To attend or not to attend (Ash Wednesday service) that was the question!

2/22/12

I’m writing at the end of a not so eventful day but a precious one none-the-less. You might have gathered that I am preparing blog posts in my room in the hotel without internet access and then taking them by USB to the computer I have been kindly given freedom to use in a limited way at the travel agent’s office. So the day began last evening when checking with various  people outside the two prospective churches – my guide, Ganesh,  talking in Hindi – we were assured that the mass for Ash Wednesday would be at 8:00 a.m. My guide was so sure that we even told his colleague, Deepika, who is a Roman Catholic, of the time of mass. So this morning I made my way there by rickshaw met Deepika in the sanctuary and she and I sat from 7:50 till 8:30 without any sign of other worshipers or any preparations for worship. So we inquired further to be then informed that the time of mass would be 5:00 p.m. in Hindi. As it turned out my travel agency has been preoccupied (naturally) with an accident involving one of their drivers so Ganesh could not meet me today as planned, hence my reference to the day being uneventful. So at any rate, undeterred, I planned my day around a 5:00 p.m. arrival getting to church at 4:45 p.m. only to see the 5:00 p.m. hour also come and go. But at least there were some signs of a gathering community and some preparations of the sanctuary for worship. The service began at 5:30 and ran till 7:15 p.m. It was presided over by the Bishop of Varanasi assisted by the priest in charge and several assistant priests. As always for me in a context of not knowing the language the service required a particular discipline of focus and attention. It helps to know the language of the mass in English. I loved the singing of the congregation in tones and sounds not unlike Hindu singing but doubtless with different words. The congregation chose whether to sit on the floor or to sit on pews to the side. (see photos attached). All removed their shoes before entering the sanctuary. I felt both alone in the service and also fully accompanied as I began my Lenten journey. I had read and will continue to read the daily meditations in our West End Church Lenten booklet earlier in the day, my own reflection being the first in the book. I particularly enjoyed reading Guillermo’s Spanish translation.