Or, what I’ve been up to these last few weeks… As some of you know, I began attending a new Church last year. I had been searching for a new Church home, but had not found one in the local or even semi-local Catholic churches. Three different routes pointed me to a Church downtown, so I went down to a men’s club coffee to test the waters.
Turns out the online schedule was wrong, but the wonderful couple in the bookstore that is part of the Church made me welcome. They got the Deacon to come talk to me, set me up with multiple booklets about the Church, and pretty much got me to promise to come back to the Sunday service.
While a bit unsure, I did so. After talking briefly to the Deacon, I took a seat on a back pew (what would be the visitor’s pews in a lot of churches) and was joined fairly quickly by a seasoned lady who introduced herself, talked to me a bit, and the next thing I knew I had a liturgy book and other materials in hand, and she explained what would happen, why, how, and when. She also made sure I knew what to do (and not do) in the process.
After the service, they have a “coffee” that I call a lunch. My new guide introduced me around, and to say I was made welcome is an understatement. Her son-in-law (who took the wonderful photos of me being Baptized) took me under his wing a bit, and I “helped” him out during the Christmas Market they do. I put that in quotes as I didn’t do all that much, and was not allowed to overdo it (since I was still recovering from my latest surgery). I think I’ve only missed a couple of Sunday’s since, and those were either due to weather or health. Along the way, “Matrushka” (“mother”) as I had been asked to call her, presented me with a number of prayer and reading books.
The short version is that I found a new Church home. Last Saturday, the day before Pascha (Easter), she became my Godmother as she and her husband, the “retired” priest of the parish (now my Godfather), sponsored me and stood with me for my Baptism into the Eastern Orthodox Church. That night, I took part in my first Pascha midnight service.
You might have gathered that the last few weeks, especially Holy Week, have been a bit busy. There have been a lot of services and a lot of prayers (and even an exorcism), and I don’t think two years of catchumen training could have prepared me for it. I will say that it was an honor to be a part of the reading of Acts that preceded the midnight service.
This week will be a bit busy as well. There is nothing scheduled for today, and I have been (firmly) instructed to rest and take it easy. Tomorrow starts another round of special services for Bright Week (the week after Pascha) and while not required I am going to do as many of them as I can.
There is more to come. Please be patient as I take care of the important things so I can do more on temporal things here.