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Saturday Evening, December 11

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I was looking forward to the evening because we had never seen Servant Stage and it is always fun to be with these old friends.

Servant Stage was performing at Lancaster Alliance Church near Lancaster.

They began by singing 12 Days to Christmas, Winter Wonderland, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, Happy Holiday, Sisters, and Count Your Blessings.

The next set of songs was Snow, White Christmas…

…followed by Silver Bells, O Come All Ye Faithful and Joy to the World.

I enjoyed when the pianist joined them in an acapella song.

The closing songs were Carol of the Bells, What Child is This, Angels We Have Heard on High, How Great Our Joy, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Mary Did You Know, One Solitary Life, Silent Night, The Lord’s Prayer and O Holy NIght.

When the 3 pm program was over we headed to The Olde Hickory Grill for dinner.

We became known as the Old Gang many years ago when we began getting together for picnics when our children were young.

We were all teenagers at the same time – back in the 50s and 60s. Some double-dated and many times we ended up at the same location, like church services, diners, or Youth for Christ meetings. Now we are in our mid-70s to mid-80s.

I was surprised to see my old friend Ruthie. We worked at the same place after high school and often did things together with work friends – even after we married and had children. Her husband passed away and she is getting married to one of the men from the Old Gang – whose wife died in recent years. We hadn’t seen each other for many years.

We were a bit early for our 5 pm appointment but had no problem visiting and getting caught up on each other’s lives.

One sobering thing about the evening was that we learned of several from our group who are not doing well health-wise.

The show was delightful, the food delicious, but the fellowship with old friends was best.

If you live locally, you will recognize these lights as street decorations in Lititz.