NOVEMBER 3
Thank you to everyone for their prayers as I recovery from this cold. It has been a curious sickness, for I do not remember ever having a cold quite like this. When testing for COVID, the results are negative, and I have received the latest flu and COVID vaccines. Nevertheless, usually I can carry on through a cold, but this was not possible this time. As of today, Friday, I feel somewhat better. The regular round of worship will resume tomorrow, November 4, with the noonday Rosary and Mass.
When sick, one has time for reflection. There is only so much sleeping one can do, and last week I caught up on all my television shows. (I am currently watching a trashy series called The Morning Show, as well as the detective series, Lupin, among others.) I am also tired of reading theology for the moment, and the current news is an endless cycle of Middle East dysfunction financed by the United States.
One of the things I have been reflecting upon is St. Mark's. This past week demonstrated to me again that the church is probably too dependent on me for its day-to-day functioning. Unlike the past, the bench of clergy to cover masses is thin, and the bench becomes even thinner when considering clergy who are formed in Anglo-Catholic ritual.
Lay people are also very busy. The idea that all ministries in the church will be effectively run by lay people, giving abundant amounts of time, is not based in modern reality. Laity desire to be involved, but the truth is that they can only give so much time, and the time they do have, is frequently mismatched with the needs of the church as they arise. Another reality is that the laity frequently need to receive ministry more than they are able to do ministry. This is not a judgment, but a description.
I have joked that if a church does not have 250 worshippers on a Sunday with at least a full-time priest, a full-time administrator, and a full-time property manager, we should close it. Alas, this would close most churches. Yet the reality is that many churches only have the facade of being open. Their size and their staffing greatly limit what they can do within their congregation and neighborhood.
I do not have the answers, but I do know that good churches are worth keeping open, and with my illness this week, we were closed for two important days - All Saints and All Souls. Considering our resources, it was necessary to cancel these masses, but it also highlighted that our church is more fragile than we care to admit.
This Sunday we celebrate All Saints again in the calendar. At the Solemn Mass Desmond Wilson will be baptized. It will be a joyous Sunday, beginning with Vespers and Benediction on the Eve. I am glad our doors shall be open, and I rejoice that we continue to build our ministries, strength upon strength, during these challenging times. I look forward to seeing everyone this weekend.
Blessings,
Father Paul Lillie +
