Christmas Traditions:

The Barton Family
Billerica, Massachusetts

Glen and Kitty Barton have been the model of service, dedication, and perseverance for many serving in leadership ministry in New England today. For almost 40 years the Bartons have made New England their home. On July 3 Glen finished the race and went home to be with the Father. This will be a difficult holiday season for Kitty and her family as memories of a husband, father, and grandfather are shared and embraced.

Kitty:

When Glen and I came to Bedford nearly 40 years ago, the church in Bedford, Massachusetts, was meeting in a school. For such a small congregation it was difficult to put together something special for Christmas the first few years. Glen and I went to the local Congregational Church for their Christmas service one year, and I remember the pungent smell of alcohol and thinking to myself that we need to do something with the Bedford congregation. After the church in Bedford bought a large, fourteen room house in Billerica, we started having Christmas services that were more Christ honoring.

The Barton Family

Did you spend Christmas in Bedford those first few years?

No, we usually went back to my family's home in Pennsylvania, as it was closer than Glen's family in Indiana. We would always play games with the kids to make the 9-hour trip seem faster than it actually was. Twenty Questions or Bible games always filled our time together. We would typically have Christmas in New England, if time allowed, depending on when Sunday would fall, and then pack the kids up and head west. We always tried to be at the church for planned services because we knew people thought, "If it is not important enough for the staff or preacher to attend, then why should I?"

Do you remember any bad weather on any of these trips?

Oh yes! We were heading home from Pennsylvania, and there came such a bad snowstorm that after about 20 minutes on the road I told Glen, "It's getting too bad, let's head back." So we did. The next day the roads were clear and we were able to return to Bedford. Several years later, Nell was talking about the year it snowed so bad that we had to go back, and how we had to stay an extra two weeks. Oh what kids remember! We laughed so hard. I guess she had such a good time that extra day we spent in Pennsylvania, that it just seemed longer to her.

Kitty Barton holds up a newly made Christmas stocking

Describe a typical Christmas morning at the Barton home those early years.

Well, I suppose it was just like any other home during that time. We would get up pretty early in the morning. Well, let me say that the kids were up pretty early-around 5:00 a.m. Glen and I would have been up all night preparing the gifts. For several years I worked as a nurse, sometimes working the night shift, so I would have been up all night at work. We would always make cookies and take them to the families in the church. There were probably 100 - 120 attending then.

Now describe a typical Christmas morning the past ten years or so.

Nell typically makes a breakfast casserole, which she puts in the oven so it is ready by the time we all open up the presents. Glen was such a worker and servant. He was a chaplain at the VA and would always try to trade hours to work for others so that they could spend Christmas with their families. We would take a group from the church to go sing Christmas carols at the VA, and one year we even went to the prison. I have always made a new Christmas stocking for each new baby in the church, and I still have a few more to go for this year.

Hal Barton's Christmas Presents

Years ago when our son-in-law, Rick (Nell's husband) was still living, we would go over to their house for Christmas. Rick's death was so hard on everyone, but especially on Nell and her two young children. The year after Rick died and our son, Hal, came home for Christmas, he and Glen took our big, red sleeping bag and filled it with all the presents. Then Glen used duct tape and spelled Hal's name on it. When the grandchildren got up Christmas morning, they asked, "Where are all the presents?" We just laughed and said, "Why, I guess Uncle Hal got all your presents this year." We were always looking for ways to make Christmas morning more surprising for the kids, especially the ones who had lost their father.

What do you anticipate this Christmas will be like?

It's going to be pretty hard. We usually write a letter to all our supporters and friends, letting them know what has happened this past year with family and ministry. This year, I am just going to write a short letter that lets them know about Glen. It is hard for my sons to travel to New England this year, as their kids are getting older and have jobs, and gas is so high. So this year will be pretty subdued when compared to previous Christmases of the past.

Jack is our special needs grandson, Nell's son, who just loved his Poppa (Glen) more than anything and really misses him. He looks at Glen's picture now and says, "Poppa gone. Sad. I want him back, back, back." We all want him back.  I have a picture of Glen, which was taken at a wedding he performed last June, that I am including in the Christmas letter. I have a copy of it on my refrigerator at about the height he would stand so I can gain a sense that he is still standing there with me every day!!