“That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” states Linus in “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” following his reading of the Gospel of Luke, as touching a holiday moment as one could wish for during this time of peace on earth, goodwill toward men. Which is why, for this, my third installment of Punching the Clock, I found myself searching for that elusive holiday spirit, a search which led me to New Berlin’s Chase Memorial Nursing Home on Christmas morning and my good friend Father Chuck (otherwise known as Reverend Charles G. Taylor), as kind, caring and gracious a man one could ever hope to meet.

And while I’ll be the first to admit this wasn’t necessarily “work,” so to speak, volunteering for a couple of hours at Chase Memorial was about as inspiring as you can imagine; chatting with the residents and staff; singing along as we ran through some heartfelt renditions of “Silent Night,” “Joy to the World” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful;” and celebrating Christmas with a group of people who may not have anyone to celebrate with other than Father Chuck, myself, and their fellow residents.

Needless to say, the holidays can be a lonely time – particularly for the elderly – and it should be noted that visitors are always welcome at Chase Memorial, so feel free to stop by.

With that said, it was absolutely amazing to see the smiles and general camaraderie our visit brought with it, enough to put this (at times) dour, Scrooge-esque reporter in the mood for Christmas. And it must be said that it was an experience that taught me a valuable lesson: we reporters often spend a lot of time covering local community events, yet far too often fail to participate in such events. In other words, it’s easy to forget how important something as simple as an informal Christmas Service is to those individuals who made their way down to the home’s recreation room, just as it’s easy to forget how – sometimes – just being there is enough to bring out that rare smile and a bit of welcome conversation.

Father Chuck, however, said it best when he stated, “This is my favorite place to be on Christmas. The staff, the residents, everyone is so, so nice. And this is my favorite service ... this is my Christmas present to myself.”