I am so grateful for being given the
opportunity to take the past six weeks' sabbatical and for the lovely
welcome back!
There are so many memories of
this brief time and stories to tell about the places I visited, the
people I met, and just the plain old time of relaxation without
deadlines and undone tasks to worry about.
It may seem like a "busman's
holiday," but one of the favorite parts was the ability to attend a
variety of church services, mostly as
a member of the congregation. It is a rare pleasure when serving a church
on most Sunday mornings. This time, I experienced endings: a
colleague's final service before moving on to a bishop's position in
another diocese; the final service of a church closing after 130 years;
and a requiem mass at our cathedral for Bp. Montgomery.
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| All Saints Chicago's Day of the Dead and Rector's Farewell |
I was involved in beginnings, too, especially my participation as Dean at the
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| Grace Freeport Installation |
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installation of the new rector at Grace Church Freeport and at a first afternoon Jazz Vesper service, a gentle and
soothing time of prayer with piano and bass. I enjoyed visiting a Sunday
morning mass at a church in the Old Irving Park neighborhood of
Chicago, one I had wished to visit for a long while.
Then, of course, there were the
masses in Spain. Our group worshiped at the Spanish Reformed Episcopal
Cathedral in Madrid and then had two more masses throughout the
week--one in a private chapel on a lovely family-owned estate in Arzua
prior to evening cocktails and music on the grounds followed by a
sumptuous meal of the largest pan of paella I ever saw! Finally, on our
last day, we had our own mass in a Roman Catholic church not far from
the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela (which is under construction).
The first mass in Madrid was very special. The bishop of Spain invited all the clergy in the group to vest and be at the altar with him and with the bishop of Northern Indiana. Of course, we had to scramble around to find vestments that fit us--which is why you seem me in a red cassock. The black ones were mostly designed for very tall men!
Bishop Carlos remained with us for the entire week of our tours from Madrid to Compostela. Bishop Sparks accompanied the walking pilgrims on the last 100k of the Camino.
In addition to the basic joy of worshiping
together, I came away with renewed appreciation of our rich liturgical
tradition--and the variety of ways
that is expressed. It can be soaring and splendid with "smells and
bells" and an organ that makes your heart thump. It can be cozy and
intimate. It can have a formal and dignified beauty or a joyful and
friendly warmth. All of these held together by the shape of the prayer
book liturgy, the timeless words we pray and sing, and the bread and
wine that we share. Whether in English or Spanish, spoken or chanted.
And all of these can be life giving and filled with the Spirit.
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| Episcopal Cathedral, Madrid |
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| St. James Cathedral, Chicago Requiem Mass |
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