Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Wool

This has been a very strange season for me this year. I only went to church twice during Lent. I've almost never missed church during Lent in sixty years. Well, fifty-six anyway; I started going to church when I was four. Granted, my mobility and breathing weren't up to par, though I suspect that's a bit of an excuse. I didn't take on extra worship, I didn't give any more money to either the church or the poor, I did add some reading and prayer, but not every day. I didn't attend Maundy Thursday or Good Friday services. Finally, during Holy Week, I found myself compelled to go to the Great Vigil of Easter at St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, where I am a nominal member. It was life-changing.

My friend Greg Rickel, who is now Bishop of Olympia, presided over the two and a half hour liturgy, which began in total darkness, of course. He lit a brazier full of charcoal or wood for "the new fire" of Easter. He baptized four people, confirmed several, received a couple, and reaffirmed the baptismal vows of a couple more. It was stirring and exciting. His homily was directed to the candidates for Christian initiation, spoken softly but clearly, and it was amazing. He told each of the candidates that the Body of Christ would never be the same after this night because of them. He anointed each of the newly baptized with a full cruet of oil (chrism) blessed especially for this occasion. The prayers for the candidates were sung by the choir while the congregation chanted softly the Taize "Veni Sancte Spiritus." Greg and others then sprinkled the entire congregation with blessed water from the font, a huge barrel-shaped vessel that was literally filled to overflowing by twelve people who came forward in pairs--the water came almost to my feet in the first row!

I know each of the seven readings they used by heart, of course; the best reader was a little girl. The music for the first part of the liturgy was sung by the children's and youth choirs. A beautiful tenor sang the Exsultet, and I was sad to realize that I'll never sing it again. After the Peace, the adult choir took over and the music was glorious--Easter hymns and anthems with so much joy! The Eucharist was like my first time. I can't put it into words, but we were all one. All of us.

When the service was over, Bishop Greg and his family spent about ten minutes with me, which was great, and I got to see all my buddies from the 7:00 Integrity Eucharist. It was wonderful. It was sad that Dean Robert V. Taylor and his partner Jerry weren't in attendance; I fear that he will leave not just St. Mark's but possibly the priesthood over this awful experience at St. Mark's. I am so fond of Robert and Jerry; I hate it that they have been so hurt by the people they have loved and trusted. I hate it that church can become as destructive as any ordinary business. I wish he'd been there for the Eucharist.

All and all, I feel restored in my faith and renewed in my identity as a member of the Body of Christ and as a beloved child of God. Wow.

I'm knitting and spinning, of course. I'm spinning some absolutely gorgeous Blue Faced Leicester in shades of peach and lavender and aqua. I spun a bunch of really tight singles to make a sturdy two-ply sock yarn, but my hands just wouldn't last, so now I'm making some bigger yarn. There won't be enough of either to make anything now, but I'll use it as trim or something. The combination of spinning and the Great Vigil of Easter have brought me home once again.