, Liz and I worked on cooking a big holiday dinner. For several days prior to this, Liz did a ton of work prepping food, as we had a pretty good spread planned.

In the kitchen, Liz and Jasmine prepare the green beans. Nesta is also helping out, keeping everyone’s ankles warm.

Dinnertime! To eat, we had Sage and Rosemary Pork, some salmon, creamed corn, green beans, two potato pies, along with homemade dinner rolls.

Post-dinner, we all lounged around a bit and watched some TV prior to meeting my grandmother for church.

Each year, my grandma attends Midnight Mass at St. John’s United Church of Christ, on the South Side of Indianapolis.

Our family has a history at this church, and my dad estimates that we’ve been in attendance since around 1953. My parents also got married in this church (but that was before some additions were made, as their ceremony took place in a different part of the building back then).

I’ve always been a bit gun shy with taking photos during the service. Partly out of respect, but also partly because it just didn’t feel that right. But though it felt a little wrong on my part, I’m glad I snuck a few photos here and there. I realized, in looking back, I don’t have a lot of images from prior services.

Mom and Dad, during the candlelight portion.

Looking in the pew in front of me, this is my Aunt Vicky’s hands, holding sheet music and a candle. My uncle Benny and cousin Andrew were also attending.

Looking back to the rest of the congregation. During the candlelight portion of the service, all the lights go dim for a brief period of time.

Agian, this felt a bit awkward. But I was always curious what the rest of the church looked like. Felt a little wrong, but I’m glad I snapped a few shots.

My grandmother, holding a candle in her hand.

L to R it’s Stacey, Jasmine, Grandma Phoebe, Shane and Jahnu.

We didn’t get home until around 1:30 AM. As a treat, Jasmine was allowed to open just one gift before going to bed.