Wednesday, February 25, 2009

in which the Rambler launches into Lent (parenthetically)...


...at 7:30 this morning, temperature dangling somewhere down below zero Fahrenheit, inches of new snow, treacherous slippery streets -- but it wasn't entirely dark!!!!!

And MH & U was warm (faintly miasmic of syrup and sausage, still), and the hangings were changed last night after pancakes and Christian Education (let us not ask by whom)(Alter-cation Guild seems to have suffered a brain cramp)(ah well, bless their hearts), and the ashes were sufficient...

And there were FIVE LIVING BREATHING CHRISTIAN SOULS at the service, two parishioners (although not for the entire ritual), two total strangers ("We found you on the Internet"), and the Rambler...

And we assured one another on the authority of Isaiah that the Lord would make our bones strong, thinking fondly of fractured friends at hand and elsewhere.

The lower level is "full of contractors" contemplating the remediation of the heating system. We have (hushed voices) "cavitation" in the pumps. Fine word, that.

We enjoyed a delightful morning with our Bishop last Sunday, and SHE, bless her heart, got to preach the Transfiguration...nicely too! This was her first visit to us since she, so to speak, assumed the purple...and the Scouts and Guides were in attendance and marched to and fro (using the term loosely)and put their flags in position and took them out again, and repeated their promises, and then provided us with all sorts of goodies for the post-service coffee time.

It was all extremely festive, and there was good feeling on all sides, thereby equipping the saints to deal more faithfully and joyfully in the ensuing week with things like cavitating pumps.

4 comments:

revsue said...

Rambler - in the midst of all the penitential spirit floating around here, it was nice to read of something festive and jubilant. Now I can go tackle the ashes....

Terri said...

my winter 7:00am service back in Chicago had a similar attendance...here it was odd - Ash Wed and its sunny and almost 90...just did not seem "right"...sigh.

Crimson Rambler said...

If you could pass me about 40 of those excess degrees, mompriest, it wouldn't hurt us a bit... going to -28 tonight...

Sue said...

You had the Bishop last Sunday and we had our Moderator. Could it be that none of us wanted to preach on Transfiguration Sunday, or was it just a coincidence? Hmmmm.....

cold here too. Way too cold, even for us. I can't wait for spring!