Pastor's Message for December, 2006
Father Christmas
People have various rituals for marking the beginning of the pre-Christmas season, markers that assure us we're "into it" once again for another year.
For some, it might be getting out the Christmas music and putting the CD's in the player; for others, maybe stringing up the outside Christmas lights. Some may mark the "season opener" by addressing the Christmas cards, and others may realize things are underway when they light the first Advent candle. For our family, when our daughters were young - and even into their teenage years,
we knew that Advent had begun and Christmas was not far away when we trekked out on a Sunday afternoon at the end of November or beginning of December to visit Father Christmas.
Our "Father Christmas" was a man named Ephraim Maleckson, one of those persons for whom the term "eccentric" was invented. He was a bachelor who owned a tract of land outside of Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River, between Phoenixville and Collegeville. On this land he grew cut-your-own Christmas trees, which he would sell every year (in the 1970's this was) for about four bucks. If you thought this was an incredible bargain, you might first ponder the selection of available trees. Ephraim, you see, did not spend inordinate hours cultivating his trees; I think his
philosophy was that God would shape His trees as He saw fit, and who was Ephraim to improve upon the Lord's work. If one got to his tree farm early in the season, you might find a decent tree; otherwise....well, you've heard of the "Charlie Brown Christmas tree"? Sometimes you'd see "the perfect tree" up ahead, only to discover that it was actually two trees growing close together. Oh, well.
I said Ephraim was eccentric. He drove around in a robin's egg blue '50's Cadillac, and once bought space on a billboard by the Schuylkill Expressway in Philadelphia advertising for a wife! But his most delightful eccentricity for us was in the experience of the annual cutting of our Christmas tree. He had an old trailer parked on his tree farm - his "office" - where you needed to stop in for hot chocolate, pretzels, conversation and some words jotted in his guest book before heading out into the tree field with one of his homemade saws to cut your tree. He always made sure you were aware that if you knew a poor family or church or children's institution that needed a tree, you were welcome to cut another tree or two without cost. Our first few Mitten Trees at Dutch Neck were freebies from his farm, as we went back there for a number of years even after moving from the Philadelphia area. We'd leave after church and return to Dutch Neck in the late afternoon darkness with a couple of trees on the roof. He also made sure that you took a "cling card" to put in the water to deter the needles from falling prematurely.
If Ephraim happened to be away from his business for a while, he would leave his trailer unlocked with the sign on the door: "Come in, fix yourself some hot chocolate, sign the guest book, and leave your money in the slot in the refrigerator." (he had cut a hole in the side of the old unit). His greatest pleasure, of course, was not in making money from the sale of trees, but in inviting guests into his trailer and into his life for a brief time, sharing some thoughts and memories, and providing them a less-than perfect gift from nature to grace their Christmas season.
I think this little pilgrimage our family made every year from the mid 1970's to the late '80's, set the tone for the season because in our visits we experienced some of the gifts we all long for and hope to find at Christmas if not year round: gracious hospitality, simple trust, and a gentle seasonal spirit far removed from the stresses and strains of having to prepare for "the perfect Christmas." The little Charlie Brown trees were a reminder of the joy of the visit to Maleckson's and also of the freedom from some of our enslaving Christmas practices and expectations.
Eventually, as our daughters grew older and the nearly four-hour round trip seemed more difficult to make, we stopped getting our trees there. But I think all of us still carry within us warm memories of those Sunday afternoon outings, usually with our dog along to romp through the rows of trees. From time to time I think of Ephraim Maleckson and wonder...if he's still alive (I hope so)...if he's still dealing in less-than perfect trees (I doubt it)... if he ever found that wife he advertised for (of this I'm most doubtful!).
He was an eccentric man who became an important part of our Advent preparation to celebrate the birth of Christ and welcome the spirit of Christmas into our family life.
May the blessings of Advent and Christmas be with you all,
Rev. Dr. Floyd W. Churn
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