San Pedro Sunday initiation

I set an alarm on my phone last night for seven, but woke up just before it at first light. I wanted some new sunrise photos and during breakfast, popped outside the front door to check progress on the position of the rising sun in relation to the house. The house, it turns out is orientated north-south so the sun came above the hill due east of me at seven thirty four, so I got some pictures I can make use of, in my weekly prayer video.

I met Patricia at our agreed rendezvous at nine, we collected Lew just after, and drove to the church at San Pedro, where a small group were already preparing the chapel for worship. It's in the basement of a large community hall, but rarely used by the Catholic parish. I think its dedicated to St Mary of the Angels to judge from the particular iconography of the sculpture behind the altar. The basement area is shared with a large room with several columbarium walls for cremated remains. All very understated and discreet. This seems to be a contemporary feature of urban churches in Spain, where ground space for a conventional cimenterio is at a premium. It's only really since Vatican II that cremation has become widely embraced in Catholic cultures. The Anglican congregation in Benalmadena uses a chapel similar arranged beneath the nave of the church.

We were twenty five adults and four children at the Eucharist. Instead of booklets, hymn sheets or books, a Powerpoint presentation of all the texts was displayed on a screen behind me at the altar, with a monitor for me to read from for the Eucharistic prayers. People seem reasonably happy with it, except those who miss using books. but the screen ruins the aesthetic element of the liturgical environment, which I hate.

I was reproached by people sitting at the back for not speaking loud enough. I thought I could hear my projected voice bounding back from the end wall, but afterwards found out there's only one loudspeaker and it's quite near the front. Also the microphone is very directional and needs to be closer that is really comfortable to work with. Next week I'll have to work out how exactly to be audible for people sitting in back. The children sit to do their Sunday school activity in a recess at the back, and if they are noisy even slightly it will impair audibility for those nearest. So it's vital to get this right for everyone's sake.

After the service a dozen of us drank coffee at the same place we met on Friday, before setting out for Beverley Hills. There was half an hour to spare before Patricia and I needed to set off for the wedding rehearsal in Sotogrande. I took her home and returned to make a quick lunch for myself, with Caldo de Pez, that had rice and frozen green peas cooked into it along with two slices of merluza which I thawed out overnight. It was ready in twenty minutes and eaten in ten. Then I was back on the road.

I was 35 minutes on the A7P toll road to Sotogrande. The car is fitted with a digital device which opens the toll barrier autmatically and charges a special church account - superbly convenient! Sotogrande is a purpose built holiday village by the sea, an American style gated environment, beautifully landscaped with a well maintained road system of its own. Once we entered we saw a few cars, but nobody walking at all. It was strangely deserted. 

Roz, one of the church members and a keyholder met us and opened up for us. The bridal party was half an hour late owing to problems exiting a subterranean parking lot near the beach, but it gave a chance to look around and work out how the conduct the service. Roz and Alison, who's getting married live next door to each other, so we were left with keys and instructions about locking up and setting the security system on leaving. The church is not in an easy place to find despite efforts to provide signage from the main routes through the road complex. A church wasn't part of the original social design of the village, and was added in later on a piece of spare land, at the expense of one wealthy patron who thought the village should have a church. It's in a lovely setting of trees and bushes, with a St Francis statue near the west entrance, Genesis 1 themed stained glass side windows, and a huge dome over the altar. A great concert venue, but too much acoustic reverb to good for liturgy despite the spaciousness of the building. It'll be challenging to made it work well for a wedding, like to=he main parish church in Nerja.

I was back home again by four, and soon chatting to Clare, languishing in the heat, just like me. I went out at seven for a walk, all the way from the rio Guadalgobon to the marina, and did a small amount of shopping at the Supercor market there. I also discovered the Santander ATM nearby which Patricia told me about. This means I don't have to go very far to withdraw cash from my account with no transaction fees, one of the benefits of having an account with a European bank.

I was ready for supper when I returned, and watched 'Antiques Roadshow' from Bodnant House and Gardens in North Wales, an outstanding National Trust site. We must visit there next time we holiday up North. One way or another that was a pretty full day - until next Sunday, when I'll have to drive between two services within a tight time frame.