A Collage from the Week

Baptismal hymns ringing loud and joyful... Bells playing "Be Thou My Vision" with a surprise bit of Thaxted in there... Groans from the confirmands receiving their 104 questions... The shock of Alice's phone call after I got home from an elders meeting, telling me Adolph had passed on... Visiting with Mary and Adam and Mary's nephew and blessing the house, as we sang together Magnificat... Talking to Scott and Kelli about the joys of Baptism... Bekah, waiting alone in the darkened Church for us to join in Compline, as we trooped up from Bible Study... A frosty cold morning for studying what the AC teaches about Christ's return... The joy of celebrating Transfiguration on Thursday evening - and having the handful of folks there sing "Alleluia, Song of Gladness" to bid farewell to that joyous word till Easter arrives... Meeting with the joint-elders and spending much of the time distracted by looking at Harold's face and thinking how utterly like his face and expressions are to those his son used to show in Confirmation class many, many moons ago... Seeing Adolph laid out in Church for the visitation... Alice's strong and serene face, the joy of her faith transfiguring the grief and sorrow before our eyes... The emergency room at Anderson and the look on Norma's face... Udell bundled up for his helicopter journey to St. Louis... Visiting comfortably with Norma in the van as we headed toward SLU, sharing memories of this and that... The relief of seeing Udell smiling and even joking with us, and the conviction: this is going to be okay... The singing at the funeral for Adolph - from the lovely solos and choir work on "Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree" to the roaring of faith in the face of death with "For All the Saints," from the quiet lullabye "Müde Bin Ich, Geh zu Ruh" to the jubilant ringing of the bells: "The Lord's My Shepherd, leading me!"... The bitter cold in the cemetery and watching Adolph's brother, Bill, hand over the folded flag to Alice... The packed basement and the warmth, the table of steaming food, and the laughter and love of a family and friends gathered together under the hope of the resurrection... And now looking forward tonight to Septuagesima Divine Service and then two Baptisms... For the joys, for the sorrows, for the challenges, for it all: Glory to You, O Lord! Glory to You, who hates nothing You have made!