I survived the medium sized drama and lived to not tell about it. Trust me, it's boring and uneventful after the fact.
Just got back from a funeral though. A very nice woman from church died Friday and her funeral was today. We don't have air conditioning in our church so it was so very hot but the service was nice. I had never been to an Episcopal funeral before but it was pretty similar to regular services so it wasn't hard to follow.
I had knit a prayer shawl but didn't know who it was going to when I saw Betty sitting quietly in her pew praying before the service (which is the norm in Episcopal churches...we don't visit in the nave. We do that in the narthex. The nave is for prayer and contemplation. Unless you happen to be one lady in our church who yells at people across the room and talks to them while you're kneeling in prayer.)
I digress...yet again.
Anyway, I gave the shawl to Betty, explained what it was and she seemed a bit astonished and thanked me. During announcements, she told everyone what I had done (while I wished desperately for a hole to open up so I could hide in it) and quite tearfully thanked me in front of everyone. It's not why I do it. I know I should be more gracious and just say you're welcome, but I do it for them, not me, and hate the attention I get for it.
She told everyone about that shawl and how special it made her feel.
So I was sad to hear that she had died. She had had cataract surgery several months ago but something must have gone wrong because she lost her vision from it and they couldn't fix it. She hated losing her independence and very quickly went downhill after learning there was nothing she could do. She had moved to long term care, which she hated, so I figure she got out of it the only way she could.
I'm sure right now she's having a pretty good time seeing the sights and visiting with her beloved husband and old friends.
But it was murderously hot in the church. Poor Mary had to wear the alb and chasuble and was soaked by the time it was all over. Welcome back from retreat. In fact, she had to cut it a bit short. That's the second vacation she's had to cut short due to a death in our parish.
Zach got his financial package and it's pretty darned nice even if it is a bit late. With the grants and the student loan it will take care of all the tuition and books plus leave a sizeable amount for transportation costs. A blessing indeed.
And school starts in about a week. Only two days a week in Fond du Lac, one in Beaver Dam aside from whatever his internship is. This will be so much easier on us especially with the reduced income. And some money in the bank for gas from the tuition assistance.
Tonight is The Royal, Doc Martin, Doctor Who and Almost Human...and some of these are on at the same time on different channels. Good thing Almost Human is rerun later in the evening. I have Midsomer Murders set 6 and 9 to watch this week as well plus tons of reading.
And lots of yard work to get done this week, too, since it's getting late in the summer and I need to start preparing for next year. I'm working on storing up supplies for winterizing the house as well but mostly I'm just trying to locate where they are in this house first before I go out and buy anything more. We still need to be as frugal as we can...pretty much forever.
Off to go sit in front of the fan and try to stay awake. All that heat almost put me to sleep but if I nap now, I won't get to sleep before Tuesday.
TTFN
3 comments:
Haven't you wondered whatever happened to reverence in the sanctuary? It used to be a quiet place; a place for prayer and contemplation before the service.
I'm sorry about your friend. But glad to hear about the financial good news for Zack's education.
Aside from the one woman in our church, and her late husband was the deacon there, it's treated with a great deal of reverence. Yesterday, however, most of the people at the funeral weren't Episcopalians and treated it as a place to visit. It's one of those things you just overlook because it's not a huge issue. Now if we had members who started treating it that way, I think I would say something to the Rector or the board but it's a one-off thing.
All the churches I had been members in before were evangelical/fundamentalist and the sanctuary was a place to visit before the service, not a place of preparation and contemplation. I much prefer the quietness that helps me get ready. At times it's the only quiet time I have all week.
Thank you. I didn't know Betty well, but I so enjoyed talking to her at coffee hour and she had a beautiful high soprano voice. She would sing the descant to all the music and you could hear it soar above everyone else. We didn't sing the service yesterday because she wasn't there and because we had so many who weren't Episcopalians and wouldn't know what to do so we just chanted it. I thought it would have been so much nicer to sing because it was so bleak without it.
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