Brilliant! I Wasn't Expecting That!

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A couple of days ago I posted about Mother's Day being a non-mother by choice. I shared the link on Facebook saying that the second title would be the one that's now the title of this post. A riff off the Christmas video from New Zealand.* I didn't expect that I would actually use it for a follow-up post. (Er, brilliant.)

I wrote in that previous post that my church is pretty inclusive - we refer to mother figures on Mother's Day. Due to that tradition as well as being chair of the worship committee, I was part of the planning for today. I arrived early to help out and do some last minute logistics. As occasionally happens, plans had changed.

Brilliant! I wasn't expecting that. 

Well, it wasn't exactly a surprise as the committee had just finished talking about planning ahead and yet allowing the Holy Spirit to move with last minute inspiration.

Chris preached (link to mp3) on how God makes covenants with households from Abraham through to entire households being baptized in the early church. Which means God has made a covenant then with those in the Upper Room with Jesus and thus with all the Church, and thus with this church.

Shortly after, at announcements, he suggested that given the sermon, he couldn't segregate us into two genders, and so as we're all one household: we're all each others brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents, grandchildren, everyone would get a flower today. He reminded us that the carnation is also a symbol of the INcarnation.

I wish I remembered the exact words he used... I found myself tearing up because I was included today.

Brilliant! I wasn't expecting that.

Members of vestry (the church's board) were invited to hand out the flowers while the choir (which i'm in) sang the offertory.

They ran out of carnations.

The one time I was really one hundred percent included, I didn't get a flower.

Brilliant. (Not.) I wasn't expecting that.

During communion, we finished all the scheduled pieces. Tom played piano with one hand while flipping through the hymnal with the other. He started playing "Soon and very soon we are going to see the King." We start singing.

And I realize the meaning of the lyrics: that I will one day see Christ.** What is the lack of a flower against knowing Christ will never abandon us? I felt that deeper wilder love.

Brilliant! I wasn't expecting that!

At the end of the service, the choir processed to the back of the church during the recessional hymn as we usually do. Revbecca announced that not everyone had received flowers, including the choir, and encouraged those who received flowers to go forth today and give them to someone else. She meant to people outside the church, I'm sure, as we (the choir) can't have been the only ones not to get a flower.

As the choir headed back to the front to collect our belongings, a parishioner handed me her carnation. Her kids handed over their carnations to others. It wasn't the only flower offered to me either. I am pretty sure that every choir member who wanted a carnation got one.


Because my church is a household of God and we live out our motto of "love. be loved." 

I felt loved today.

Brilliant! I wasn't expecting that. (But I should have.)

* Of course you want to watch the video again. Here it is:



** So I'm not sure if the song is actually about looking forward to dying and going to heaven, or looking forward to the second coming when the world will end, neither of which being exactly happy things, I just know I felt love.

PS. My mother-in-law received my carnation and my hubby's.

linking up with Jennifer Dukes Lee's #TellHisStory


and Laura's Playdates with God.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 12, 2013 at 6:02 PM

    Thanks.

    Lory

    ReplyDelete
  2. LauraMay 16, 2013 at 5:47 PM

    Well. That's just...brilliant :). Couldn't resist! Seriously, though, what a lovely service it sounds like. Sometimes it's a difficult thing to make sure everyone feels loved but it sounds like your pastor did a wonderful job of that. So glad you linked up to Playdates with God this week!

    ReplyDelete

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