Trinity

Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

Trinity Sunday was also our episcopal visitation, this year from Bp. Cathy Roskam. I'm so glad she has a sense of humor because several things went wrong. First thing was the MC only rang half the Angelus for some reason. But what totally mortified me was when we led Bp. Roskam out the West End door to go around to the narthex, there was a huge puddle of pigeon doo right outside the door. We have the usual New York pigeon problem but this was extraordinary. They had to really hike up her cope and everyone else's to get over it as she clucked and said "Ewwww, well that's New York for you."

At the door the Rector, wardens and vestry greeted the Bishop effusively and she was duly soaked and smoked before we headed up the aisle. The MC of the day was the type that doesn't believe in rehearsals so the last minute instructions he threw at us at 5 minutes before the service created more confusion than light, and poor SrT as verger thought we were going all the way around the church after we got in. She was so worried that she would go the wrong way again, but apparently failed to get the MC to give her clear instructions and so mortified herself yet again as she and the cross and candles went off toward the Lady Shrine and the rest of us up to the sanctuary. I was blessedly just the bishop's cross so I couldn't get blamed for it. People looked at me rather strangely not realizing I was supposed to be carrying the crucifix backwards so the bishop can see it at all times.

We had not put the throne up because there was a rehearsal in the nave on the one night the crew had available to do it (yes, I know it's not necessary for a suffragan, but we always put it up for any bishop, except this time) so at least that was not the usual complication. Bp. Roskam celebrated and preached and confirmed four.

When she got up to preach, her sermon was not on the lectern. The deacon went around the sanctuary looking for it and then headed into the sacristy. Meanwhile Bp. Roskam ad libbed and vamped as long as she could and then just started to speak ex tempore about the Trinity. About five minutes went by before the deacon emerged from the sacristy with her sermon in hand and she laughed and started all over. Apparently she had preached the sermon at the 9:00 mass and was expecting it to still be on the lectern, but the acolyte had apparently removed it and it had gotten thrown in the garbage, where Fr. Gentile found it finally, slightly crumpled but fortunately still readable. The speakers in the sanctuary are on the blink so I couldn't follow it too well, but it was apparently a decent sermon on that difficult concept of the Trinity.

Afterward we had a lovely reception after just a bit of unpleasantness with the very prayerful lady who always kneels in the crossing before, during and after the service and goes around caressing all the statutes. Today she felt the spirit move her to march right up into the sanctuary and light her candle from the altar before the acolytes got out to extinguish them. The rector came out with the Bishop and asked her to please not enter the sanctuary, whereupon she got rather huffy and chided us for our "restrictions". It was then someone reminded me that it was a full moon so maybe that accounts for some of all this.