the quiet day

In about an hour our Vestry will meet -- we have a lot of work to get through tonight, and our secretary is in the mountains with her family so we'll have a volunteer taking the minutes, which is sometimes a bit rocky.
In other fun departments -- preparations for Advent Lessons and Carols at the beginning of December! This year we are inviting one of the smaller parishes in Prairie Metropolis -- let us call it "St. Smoke" for it is most fearfully "High" -- to join us for the service and for the following potluck.
All well and good, but arrangements were complicated by the intervention of a para-church group devoted -- ostensibly -- to the promotion and preservation of the Book of Common Prayer. Before we quite knew where we were, our annual Lessons and Carols service was about to be labelled and publicized as a PB Society event, for the purpose (this is the part I boggled at) of promoting membership in the Society, and increasing the membership at St. Smoke (nothing wrong with that as a development).
Time to point out to the interested parties that worship at Most Holy and Undivided is conducted for the purpose of giving glory to God, and building up his faithful people. There may be yelling. The rhetoric is already deteriorated to the level of, "please just tell us if we're not welcome."
Sheesh! I'm delighted that the Rector of St. Smoke has been a man and a brother in all respects in this disagreement. I anticipate we shall all have a fine time at worship and then pass the scalloped potatoes to and fro in perfect amity. But in the meantime it's all a bit noisy.