29 June 2009
Good People of God:
;)
Two groups among us deserve kudos for their hard and excellent work: the Choir and the External Eucharistic Ministers. Unless you belong to one of these groups you have no idea how much time and effort they expend to do what they do so well. Time, effort, skill and sensitivity are required to serve in either group. We, those of us who are not part of the choir nor among the External Eucharistic Minister phalanx, cannot fully appreciate their contribution to our common worship and life here. Why aren’t others in the nave who value good music among the members of the choir Sunday after Sunday? “Sunday after Sunday” explains it. It is a major time commitment and requires something some who value good music may not possess…the ability to carry a tune and sing on key. In spite of what they told us in seminary, not every voice can be trained to do what our choir does so well week after week. The seminary chaplain, Roland Cox (brother of Archibald Cox…remember him?) was so vocally challenged that when he would “sing” the liturgy the only way he knew to go “up” a note was to rise on his toes….so Roland bobbed up and down the three notes used to sing the liturgy….an amusing but painful sight when he celebrated. I share Roland’s penchant for hitting the wrong notes in the liturgy and was told once by an MC, “There are only three notes, Stephen, how can you “BLIP” up all three of them!” We owe these choristers and their leader, Lee Corbin, our praise and thanks for their wonderful contribution to our common life in worship…”Those who sing do pray twice.” Thanks be to God for them, for their love of music and their joy in praising God in song. Sunday they began their summer hiatus so you will see and hear them sitting among the rest of us during the liturgy for a while.
;)
The External Eucharistic Ministers are those folk who come to the altar just before the end of the liturgy to receive the Bread and Wine which they then take to members of this parish who are unable to be with us Sundays due to health reasons. We do not have enough of these good people. All LEMS (Lay Eucharistic Ministers) are licensed by our bishop to serve for three-year terms under the guidance of local rectors, whether they serve just during the Sunday liturgy or take the sacrament out “on the road,” as do the External Ministers. A person must be willing to give up several hours Sunday following Church to do this good work. For example, currently we have three names on our list of members who are unable to gather with us. The Eucharistic Minister tries to contact the people on the list before heading out to be sure they are expected. One can see lots of the metropolis if everyone on the list wants them to come. Our members who are unable to be with us can be located from one end of Dallas to the other. Taking the sacrament to them is a significant commitment of time and travel. Also, it is a wonderful experience to be able to “be with” these good members who cannot be with us due to their health issues. All the External Ministers tell of how important it is to them to know and be with every one of these folk. While their bodies may be compromised, their spirits are not. They give to the Eucharistic Minister at least as much as the Eucharist Minister gives to them. Together they experience a dynamic of the Communion of Saints which transcends what we experience gathered in church every Sunday. We are bound together in Christ’s Body and Blood no matter how bound up our own bodies may be. Give God thanks for the work of our External Eucharistic Minister phalanx and consider offering yourself for this rich experience of what “communion” really means.
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