Ten-Finger Exercises

being present to the senses

Church was great today, although I had to sneak out before the gospel and grab my mike that I'd forgotten. Timed it perfectly, whew! The organist, the same one who played the concert last night, was great again today, and I worked at keeping my ears open to all the good sounds. We had a good crowd, lots of singing, and the doxology sounded especially good after a great anthem.

We sing the doxology ("Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise him ye creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost." )when the acoloyte brings up the collection plates from the ushers. That is not just money: it is symbolic of our labor during the week, paid or not. Our work, our prayers and meditations of the week, our good deeds and bad, the things we have done and left undone, we present all these things to God when we come forward for the eucharist.

I think I've written about this before, so I'll stop. Suffice it to say, I tried to be more present to it all with all my senses today, and found it much richer.

One little laugh: we had a new acolyte. This was his second time. Last time, when he and the other acolyte proceeded me, carrying their torches (full length candlesticks,) he waved his around so much I was sure it would drip all over and was afraid he was going to pass out. Today he held it perfectly straight. But today he had an additional duty: to pick up the collection plates from the ushers and hand them to the priest across the altar. Instead, he started out the door with them, out to the sacristy. I went "Pssst!" and motioned him back, and nobody in the congregation was the wiser.

It was really hot in the sanctuary today, and I was wishing for one of the old cardboard fans the mortuaries used to provide in the pews, back before air condiitoning was put in.

Happy October. My Scrabble playing friend has a daughter in Shanghai who blogged that Friday is the festival of the New Moon. She was given a cheesecake to celebrate. She said it's a time to think about the people who aren't with you who are looking at the moon too, remeniscent of the old song lyrics, "I see the moon, the moon sees me, the moon sees somebody I'd like to see." So get ready for the new moon and buy or make some cheesecake this week, and think about people all over the world looking at the new moon.