Wandering Anglican visits Grace Church, Louisville KY

My recent travel had me in Louisville, Kentucky for a week. As usual I had a VERY busy schedule, but analysis of my meeting schedules and local bus schedules told me it would be possible to get away at least to attend Vespers Monday night at Grace Church in Louisville. In full knowledge of what could go wrong on a venture of this kind, I went ahead to visit them.

Well, maybe not "full knowledge". Lost my cellphone on the outward bus (it was not recovered), and I had the street address wrong in memory so I initially walked past the church entrance, in heat & humidity far higher than we usually encounter in Seattle. I was almost happy to find the doors locked so I could head back, cool off, and try to locate my phone. Yet, for all it was advertised as "the hermitage," there was a car or two in the drive.

But as I started to leave the bells rang and despite myself I turned back.

And happened to meet one of the Deacons (please forgive me, I am terribly forgetful of names!) at the door. He explained that the Rector, Fr. M. Seraphim Thomas (who my wife met at Synod this year), was away and the central air-conditioning had failed, so they were holding Vespers in a room upstairs instead of the church. I wound up part of a very small group conducting Vespers (1928 BCP Evening Prayer).

A wonderful opportunity to shed some of the material stress the loss of the cellphone incurred (expensive to me, but it's no iPhone or Google phone). Yes, it was unlikely to be turned in to lost&found; yes, its loss would impact my daily conduct of business, but as one of the readings for the day said, take no heed of such things. I came out with my anxiety level tuned down significantly.

And to the good people of Grace Church, thank you too for the cold bottle of water! I was dehydrating quickly in this (to me) hot climate.

I hope to return someday when things might be more normal all the way around.