The color purple

Is it already the third Sunday of Advent? The past few weeks have been busy with two weddings and two funerals in addition to the regular weekly services.

All weddings are special, but on the Eve of Advent, our church made history. A same sex blessing using the recently approved liturgy was, to the best of my knowledge, the very first in the nation. It was my privilege and an honor to be verger at this beautiful and moving service.

The verger is always concerned with making worship look seamless. Things do go wrong, but mostly they go unnoticed by the congregation, or indeed, by anyone other than the one who makes the mistake and/or the verger. Of course, the verger makes mistakes and I could list many, but I like to think that it is not what we do to correct them, but how we do it that makes the difference. In the event of mishaps I always tell acolytes and chalice bearers not to panic, keep calm, carry on as if nothing happened (where I have I heard that before).

That is not always as easy as it sounds. Last week, a teenage acolyte was making his debut as Crucifer. I was not processing and had expressed the need for him, as lead in the procession, to keep to a steady, dignified pace. This he did, but at the final step before the sanctuary he missed his footing (and a couple of heartbeats) and tripped, but recovered magnificently and  I’m sure no one on the congregation noticed. The liturgical color for Advent (in our church) is purple – very near to the shade of the Crucifer’s face!

Do I take my own advice? Looking calm is one thing. Dealing with the inner panic is another - but we won't go into that.

God knows we are not perfect, so He gives us the strength and courage to get over and learn from our imperfections whilst we strive to serve in in worship.