One was very formal, festive, and dignified. It began with half an hour procession followed by festive singing and an amazing men and boys choir, dancing and singing during the gospel by Melonesian brothers and sisters. The stewards were sitting off to the side of the "choir" where there are cutouts and tombs, which meant that I was one of the few non-bishops who could actually see onto the altar.
There was only about an hour between the end of the first Eucharist and the beginning of the second... along with a twenty minute walk, so when the service began it looked like there would be a small turnout of bishops, but by the end there were over 30. The second Eucharist was far less festive, and far lower. Rather than inside a magnificent building we were outside of a parish church on a field during on and off rain. The mood was far more tense than any Integrity Eucharist I could remember. It was a sharp contrast to the earlier Eucharist although the music and sermons were surprisingly similar.
At the first service the bishop of Columbo (Sri Lanka) preached a sermon about inclusion, and the churches responsibility to be a "voice for the voiceless." During the first we sang that "all are welcome in this place," in the second we showed it.
Anyhow, on to the pictures (those from inside the Cathedral were taken from the conference website)!
3 comments:
Glad to see George where he belongs.
Very interesting....somehow, the second Eucharist looks more like a "Jesus" sort of gathering...on a number of levels.
I'm with Paul - I'm VERY glad to see George was there.
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