Beautiful Anglican service for Colin Powell
It reminds me why I stayed an Episcopalian all these years . Nothing quite as impressive as The National Cathedral.
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The familiarity, the pomp and ritual of the age old liturgy, music played/sung well, words of hope despite the sadness and grief, the shared meal afterwards all work to ease the pain of losing a loved one. And I truly believe aid the grief process.
Not only my local church, but many across this great nation.
An aside - Sunday is All Saints Day on the church calendar. Our choir is singing special music with instrumental accompaniment. There are 2 huge banners filled with little bells given in memory of loved ones. The sound of the bells as the banners are brought up the aisle during the processional reminds me of angels and usually brings tears to my eyes which is a bit embarrassing. 🥴. We acknowledge and remember all those saints who have come before us and especially those dear to us who have slipped their earthy bonds this past year. Sadly we also have 2 funerals this weekend - one very unexpected, the other a celebration of life of a very elderly gentleman who died earlier this summer. I’m currently waiting on my 3rd batch of brownies to come out of the oven - part of the dessert table for the after funeral meal. A group of us will set up the social hall, prepare the serving tables, clean up afterwards. (Church Ladies 😄
. I find it interesting how the mood of the room changes throughout the meal. At the beginning people are subdued, quiet, some still teary eyed. Somewhere along the line the sound of conversation begins to increase, laughter is heard, and there much sharing of memories. On certain Saturdays in the fall, there may even be a tv tuned to the local college football game. Again a healing process. And the “Church Ladies” - we keep the coffee and other beverages coming, the serving dishes full, quietly clean tables, wash dishes and package up leftovers for the family to take home if they so desire. It is all part of who we are as a community.
