Sleepless in the Rockies

The 11th and 12th Sundays after Pentecost were smoke free in colorful Colorado. The intoxicating smell of sage and juniper in the clear mountain air was incense enough and seemed to help compensate for the missing oxygen. I spent the first Sunday at St. John Baptist Granbury, pictured above in winter, just down the road from Snow Mountain Ranch, where I was staying with 9 other family members and 5 dogs. St. John's is a lovely little mountain church with a gorgeous view of the Rockies behind the altar. Fr. Spencer Carr is an ex-New Yorker and was a familiar face from his concerts at St. Ignatius with the New Amsterdam Singers. I felt most welcome at St. John's in spite of sitting in someone's pew. I was so exhausted and lightheaded from no sleep and not enough oxygen that I just sank into the first comfortable looking seat I came upon and it was not until I roused myself from a deep prayerlike state and looked around that I realized I had the only seat with a nice back cushion. The service was starting and I was too embarrassed to start asking around if anyone needed a cushion, though the largely senior congo seemed spry enough and no one obviously glared at me. It wasn't until the exchange of the Peace that I felt a slight chill from my right and realized that must be the man whose seat I was sitting in. Oh well, suffering is good for the soul they say. We had the "Star Trek" canon for the Mass and it seemed quite appropriate for the first time that I can recall.

After a full week of outdoor activities such as alpine sledding at Winter Park, hiking around Monarch Lake and finding a sacred mushroom (I let it be), hiking up to a waterfall at Snow Mountain in a steady downpour, soaking in the "sacred" therapeutic pools of Hot Sulphur Springs on the Assumption, and then a wonderful early morning drive across Rocky Mountain National Park on my way to Denver, I spent the following Sunday at St. John's Cathedral in Denver after the first and only night I actually slept the whole 10 days. They had two vergers, one in front and one at the rear even for the Gospel procession, humongous torches and a crucifer, but no thurifer. Dean Eaton gave a "Commentary on the Liturgy" on the Ministry of the Sacrament at two points in the liturgy, the first of which went on at great length and against a feeding back mike that kept getting lower and lower in volume. This must be the current thing in Colorado as the previous Sunday was also an "Instructed Eucharist", although Fr. Carr did also preach a fine sermon about faith and hope. The Cathedral has many gorgeous stained glass windows and architectural details and seems to have quite a healthy and diverse congo with a plethora of clergy and servers as well as a splendid choir. The liturgy throughout was one I had not heard before and no info was available about it. Perhaps it is the new trial liturgy, but if so I must say, I was not that taken with it.

It will be good to get back to my pew tomorrow and hear the tower bell again during the consecration. We finally got the relay fault corrected and a setting made for the 3 tolls with the new ChimeMaster system we had installed to replace the old electroshock chamber that died last year. Doug has mastered the fine art of the remote control and has been ringing it from behind the organ bench, so I look forward to hearing that. The Angelus is once again ringing at noon and 6pm automatically so I'm sure our neighbors are back to remembering us fondly at those hours. At least they are spared the early morning ringing for now anyway, at least until the new rector arrives. I hear a contract is being drawn up as we speak, so we should know soon who the ninth rector will be. Keep praying that those rumors of clown masses in our future are unfounded!

St. Joseph of Arimathea

And did those feet, in ancient time,
Walk upon England's mountains green?

St. Joseph of Arimathea is my favorite saint. I've had a fondness for the legends surrounding him for about 20 something years and have amassed most all the known literature about him and have been to Glastonbury, which is my favorite place in the world, three times. I hope to write an opera about him some day. Until then, it's business as usual. Can hardly wait for my vacation next week out to Snow Mountain Ranch in Rocky Mountain National Park with the family. It will be another high altitude Assumption.

I was at Transfiguration last Sunday and it was good to see Bishop St. John bringing that congo back together, admist the renovations following the removal of the parish hall. They do a Solemn Mass all summer so they are ahead of us, and even have a full choir. They need more fans, however, as it was positively stifling in there on a day that was not terribly hot but very very humid. The incense was a bit sweet for my taste, Gloria I think, but there was at least enough of it to notice. The torches did that Hail Jesus salute at the elevations that I always find amusing. Afterward there was a small coffee hour at the back of the church but Gilberto and I decided to head down a couple blocks to Hill Country, which has become my home away from home. The brisket is just wonderful and those Kreuz margaritas are just heavenly. What a blessing to finally have a real Texas barbecue joint here in Manhattan! One day soon I hear they will also have Shiner Beer! Thank you, Jesus!

Yesterday for the feast of St. Joseph of Arimathea I went to the noonday Sung Mass at St. Mary's. Fr. Beddingfield celebrated and homilized and there was a wonderful amount of incense, as usual. St. Mary's and New York will miss Fr. Beddingfield, but we wish him well in his new gig at All Souls, Washington DC.

The final three have been chosen in the St. Ig. derby for the vestry's consideration, so let us pray that they are of one mind and that right soon.