Skip to main content

A Christmas Story

Last night's service was like no other I've ever been to. One of the things that I like about the Episcopal Church is that it is consistent. One service to the next and one church to the next I can count on what will happen in a service.
Last night before the service started I noticed a great number of people I did not recognize. That's OK great to have more in the church. And lots of talking, OK there are a bunch of old folks that like to talk. Then the service started and I tried to find the song...it was different from what was printed. OK last minute change I can go with that. Then we get to the Gospel. I'm waiting for the procession of the cross, candles and bible. I'm looking at the Gospel in the program and I notice Father Suhar wandering toward the middle of the church. He begins to give the sermon. I'm flipping through my program thinking I missed something. Nope, He just skipped over the Gospel. Okay? Go right to the sermon. Jan says he included the Gospel in the sermon but it was his version of it. Ya know they write these things down for a reason.
So we get through that and move on to the offertory. With all the new people in this was a challenge. Many held the plate wondering what to do. During the offertory the bell ringers were attempting to play. The first song restarted 3 times and I heard some of the bell players starting to snicker.
We move on to communion. Uh? did anyone bring the offertory plates to the altar? Nope. The "ushers" move into position and the choirs moves to the rail and I hear what sounds like a horse and Jan is giggling. Somehow she managed to bust her sandal and it was flopping around as she walked. I check outside to see if there are any storm clouds gathering. I'm sure lightning will strike us all.
The people in the first few rows were new to the church and were unsure what they should do for communion. The good father had offered no instructions to the new comers and the "ushers" also offered no help. So we just waited. Finally the "ushers" moves to the next row and we started to go the the rail. The guy next to me was going to dip his host in the wine. He was going for a good dip and dropped the host into the chalice and began fishing it out with his fingers. I have never seen that happen.
After that the service was rather uneventful. Changed a few songs, Jan accusing me of moving an angel and a guy wandering around during the service talking to people and videoing parts of the service. Then we get to the part at the end where we all light candles and sing Silent Night. I'm sure we will burn the place down. But we made it through that and were not struck by lightning. So Merry Christmas and a Happy Krampus to all!


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finally Hot Springs Arkansas

 Day 6 , October 15, Hot Springs. Here we stayed at an AirBnB on Lake Hamilton. It was very nice but before we got to our new residence (If you are keeping track this is the 5th place we've stayed so far on this trip) we stopped by downtown Hot Springs for a tour.  We started at the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center. This is the park headquarters and has been beautifully restored. We were able to tour the bathhouse and see how it looked in its prime.  The sculpture of the Spanish Conquistador  and the Tiffany stained glass ceiling were in the men's tub and steam room. The ladies section was not quite as well appointed.  Here is the women's dressing room . While nice and functional it was not quite up to the standards of the men's room. Down the hall from this room was the third floor sun deck where the ladies could catch some sun without any prying eyes. I'm not sure how much sun they got because the outfits displayed there were long sleeved, ankle length dresses...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trip Way South to the Everglades

  The first week of February Jan and I took a trip down to Everglades. Other than driving through the Everglades on Alligator Alley Jan an I have never visited the Everglades.  For this trip we rented a class "B"rv. We had been wanting to try one and this fit the bill.  This one is made by Winnebago. It is like driving a really big van. Inside there is room for two to sleep, shower and cook dinner. On top are several solar panels that keep the batteries charged. I was also surprised to find the mileage acceptable, 16 to 17 MPG.  We camped at the Everglades Flamingo which is the southernmost tip of the Florida peninsula. This is semi-primitive camping, no hot water in the showers. But other than that is is a very nice campground. the sites are very large and spread out. We never felt that the other camper were too close. At night the lighting at the campground is very subdued and we could see lots of stars. The first full day in the Everglades we had planned a boat t...
4 comments
Read more

Alarm Clock

Now that I'm retired each morning really is a new day. In the past most days have been planned out well in advance. Get up shower, eat breakfast, go to work, repeat till the weekend. Weekend, do what I could not get to during the week. Now I got a more open schedule. I find that my mornings consist of getting up when I open my eyes. Then fixing coffee and drinking a cup. While I'm doing that I decide what I want for breakfast. Jan is not as infatuated with breakfast as I am and can get by with just a bowl of cereal. But I need something cooked and more coffee. So I start the morning with no more plan than to fix a nice breakfast and have coffee. I watch the news, read the paper, and eat breakfast. Some days I mix it up by eating out on the patio. My signal now to start my day is when I reach the bottom of my cup of coffee. As you can see I'm now at that point. Today my plan is to get out all the suitcases out and see which ones we will be taking on our upcoming trip t...
Post a Comment
Read more