Sunday 8 December 2013

Experiment in another era

This Sunday morning's assignment involved a short trip to All Saints Parish Church in Llandaff North to celebrate the eight thirty Eucharist for eight people, who all sat at the back of a nave that can accommodate two hundred and fifty. There was at least a decent public address system, so I figured there wasn't much point in getting them to move against their wills, after all they were friendly and welcoming enough when I arrived as the stranger in their midst.

The last time I was in this church was during my diaconal year in 1969 to attend the funeral of the Vicar, Fr Gerry Oeppen, who'd died in office, and it was standing room only there. During my ordination training at St Mike's, I'd worked briefly in the Parish with a small lay group, keen on liturgical experiment with modern hymnody, because I played the guitar and had done similar things in the Bristol University Chaplaincy a few years earlier. The guitar played quite a part in the first half of my ministerial life. Our efforts to bring worship credibly into the second half of the twentieth century and make it popular proved unfruitful. It's years since I last took a guitar with me to lead worship, even playing traditional hymns and carols.

After a second breakfast at home, Clare and I attended St Catherine's for the Parish Eucharist with the baptism of a toddler. We then walked to Riverside Market to check our Christmas organic veg order had been received, and stocked up on the special cheeses we enjoy. The sun was shining and stalls were busy. I treated myself to a piece of Christmas cake to eat al fresco, and we caught a convenient bus back home for lunch. In the afternoon, Clare went off to her studies in Bristol, leaving me to work on uploading recent crime data to the DISC intranet. It's a task I prefer to do in peace and quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of a busy office and this was just the right opportunity.
  

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