Anglicans

Well, it's been a busy ten days! On Oct. 17, here at our church, we had an ordination service for a young man whose family are members of this parish. He graduated from seminary a few years ago, and according to the system, served as an intern for a year or two, then was ordained as a deacon. After another two years' service, he was ready to be ordained priest. The whole town turned out the night before to butcher a pig and a cow and to cook the feast for all the visitors. Women don't help with butchering, luckily for me, I just helped peel vegetables, and wrap half-cooked rice in banana leaves to be steamed in little packets as a snack food for in-between meals. On the big day, the Bishop arrived early, and all the priests from nearby parishes. We served breakfast and lunch for the VIP's in our kitchen, while everybody else ate out in the yard. It was a lot of fun, but tiring, too.

Then there was a break on Saturday, then the usual three services on Sunday. On Tuesday, we went to Sagada for the funeral of one of the former Bishops of the church. He had been a special mentor of Dan's and was widely respected and known. Since it wasn't at our house, we just had to attend. He had been a leader of the whole Province of the Philippines, so all the serving and retired Bishops came for his funeral. With a lot of pomp and circumstance, his ashes were buried right beneath the altar of the Sagada church, as he had requested.

Thursday was the Consecration of a new Bishop. The Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines plans to retire next year, so they elected a successor for him, who is now the Bishop of this diocese. So this diocese elected a new Diocesan Bishop at its last Convention, and he was consecrated by all the Bishops in another giant service, this one at the Cathedral in Bontoc. This service had a program afterwards with many presentations, including a song by the clergy spouses fellowship, of which yours truly is a member. We also danced to the traditional music provided by our spouses.

Not exhausted enough yet? Saturday was a wedding of the children of two priests, one of whom is a distant relative of Dan's. This time, only three Bishops were present, the others having gone home. Dan and I served as Sponsors, kind of like godparents at a baptism. You have to stand up and promise to support the young couple in their marriage. And then, surprise! Another feast!

So I have eaten an awful lot of boiled pork and boiled beef with fried noodles for the side dish this month! And danced and sung and worshiped more than usual, too. One of the perks of being married to a clergyman is that you get to attend more life cycle rituals than most people do. Especially when you don't know the people, it's a chance to reflect on life and life changes. I have also been reflecting on the differences between this tradition and the Congregational churches I was raised in. For somebody who had hardly ever heard of Bishops, I sure have a lot of them in my social circle now! And incense and wine in the communion, not to mention the use of about four different languages in all these services, depending on which part of the Bible is read, and which songs are chosen. I've decided that when it comes to ecumenicity, I'm a "grass is always greener" Christian. When I'm in a place like Nepal where worship services are very spontaneous, I'm in favor of more liturgical practice. Then when I come to a high church tradition like they have here, I'm all for spontaneity! Never satisfied, that's me.