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| Father Gary and me at his last coffee hour. You can read below why I am smirking |
The last time attended a Forgiveness Vespers was in
2017 (You can read about that HERE) I especially
wanted to make sure I made it this year, not only because I am now a Catechumen
and this is “my Church” now but also because it was the last liturgy that Fr.
Gary would be celebrating as our Pastor before he retires. It is a beautiful service and I admit I did
feel awkward at first because of all the bowing and “Triple Fake Air Kisses”
but it winds up being a humbling and moving experience. At the end of all the prayers, everyone forms
a line and stands before Fr. Gary. He asks us for forgiveness and that is when
we bow and do the “Fake Triple Air Kiss.” As I was standing in line, waiting
for my turn, I couldn’t remember what you were supposed to say. Luckily, Halle
James, my fellow catechumen, was in front of me and I asked her. She said the
proper phrase was “God forgives and I forgive."
It quickly became emotional because, Matushka Mary was
crying. This would be her last service with the parish she’s been a member of
for over twenty years. After we forgave each other, she gave me a big hug and
said how happy she was for me that I was finally entering the Church.
I took notice of one man, who was there with his children,
and he reminded me that, in Orthodoxy, although there are many traditions and (sometimes
odd things to the Western mind) of doing things, Orthodoxy does not force a
person to do things they are uncomfortable with. For example, in Orthodoxy, you venerate an
Icon by bowing and kissing the Icon but there are some people who will only bow.
The man I spoke of, participated in the “Forgiveness Circle” but, instead of
doing the “Fake Triple Air Kiss,” which really amounted to a hug, he shook
people's hands and offered words of forgiveness. He was able to fully participate
in the service but do so in the way he was comfortable with. Many people in his position would have simply
left before all the hugging started but, good for this man for participating.
He certainly is a fine example to his children who were standing next to
him.
The coffee hour followed and everyone got a chance to
say goodbye to Father Gary and Matushka Mary. At one point, Father Gary came
and sat next to me and we chatted a bit. He asked me about my wife’s journey,
and I told him how she is really becoming alive in her faith and I gave an
example of how she was relating to me that she was deeply moved when she read
about the Apostle Jude and all his sufferings, all for the sake of Christ and
proclaiming His Word. I know I would
love for Karen to be Orthodox (and she would love for me to be Catholic) but,
for now, we are both happy that we are progressing towards Christ.
As we were talking, Chris, the choir director, made an
announcement that the choir would like to sing some hymns in honor of Father
Gary. They started singing and it was ,
of course, beautiful.
Before I left to go home, I thanked Father Gary for
all his Pastoral care over the years and he agreed to take a “selfie” with me.
(Pictured above) the reason I had a smirk on my face was Father Gary asked as I
took the picture, if I was going to turn this into some A.I. video- apparently, he
has seen some of my rather silly work on Facebook.
I gave a hug to Matushka Mary and she said she and her
husband would try to come down for when I am baptized. (although I think Bishop Michael will want me
to be Christmated instead- but I’ll do whatever) We parted laughing because I
referenced the time she joked with me, when I was very new to Orthodoxy that, I
was sitting in the wrong place- reserved for Priests and their wives. You can
read about that HERE
There is supposed to be a major storm coming Sunday
night into Monday, so it is up in the Air if the “Canon of St. Andrew” will be
served on Monday. If it is, I’ll see if
I can give you my reflections in the form of another blog post.
In the meantime, Happy Lent everyone! May we keep the
Fast!
