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

Radiation Therapy

Dr. Galloway and the gang over at West Florida Radiation Therapy have developed a very efficient process of treating their patients. I arrive about 5 minutes before my scheduled treatment time. The waiting room is often empty in spite of having plenty of chairs. I have my temperature taken and wash my hands. Then within a minute or two I will have my name called. As I'm going back to the treatment room there is usually another guy just coming out of that room.  When the technicians are ready they call me in and I climb onto the treatment table. After I'm on the table my feet and legs are aligned using a hard pillow that is molded to my legs and feet. Then the table is moved into position and the technicians adjust me using lasers and my aiming tattoos.  The techs then leave the room and the machines take over. First two arm move into position to x-ray me to determine the position of my prostate. The table will make slight adjustments itself to move me into the best position. A...
2 comments
Read more

Day One of the 2023 Great Cycle Challenge

 It's here again, the 2023 Great Cycle Challenge ! I have challenged myself to ride 300 miles in the month of September and I have challenged myself and you to raise $2500 to find a cure for childhood cancer.  We are off to a good start, to date I have raised $1226 from friends and family. I have a team with 7 members so far. As a team we hope to raise $5000 and ride 1000 miles. I think we can exceed both of those challenges.  I did my first ride this morning and hoped to ride 15 miles. When I was done the app said I had ridden 214 miles in about 2 and a half hours. Quite impressive but incorrect. I contacted GCC tech support and they assured me the glitch would be corrected.  i'm going to try and ride as many days as possible this month and document them on this blog. I may have to do a few days on stationary bikes in hotel workout rooms or borrow bikes from friends but somehow I'll get the miles in. If you would like to donate to this wonderful cause follow this li...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 27 of the Great Cycle Challenge

  When I got up this morning the weather outside was cloudy and rainy. Not a good day to ride. Jan had planned to tide the stationary bikes today at the Safety Harbor Fitness Center. I decided to go with her.  When we got there no one was on the bikes so we had our pick. Jan chose a recumbent bike and I chose one that was more upright. It took a moment to familiarize myself with the touch screen. Then off I went! As with all my rides it takes a few miles to get into the rhythm. After about 2 miles or 10 minutes of riding I got the resistance set to a level I was comfortable with.  I rode for about an hour and according to the monitor that equaled about 12 miles which is about my normal ride time.  This ride brings me to 273.4 miles so far this month with 26.6 to go. That's a lot of riding in a month. If you would like to help with this cause just go to my Great Cycle Challenge page and click donate. Any amount helps.
Post a Comment
Read more