Advent Mission: A Christmas Carol

Fr. Ken Wolfe invites you to join him in reading a great literary classic during the upcoming Advent and Christmas seasons, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.  All are welcome, but Fr. Ken extends a special welcome to parents, grandparents, and families. 

Charles Dickens is said by many to be the second most important English-speaking author after Shakespeare. His titles include David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, Bleak House, A Tale of Two Cities. But among his most loved is his short novella, A Christmas Carol, originally published in 1843. 

A Christmas Carol is a bit of genius that weaves together a captivating tapestry. It is a ghost story, an intrigue with guardian angels, a clash of bright-lit room with music and laughter opposed to dark chambers of foreboding. It’s a somber reminder of the Four Last Things – death, judgment, heaven, and hell - while also a celebration of large families, the unique blessedness of disabled and special children, and of course, a reveling in Christmas.

Dickens’ character Ebenezer Scrooge is a literary masterpiece who forever stands as an icon of mean-spirited self-centeredness. And yet Scrooge now is a symbol of hope through his redemptive encounter with the transforming love of the disabled child, Tiny Tim. It is an echo of the return of a prodigal son through the innocent and loving influence of a small boy. 

As literary commentator Joseph Pearce says: “The lesson that A Christmas Carol teaches is that our lives are not owned by us but are owed to another to whom the debt must be paid in the currency of self-sacrifice, which is love’s means of exchange.”

There will be only two sessions in the St. Thomas Chapel from 6:30-8pm:

Monday, November 27
Fr. Ken will provide some background on Charles Dickens, discuss important themes in the work and answer initial questions. We’ll conclude the session with an abbreviated reading from Stave One – Marley’s Ghost with the help of Thomas Fleming as the voice and persona of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Monday, December 18
The second and final session will allow you to discuss your experience in reading this work, share observations/insights gained, and ask questions. The program will conclude with an abbreviated reading from Stave Five -The End of It, again with Thomas Fleming’s rich baritone voice as Scrooge.