Monday, November 21, 2022

Ecumenical Prayer Service

 

Sorry, no photos today - it got very late. I did want to blog about our staff Congress meeting today. It was an unusually satisfying one, because a First Nations guy came and told us a story about seven fires signifying major changes in the world, and now we're expecting the eighth and final fire, and then he sang us a song. Then the Chancellor spoke in Spanish, and a woman who won an award thanked the whole Congress. I even got a shout-out from the Chancellor by name! What a great meeting!

This evening I went to an ecumenical prayer service at the church where I used to teach catechism. I came straight from work and wasn't sure I'd make it in time but then ended up being really early. The Dairyman's Daughter joined me, then Jilly Moose joined us, and just as the service was starting, Richard Bonomo joined us. It was a very lively service with a lot of singing: a black woman sang, a white woman sang in English and Spanish, and a Latina woman sang in both languages too. There were prayer petitions done by two women pastors and an Orthodox priest. The bishop gave a reflection that everyone loved - he had people gasping in awe, then laughing, then saying, "Amen!" We were supposed to wear name tags with both our names and our church affiliation, and I had never even heard of some of these churches. One of the people organizing the service had said to me, "Can I count on you for a plate of treats for the reception afterwards?" but I said that wouldn't be feasible because I was coming straight from work. Honestly, they didn't need a plate of treats from me because there were so many plates of goodies at the reception, including the chocolate and pretzel treats that Jilly Moose made. We sat with the Single B-Boy and some other people, and I saw other people I knew there, like Cecil Markovitch and my OTHER choir director. We Night Prayer people ducked into a chapel and said Night Prayer, then I got home in time to join Night Prayer online. The guy who lives on the West Coast was leading it, and I was afraid he would be all alone unless Anna Banana II joined him, since the rest of us were at the Prayer Service. He was alone, so I prayed Night Prayer twice so he wouldn't be alone, and then when we got to petitions afterwards, Jilly Moose and Rich joined us. Anyway, a Lutheran organist I know said the organizers of the prayer service were hoping to get fifty people, but there must have been three hundred there, so I'd say it was a success!


Famous Hat


No comments: