Evensong to St, John Passion

The turnout for Evensong was rather a bit low tonight: just Fr. Daniel, George and myself. Traffic and other things took their toll. Nancy arrived a half-hour later than she'd intended and was stuck in the kitchen preparing the supper's soup (delicious! shrimp gumbo), Kathy was tied up with with last-minute preparations for the Kairos Prison Ministry which begins tomorrow. Half one family had been laid low by something and were at the doctor's (hope you're all well soon!) and others were coming later for other reasons, if only due to our usual bugaboo, Seattle traffic.

But Evensong went well, although I had trouble singing thanks to some minor sinus situation. George read the Old and New Testament lessons and did a terrific job! I still fight the tendency to read too fast, but his delivery was clear and well-paced. (Though as he says with a grin, maybe he enjoys reading Jeremiah too much.)

But not long after Evensong ended the rest of the Bible Study class had arrived, those of us who made it tonight.

After the meal, prepared by Nancy and Debra, we started in on our study tonight on John 7-10. Fr. Daniel puts a lot of hard work into these study and it shows, with a two-page handout for the class that covers not only the Scripture but how it is reflected in the Prayer Book -- the Ordinal ("The Ordaining of Priests") plus the Eucharistic and Daily Lectionaries, and last but not least, commentaries by the Fathers. (I, for one, like hearing these.)

Fr. Daniel noted some recommended texts, including Bishop N.T. Wright's "John for Everyone" (vols. 1 and 2). And then, just to round it out, a couple of CDs. So as I type, I have at my elbow the 2 CD set (I just discovered) of "St. John Passion" in English by the group (I hope I have this all correct) "Apollo's Fire," in which Fr. Daniel used to sing in his undergraduate days, with the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra.

Quite an evening.