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Today’s Blog Post
What a delight to take part in a new adventure! I think the last time that I felt this kind of deep stirring was the night that we departed the aircraft in Nairobi, Kenya in 2007. We had travelled what seemed to a million miles from home. We were absolutely unfamiliar about our new surroundings and had no idea of the adventure ahead of us.
Come to think of it, I felt that too when I went to Irian Jaya in Indonesia just after the 911 tragedy in New York – September 2001. There was no way to know what was lying ahead of my life. That month in Indonesia was amazing – simply amazing…
I can only imagine the adventure that others may have been on as well – yesterday morning when we walked into the building at 319 Queen Street in Port Perry, Ontario. They were the ones that would be totally familiar with this place and had a great advantage over me. Yet they likely will be just as frightened by the possibility of me being in their territory.
I stood quietly listening for some form of life as we entered the door. One older gentleman came up to shake my hand and welcomed me heartily. Great start!
Question 1 that entered my mind… “Would they accept me, after all you are so very different than what they are used to?”
Question 2 that came right along… “How much will you and How far will you “Blow It Today” by forgetting what comes next in the order of what you will be doing?
Reminding myself that a great deal will be discovered in the first 15 minutes of my entrance, I took a deep breath. After all… when the stroke of 11:30 AM arrives later you will be ready to run, escape, hide, or just plain die – if you blow it or miss your mark this day….
No pressure there at all… none whatsoever.
But then Jesus has said to me “I will won’t leave you alone you big ninny… I will be there to pick up the pieces when you feel like throwing up or simply dieing on the spot!”
After walking around to scope out the land I slipped into a bathroom… oh boy… amazing… what a beautiful bathroom… accessible by everyone. And as I walked out… there is a brand new elevator – too cool – someone did a lot of thinking about this place.
Now I have led you on long enough… here is what is happening in my surroundings.
I am a Pentecostal Minister and have been for over 35 years. I am fairly free and easy in what I do. I can roll with the punches – go with the flow of almost any kind of freedom that may happen in a Sunday Worship Service.
And the church is St. John’s Presbyterian Church that has its origins dating back to just about 150 years ago. It has a strong Scottish history and quite likely some of the folks will have a fairly strong Scottish accent. And for sure they have a well laid out service order that is printed clearly for all to see in their church bulletins. So…. If the minister misses something or does something out of order from the norm… most everyone will notice pretty quickly.
They don’t know that I can be the “King of Out of Order” most of the time. In fact my major Degrees – Graduate, Post Graduate and Doctorate is in “BOOO” – that is “Bachelor Out of Orderness”. That is written this way but I tend not to write it out too often… “The Reverend Murray Lincoln, BOO, MOOO, and PhDOOO.”
The sign writers seldom get it correct as they are laughing too hard when they try to apply their brushes to their work!
The Choir assembled in the anti room just off the platform, robbed and bubbling. I prayed for them and me… and they led us from the room to the platform.
Oh no… I forgot… there are two pulpits on this platform… a left and right… which one do I use? I quickly whispered to the friendly Choir man walking just ahead of me… “Where do I sit?”… he countered in his whisper with a grin… “The one on the right…”
Deep breath now… smile… enter gracefully… no panic…
Holy Mackerel! The church is 3/4 Full !!! Did they hear that some funny things might happen this AM in Church? Gulp… sweating just a little more now I seated myself gracefully on the apparent Minister’s bench behind the larger pulpit.
Too cool! The Elder rose to do his announcements and lead the first part of the service. Then he had everyone stand as the Holy Bible was carried in and placed in its special place of prominence.
The Service was rolling… look at the bulletin… they have given you the hints… follow them… be cool… what can go wrong… this should be easy… stand up slowly… knees stop knocking… now say, “Good morning it is good to be here with you this morning”…. Easy now… this is their first time to hear your voice… they are adjusting to your accent… now… begin… “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” I said…
Whoa! They all came back heartily… “AND ALSO WITH YOU!” and they meant it!
Pentecostal won’t do this… they are still talking to each other at that point!
If you played the “William Tell Overture” at that point you would have heard what I was hearing inside my chest – it was my heart beating to the Lone Ranger Movie theme!
The hour flew by… I loved it. The people were responsive. They are amazing in their singing and worship.
I felt at home in this service in every way. I must have been Presbyterian in my former lifetime… I fit here! And I love it…
Now I know that my writing may appear to be too light hearted today… maybe even foolish to some… but that is what happened. It was wonderful… and these people are just great!
OOOPS…
I did forget one thing. There was a funny thing lying on the pulpit. It looked like an IPod of some sort… with a chord on it. I moved it aside when I began to speak.
The kind lady at the end of the service came to shake my hand… as she held that funny thing in her hand. “Did any one tell you about my husband’s hearing device… the minister puts this around his neck so it picks up his voice…?”
“Oh no! I am so sorry. I didn’t know what it was for” I responded.
Her husband was standing with her… and shook my hand. “There is no problem. Today he said he heard everything well.” And then she smiled.
With The Reverend Murray Lincoln, OOO, MOOO, and PhDOOO having his own built in amplifier… he didn’t need his hearing piece.
Spurtles? What is a Spurtle?
After church was over we walked around downtown Port Perry. I happened into the Wee Tartan Shop. I discussed the possibilities of them needing some of my wood carvings like the Celtic Love Spoons.
The kind lady was excited and asked me if I made “Spurtles”. Then she explained that it is what Scots stir their porridge with in the morning.
In Saskatchewan we called them a “Fish Bonker” – but if you want to make porridge with is – no problem.
Yep – I can make a Spurtle. Anything is possible after the morning service that I just attended… absolutely ANYTHING!
~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/
Source:
http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com/Shopping/spurtle.htm
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