Christmas in Zermatt

St Peter’s Church, Zermatt © Ricky Yates

After conducting a wonderful service of Nine Lesson & Carols in the Frauenkirche, Dresden on the evening of Sunday 8^th December, I was planning on spending a quiet Christmas at home in Stará Oleška. My Christmas worship was going to be attending a service on Christmas Eve, in German, at the Lutheran Church in Obercunnersdorf, led by my good friend and colleague, Andrew Allen. I’m not due to officiate again at the Frauenkirche, until Thursday 2^nd January 2025.

Then, early in the afternoon of Thursday 19^th December, an email dropped into my Inbox. It came from Jim Perryman, who oversees what is known as ‘Seasonal Mission’ for the Intercontinental Church Society (ICS). ICS are the C of E mission society who supported me when in Prague and continue to prayerfully support my ministry in Dresden.

ICS owns a Church, dating from the late nineteenth century, in the Swiss ski resort of Zermatt, for which they recruit chaplains to serve, each for a period of two weeks, during the main summer and winter holiday seasons. The email explained that, due to ‘a sudden family tragedy’, the Chaplain who was meant to arrive in Zermatt on Tuesday 17^th December, open everything up for the winter season, and then serve through to New Year’s Eve, was no longer able to be there. The email was a cri de cœur, asking if anyone knew a priest who would be able to travel to Zermatt and at least cover the planned and advertised services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Jim Perryman acknowledged that with Christmas Church and family commitments, it was unlikely anyone would be available at such short notice – he entitled the email ‘LONG SHOT’ 😉 As well as being able and willing to travel, there was also the additional requirement that the priest needed to hold Bishop’s permission to officiate (PTO) in the Diocese in Europe.

I sat and read, and then re-read the email several times, over a period of thirty minutes. I realised that realistically, I could do it. I had no commitments during the time period. I hold PTO because of my ongoing ministry in Dresden. So an hour after I received the email, I wrote a reply to Jim saying, ‘I may be able to help you.’ Before I sent it, I realised it might be good to have a phone conversation, to answer the many questions that were coming into my mind. So I tried phoning the ICS office only to get the message that no one was available.

About thirty minutes after sending my email, back came a reply from Jim. He apologised for the phone silence – the ICS office staff were having their Christmas Lunch! But he said, ‘Your potential offer sounds wonderful and I will be delighted to chat with you later.’ Therefore, after a most helpful video conversation on WhatsApp, I agreed to spend Christmas in Zermatt, the first Christmas I’ve been working for eight years.

The only realistic way for me to get to Zermatt, at such short notice, was to drive there, or at least as far as Täsch, as cars and trucks are banned from entering Zermatt. It had to be a two-day drive, not helped by the short hours of daylight in mid-winter. So on the morning of Saturday 21^st December, I drove from my home in Stará Oleška, to Sankt Margrethen which is in Switzerland, just over the border from Germany and Austria, where the three countries meet. There I stayed in a very nice hotel, overnight.

I’m very glad I studied the traffic map on mapy.cz before setting out the next morning as I discovered that the route I was planning to take was impassable because of winter snow. So it was onto the Autobahn around St Gallen, Zürich, Bern, and down to Vevey and Montreux. Then, as I set out into the mountains on Autoroute 9, the rain which had been falling most of the day, turned to snow. Autoroute/Autobahn 9, as you cross the French/German language divide 😉 peters out. But after several more kilometres of ordinary road, I eventually reached the town of Visp.

From Visp, there followed a twenty-eight kilometre drive, up a twisty mountain road, with heavy snow falling, before I reached Täsch. The best description of that journey would be ‘interesting’. I heard later, that shortly after my journey, the authorities closed the road so snow ploughs could operate, without cars being the way.

My car safely parked and a trolley loaded in Täsch © Ricky Yates

Once I had parked my car in an expensive, covered, car park in Täsch, I then had to load all my luggage onto a trolley. Photographic evidence herewith. Then, I wheeled it to the railway station platform for the shuttle service to Zermatt. The trains are designed so you can wheel your trolley on in Täsch and off again in Zermatt.

The shuttle train to Zermatt © Ricky Yates

My instructions, (thirty-seven pages of them 😉 ), said that it was possible to wheel the trolley out of the station and up the hill to the Chaplain’s Flat. But with the amount of snow that had fallen and with it still snowing, that wasn’t on. Instead, I set out carrying everything.

I had not gone far when I stopped for a breather, outside a hotel. Two workmen from the hotel who were busy shovelling snow, suggested I go into the hotel lobby and take a rest. I misunderstood what they also said, thinking they would come and shortly help me. When they didn’t reappear, the hotel manageress came to my aid. Saying that I was the new English Church Chaplain helped and she summoned one of the guys I’d spoken to earlier, and told him to take me up the hill in one of hotel’s electric taxis. That manageress and her employee, were two of my Christmas angels 🙂

At least when I got into the Chaplain’s flat, everything was fine. The heating was on, the last occupants had left it in good order and there were a few non-perishable goodies in the kitchen cupboards. After unloading my bags, I set off through the snow, to see St Peter’s Church from the outside.

St Peter’s Church, Zermatt, in the snow © Ricky Yates

Taken in the dark, this photo will give you some idea of what it was like. I had visions of having to dig my way into Church the next morning.

