Well, last night’s evening service was a delight, if an unexpected one.
Earlier in the day in the face of all the snow and a heating system that had not come on overnight, leaving the church freezing, a decision was taken to postpone the Advent Carol Service until next Sunday evening. However, it was obvious that one or two folk would not get that message and turn up last night anyway. So, what to do with them?
A nifty service of Sung Evensong (Evensnow?) for Advent Sunday was hastily prepared and printed out in the afternoon. How many copies to print, I wondered. I decided to print thirty, just in case. In the end, that’s almost exactly how many turned up – thirty people and a poodle. (The poodle didn’t need a service sheet, or at least shared one for the bits she did need).
Bishop Gregor was with us, which was lovely and he stood with me at the front as I led the service from the portable organ. The heating had managed to warm us a little and “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” was never more heartfully sung.
I gather at least one other local church shut up shop for the evening, and our numbers were swelled by one or two who would otherwise have been going around the corner.
All in all, it was a good though unexpected end to an unexpected day.
Sorry we missed yesterday, both services….I like Advent, as although we know the end result of this season, I feel learn something new every year. So here’s to next week!
Looked more like a Chamber Organ to me, Fr K (I’d not fancy trying to ‘port’ it, anyway, it’s hard enough to push…… tho maybe we could try harnessing the poodle next time….)
The Bishop was in excellent voice and wonderfully unruffled by either snow or poodle.
Thank you for a mighty fine service indeed – just what was required under the circumstances.
The organ does have poles built into its case so it can be lifted, so porting it must be possible.
Does the organ have pedals? like the one you took around the UK all those years ago
No, it plugs in. And has pipes and not reeds.
Pedals? Handlebars? No lights and an inability to perceive red lights? Why did I miss this particular travelling musical extravaganza?