A catholic experience

Yesterday Ellen and I sang with Hallowell at a memorial Mass for children who had died during the past year, held at St. Michael's RC Church - always a poignant service which we have participated in, in past years. The new, young priest who led the service was very personable and earnest, but he seemed to be to be more traditional than his predecessors. He gave a great deal of attention to ritual acts  -  e.g., he spent an extraordinary amount of time using the censor around the altar. He also used bells a lot during the Eucharist. (My somewhat irreverent seminary mates would refer to all this as "bells and smells.")  Nonetheless it was a lovely service and our singing was very much appreciated. I didn't take pictures during the service, of course, but took one afterward, which has our beloved Tony Barrand in the foreground - he was able to sing with us on this occasion.

                                 The chancel at St. Michael's RC Church

Today (Thursday) it has been raining all day. I was up very early around 6am, photographing old sermons for the digital archive, but then came back to bed and slept until noon!  Meanwhile, Ellen had gotten up and made herself cozy, knitting a scarf by the fireplace. Robin Davis came by unexpectedly at about 1pm and  found both of us in our PJ's! We had a good visit with her. She left after three and Ellen had to prepare a little supper for another Hallowell gathering - we sang for someone at 5pm with a small group and then had our little supper with them before the full, monthly Hallowell rehearsal at 6:15pm, which was attended by about 26 people. Our rehearsals are always wonderful experiences, and often quite moving, and this one was no exception. One of our members shared with us his experiences around the recent death of his dad, and the tears flowed. It's wonderful and perhaps a bit uncommon to be part of a group where that kind of sharing takes place so often and so naturally.