The way to the Church is clear and the front door is open © Ricky Yates

However, when I got to the Church next day, to open it for 09.30, as required, some local authority workers had already cleared the path to the Church door and one of the set of steps leading down to the main street. All I had to do was brush the snow off the two front steps.

All of Monday 23^rd and the daylight hours of Christmas Eve, were spent reading the instructions and trying to find and make work, everything relating to the Church – lights, heating, sound system, access to, and what was in the vestry. I had to also make a couple of strategic visits – to the Tourist Office to pick up some posters and make myself known, and to the supermarket to get some supplies.

It was during all of this that I received a phone call on the Chaplain’s mobile, which fortunately I had recharged overnight, as the battery was completely flat. It came from a lovely lady called Christine from North Yorkshire, who became my third Christmas Angel. ‘Do you have anyone to play the organ for your services’, she said. ‘I’ve been here before and have played the organ previously.’ I met her at the Church on Monday afternoon, and as a result, she played for three of my four services.

The first of these was a service of Lessons and Carols, starting at 17.00 on Christmas Eve. In 2023, that same service had been packed out with all pews occupied and with people standing at the back. Therefore this year, the plan was to have a second service of Lesson and Carols, starting later at 19.30, to try and spread out the numbers. However, by the time my 17.00 service was to start, all pews were occupied with an additional twenty or so, standing at the back.

I had no designated readers for either of these services. I was told just to try and nab people from the congregation to see if they were willing to read. During the daytime on Christmas Eve, I met a couple of men who came by the Church to check up on the times of services, both of whom volunteered for the 17.00 service. And as the people arrived, I recruited three more, all men.

But I had one lesson without a reader. So before commencing the service, I asked the congregation if I could have one more volunteer reader, preferably female. A hand shot up from the second row from the front. It was a young lady who was quite short and who I guessed was probably no more than twelve or thirteen years old. I accepted her offer, delighted that it was a quite short and appropriate reading, Luke 2. v1 & 3-7 describing the birth of Jesus.

The lectern, from where all the other readers read, is quite high so, when it came the time for the young lady to read, I took the other microphone from in front of my stall and held it in my hand whilst she stood up at the front and read. She read well and clearly. Shaking hands with the congregation at the door as they were leaving, this young lady, from New York City as she told me in answer to my question, personally thanked me for allowing her to read. I have to say that was for me, the most memorable part of the service which ran smoothly and was very well appreciated. I got many expressions of thanks at the door.

The one service that Christine couldn’t play for was the 19.30 Lessons & Carols. Within my thirty-seven pages of instructions was an explanation of how to play recorded organ tunes of hymns and carols through the Church sound system, using the laptop in the Chaplain’s Flat. This was one item of technology that I decided not to even start to understand, once I’d met Christine and her willingness to play for me. The problem she had with the 19.30 service was that it clashed with time of a special Christmas Eve dinner, being provided by the hotel where she and her husband Chris and several other family members, were staying. As Christine said to me, ‘I do need to be fed’ 🙂

So, having a strong singing voice, though it did start to crack up, I told the congregation numbering eight-five, that it was going to be a DIY Carol Service. We would sing unaccompanied or a cappella. And so we did, singing eight Christmas carols interspersed by seven Bible lessons and a short sermon.

On Christmas Day morning, I received an email from someone called Dominic. He had found this blog and gained my email address from it. Dominic wrote,

‘What a lovely service last night in Zermatt! I thought the unaccompanied singing worked especially well, albeit in large part thanks to your tuneful leadership. It was much better than singing along to a recording, as I recall having done one previous Christmas Eve in that chapel.’

As well as taking the compliment, receiving Dominic’s email was very reassuring to me of the decision I’d taken.

My third service On Christmas Eve, was a Midnight Eucharist starting at 23.30. I had a very appreciative and responsive congregation numbering forty. At this service, as I’d also had at the two previous services, I received many expressions of appreciation and thanks for being so willing to travel all the way to Zermatt meaning that the services could take place. Several people had seen the earlier notification on the ICS website, that Christmas services would probably not now take place because of the absence of a Chaplain. But it was updated, immediately after I agreed to travel and be there.

Standing in front of the Chancel apse of St Peter’s Church, Zermatt © Ricky Yates

After relatively few hours of sleep, my final service was on Christmas Day morning – an informal short Service of the Word, including singing four more Christmas carols. The smallest of my congregations with twenty adults and a couple of children. After this service was over, my wonderful organist Christine, took this photo of me in front of the chancel apse of the Church.

Afterwards, I then went back to the flat to cook my own Christmas Dinner. During the afternoon, I had difficulty not falling asleep as I was so worn out and tired. But I managed to stay awake until 20.00, the time in the evening when I was expected to lock the Church. I then went to bed at 20.30 and slept soundly for ten hours.

Tomorrow morning, I have to go down to the Post Office and bank the proceeds of the collections taken at the four services. I’ve already counted it all and filled in an online financial report. There are five different currencies, Swiss francs, Euros, Sterling, US dollars and Hong Kong dollars 😉 That is what you get with international congregations 🙂 After that, I hope to go up into the mountains and enjoy the view. One bonus of being a Chaplain in Zermatt is the provision of a free ski pass for all the ski lifts and gondolas. There will be more photos.

Some of the mountains surrounding Zermatt © Ricky Yates