Christ is Risen!
I survived my trip to Michigan. It's funny how everything turned out perfectly. Holy Week was crazy busy and from now on, I'll do better about arranging my schedule so that it's less hectic. My boss was very kind to give me the weekend off though.The road trip up to MI was uneventful except for some stormy weather around Chicago. My car had given me a scare during the week but I made should to get it looked at before I left.
Arriving in Kalamazoo was a great relief after driving through the bad weather and I was excited to be back home. It made me realize that I'm still homesick, though it's not as apparent as it was the last time I lived in Illinois. There will always be a part of me that calls Michigan home. And seeing my friends for the first time in several months made it even more apparent. I was nervous about seeing everyone at my old church since it had been almost 11 months since my last visit. There was nothing to be nervous about, however, as my friends were really glad to see me. I'm blessed to have such great friends.
My old church holds an all-night vigil after the service on Holy Friday where people take turns reading the Psalms. After being up late the previous night, waking up early that morning, and driving 6 hours, I didn't have it in me to stay the night. We had to be up early the next morning to get back to church. On Holy Saturday morning during the liturgy, it's typical to hold chrismations and baptisms. My church didn't have very many catechumins this year, but there was this adorable little girl who was baptized. She was able to wear her bathing suit for that part. We had a small meal after the service and then it was back to Kzoo until the late evening service. My god-brother and I took his son and dogs for a walk while my god-sister took a nap. One of the best parts about the weekend was hearing from my former priest Saturday afternoon. He was calling to wish me a blessed Pascha and to let me know he was going to be at my church in Illinois the following Sunday. We went grocery shopping at my favorite Michigan store (Meijer) to get food for Pascha and goodies for our Pascha baskets. My god-mother sent me some Swedish lingonberry jam and caramel eggs. Church friends roast coffee and were able to give me some beans. I added those to my basket as well.
The evening service began around 11:30 that night and lasted about 3 hours. It was a fantastic experience. The hymns, the people, everything was just PERFECT. I tried to take pictures and videos but I forgot to empty my memory card before coming up. I had very little space left during the Resurrection service, but I managed to take a small video of my favorite Pascha hymn, "The Angel Cried." Due to technological difficulties, I am unable to post the video.
The same homily by St. John Chrysostom is read in every Orthodox church. This is an excerpt:
O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.
 |
| Brunch |
I can't describe how awesome it was to just be there. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't wishing to be somewhere else. It didn't take long to clean the church... my friend did most of the hard work. He had to leave for a bit so I was by myself for an hour or so. Then people began arriving for the final service of the weekend: Agape Vespers. It's one of the shortest services we have and it's special because the Gospel is read in several languages to show the universality of the Church. It was followed by another round of eating. Then I had to start saying goodbye to everybody. We headed back to Kzoo and watched Call The Midwife before going to bed.Monday morning for breakfast we had some more stout cheesecake and my god-sister made an quiche with jalapeno & cheddar sausage. We got ingredients for me to make bacon wrapped feta later that day. My god-brother is a chemist and he took me to see his lab. My god-sister set up a girls night out with two other friends at a brewery not far from church.
Leaving was as hard as I thought it would be, but I had a stop to make before heading back to Illinois. Some really good friends of mine bought me a bike and I had to go pick it up. Getting it into my car was NOT easy at all. I ended up cutting my finger and my friend had to bandage my wound. We sat and talked for an hour or so before I left. The ride back was uneventful as well, and I did my best to ignore the sinking feeling my stomach. (It certainly wasn't from hunger.) A friend from my church here called me up on my way home and suggested we go out for pizza that evening. Another friend joined us and we made a party out of it, though by this time I was half asleep.
I spent the rest of Bright Week working, eating my favorite foods, and surviving a head cold. This was my 5th Pascha. My Orthodox birthday was April 26th. My first of two namesdays is this Sunday, on which we commemorate the Myrrhbearing Women. As mentioned above, my former priest was at church on Sunday and it was REALLY great seeing him again. He's in the process of packing up his house and moving (long story as to why) so he's not able to visit us often.
I'm sure I've forgotten details of my trip, and if I think of anything else I'll try to post again soon.
Until next time,
~Staci~
No comments:
Post a Comment