Mike's musings

Hmm - one of those days

A good day, and lots of things to say, but I really can't. Not for now.

In the morning, Moo and I visited the school that Jojo will be attending next term, and a meeting about the form of phonics that the school uses to teach the children to read. It was interesting, and pulled together what we're doing anyway with a few extra bits and pieces.

Labels: jojo, work

A good day

That's all for now: just a good day. Oh, and I stopped for an accident, with my collar on, but luckily wasn't needed.

Labels: happiness, priest

Slowing down

Most important was a 2 hour sleep in the morning. Poor Moo had a long drive to Peterborough, but I made the most of the morning, and it really helped. I had a work call around redundancy issues in the afternoon which went as well as could have been expected, and when Moo came back, we put the girls to bed and then barbecued. Since then I've been getting up to date with the blog entries, wrapping up a day of catching up with post, email photo-posting and the rest.

It still feels strange, and a bit different, but it feels right.

Labels: priest, sleep, work

Ordination and first Eucharist

(backposting) So much to blog about. So much. But I'm still processing it, so I'll put down what I can.

Ordination

We arrived at the church early, and it was lovely to greet people as they arrived. I had problems letting go, and not being the curate: there were other people to sort things out, and in the end, I just had to be an ordinand, get ready, and go with it. I robed up in cassock, surplice and white alb - a beautiful 18th century white alb that Dad had been given for his priesting, and which he passed on to me. We formed up in the St Andrew's Centre car park, and then walked over to the church. Moo was my lay sponsor, and I held her hand as we processed up the aisle together. There's a fair amount of preamble - all of it important - before the actual act of ordination, and I was the third of the 3 to be ordained, but in the end my time came. I knelt in front of the bishop, and the clergy clustered round and laid their hands on me. There were 10, I think: the bishop, the bishop's chaplain (Tim), the preacher (Chris), my father, my incumbent (John), Geoff (from the team), Viv (from the team), Mark and Ian's incumbents and James (a good friend, and previously from the team). Moo says it was a big of a scrum, but I couldn't tell. As the bishop said the words, it felt heavy, and I felt surrounded, and it was good. And then, I was a priest. The bishop anointed Ian's hands, then Mark's, and then mine, and we were done.

The service moved into a Eucharist, and we stood to either side of the bishop as he presided. After we'd taken communion from him, we got to sit down and just relax a bit. The service finished, the bishop took us three, new priests, down the aisle, and it was over, and time for some pictures.

First Eucharist

The parish put together a fabulous bring and share lunch: what lovely people. I had a chance to catch up with a few of them, but also friends and family. Leo, Rosie and Andy, Mark and Jenny, Mum and Dad, of course, Aunty Les and others, too. Si and D arrived in time for the 1500 Eucharist, as did Gary with his family, which I'd not expected. I walked the main players - Dad (serving for me), Sally (reading the Gospel) and Ian (preaching) - through the choreography first, and then it was time to start.

It was an immensely emotional experience for me. Mum later said that the first time she'd seen me cry in church was 31 years ago, and she thought she'd see it again, and it was close. Some of the liturgy, a couple of the hymns, and also parts of Byrd 4-part all had me close to tears. But when it came to the two parts which mattered the most to me - the Absolution and the Eucharistic prayer - it all worked. I'd been worried about the Absolution, but it felt right. Even more so for the Eucharistic prayer. I'd spent a lot of time preparing, and in particular thinking about the actions and gestures that I'd be using, before deciding to go with pretty much the bare minimum. I was boiling in a warm chasuble in a very warm church (Catherine had needed to call an ambulance for a member of the congregation at the ordination service - though I'd not noticed! - and the afternoon was hotter), we had a gospel procession, a Latin mass setting, and pretty "high" setting, but the theology is pretty low for me.

When it came to the prayer of institution, it just felt right to be saying it. And I was just aware that I was not the first person to be saying these words and celebrating this feast, but was part of a long tradition, made up of many, many others. It was just right. And Dad hadn't realised that he would be the first person to whom I administered communion, and that was very special indeed.

Our last hymn was "Jerusalem": a mission hymn. And, although not everyone enjoyed it, we had my favourite piece of organ music: "Dieu parmi nous" (God among us) by Olivier Messiaen. We sat, rather than processed, and it was the perfect end to my first communion.

Aftermath

We finished the day with friends coming back for a barbecue - during which it rained very, very hard. Si and D with Morgan and Boo, James and Ruth and Sally all came, and John and Mo arrived later as the others were departing, giving us a good chance for a chat with them. The girls pleaded tiredness around 1900 and we put them to bed without even a bath, and they were down so quickly that we had a good long time to chat. A good end to a long day, and we went to be tired.

Only for Jo to turn up with a temperature (I took her into the spare room with me) and Miri to go in with Moo, having been woken by Jo's perambulations. Such is life.

Labels: church, eucharist, family, friends, music, ordination

Tomorrow's the day

(backposting) Decided not to go for any walks today, but to let the blister heal - I'll be in formal shoes for the big day, and don't want to be distracted. Also, it's an opportunity to do some quiet reading and catch up on some sleep. Chris, the retreat leader, has spoken brilliantly, and given us lots of food for thought, and it was good to see him in the pub tonight, where I had just the one pint and a J2O before heading back for an early night.

Well, it would have been an early night if it weren't for the village party with rock & roll band, who kept going till around 0030. Oh well, at least I slept during the day.

It's very odd to know that tomorrow I'll be ordained priest. I'm ready, but it will be a big change, and I've been reflecting how the change also brings particular changes in responsibility in with regards to leadership. As a deacon, you're called to serve, first and foremost, but as a priest, you're also called to lead, and that's a big change. I'm not sure how that's going to be lived out in my life and ministry.

Labels: ordination, priest, sleep

Walking - and blisters

(backposting) Ages since I had a blister, but after two walks, coming to around 6 miles, in sandals which are beginning to fall apart, I managed to develop one. Luckily, the weather's so warm that I can walk around the retreat bare-foot most of the time, and the people running the retreat centre had some special blasters which I can use.

The second walk was with a good friend, Sue, and it was good to catch up with her, to share our thoughts about priestly life, our children, our jobs, and the rest, while walking through the fields and woodland around the centre.

The retreat's going well, and I managed to get some sleep in the afternoon. Last evening staying late at the pub tonight - not sensible to stay up the night before the big day.

Labels: friends, ordination, walk

Retreat

(backposting) I spent much of the morning tracking down the original CDs for the music I want at my first Eucharist: Byrd 4-part Mass, Ley's setting of the Prayer of King Henry VI ("Domine, Iesu Christe") and, if we get the time, a couple of Purcell motets. Also, writing the directions for Jim, who'll be in charge of it all.

Trying all that out, packing and doing a little tidying around the house took me up to setting off to Pleshey for the pre-ordination retreat. I was, by a few minutes, the first to arrive, and set off on an 80+ minute walk, using AFTrack to record where I went, ready to transfer the details to Openstreetmap at some point. I got pretty badly stung by nettles, but it was worth it: I walked 6 miles or so, I think, through beautiful countryside. Towards the end, a young fox walked out onto the path in front of me, downwind, and followed it for a few metres before crossing into the undergrowth to the side. Just something to treasure.

And so to the retreat. Good to get together with some good friends again, and, as usual, the "silent" bit of the retreat is somewhat relaxed down at the pub. Time to rest, get into the right frame of mind, and ready ourselves for Sunday.

Labels: rest, walk