Bleary...and red!

-

My usual light breakfast of all the food groups to start the day, Its the first of the weekend services in the English speaking congregation today with none other than Bishop Mouneer.

Mind you, I needed my coffee this morning. I was rudely awakened at about 2am by a screaming child (obviously a family arriving from a late flight) and a rather loud father trying to provide some kind of comfort, I think!

That's the problem with all this marble and tiling in reception, which is a little too close for comfort to my room. It may be cool and airy, but it acts like a rather large echo chamber. And of course, the walls are paper thin! I might move!

Well I guess it is kind of a guesthouse, rather than a hotel!

So, after some refreshment, it was off to the Vestry to prepare for the service.

The Bishop was early, and so was Diane the pianist, bless her! So we had a chance to go over the hymns in good time to make sure the numbers and tunes tallied. All good!

Emmanuel, as usual, had everything ready and the correct colour for Pentecost! Holy Communion was in the side chapel today in the transept, so it was rather intimate!

Diane tells me she has a full time job now too with the Cairo Opera House. We are really lucky to have her! The service itself was  thoroughly enjoyable. 

I led and the Bishop preached. We then both shared in the celebration of the Eucharist itself, which went smoothly and was all rather natural. No awkward moments at all!

He's such a lovely man and very easy to work with!! He promised he would get me a traditional Egyptian Alb like his, which is really light and handmade by local nuns.

One of the congregation was even wearing a green baseball cap with what looked like the IRFU log, apparently in my honour! I'm touched!

Afterwards we retired to Granita for a spot of coffee and a chat. Its no nice to meet the many families who are making their home in Cairo. There are even a few more Irish, and of course the ever present visitors.

I made sure to make time with the Sudanese community also, who are really lovely. They don't go into Granita, which is a shame. I don't like to see a separation.

I'm celebrating for the next three weeks, as well as preaching, so I had a chat with Emmanuel about the readings for next week. To my surprise they've deviated from the Lectionary, so although I had prepared a sermon, I'll have to re-write it. 

Luckily I can modify it slightly to fit the theme.

On the plus side, I managed to get a copy of the service sheets for the next three weeks - so now I've no excuse!

After some admin work, I went to Granita early for supper. I've been eyeing the fish for the past few days, so I decided to try it. I wasn't disappointed. Not sure what fillet it was, but it was delicious and light! I'll be having that again!

It's lovely to sit on the Cathedral steps and watch the sun go down. There's a real buzz about the place and its lovely to see the other congregations in all their finery!

 32c today...and rising!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hurry up...and wait!

-
Image
The Sabbath is a day of rest, But I'm not sure that Moses, when he presented The Ten Commandments had airport waiting lounges in mind. The 'plane arrived late and so, the departure was affected. Still, the onboard food was quite good and the seat-back entertainment drowned out the child that seemd to sceam all the way from Dublin to Cairo, some 5,000+ miles away. Cairo airport was exactly as expected. Busy, hectic, efficient?...I'm not convinced. And, of course, the baggage was also delayed. Still, shortly after 1am I made my way into the stunning balminess of ther Cairo evening. The weater app told me it was still 29c...with sand! That's a new one on me. And in a sea of faces, I saw Mr. George, the diocesan driver, with my name on a sheet held high above his head. As we left the airport, the October Bridge was affected by an incident, which made the M50 look positively Teutonic in its efficiency. Not to mention the hair raising motorcyclists with sometimes three passen...
Read more

A purple patch!

-
Image
It's hot wearing clericals in Cairo - even when they're linen! I know that sounds obvious, but remind me never to complain about the heat in Rathfarnham parish again! Today I finally got to meet with Archbishop Samy in his office here in the Diocesan building.  He has a huge area of responsibility.  The province of Alexandria contains the Diocese of Egypt, along with several other Dioceses, and takes in much of North Africa, parts of East and West Africa, and stretches as far east as Somalia! So, I'm grateful for him taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat about my contribution to ministry in Cairo. There is a vacancy in the English speaking congregation in the Cathedral, which also has an Arabic, a Sudanese, and other smaller congregations. At the moment it is being covered by a priest with other areas of responsibility. I'm told that he'll be especially delighted with the extra help. So, it's parish ministry in a very interesting city-centre environme...
Read more

First Things...

-
Image
It is truly an incredible honour to have been selected by CMS Ireland to have the opportunity to work in Cairo among the permanent and indeed, transient community in what promises to be a vibrant Cathedral ministry. When I was first informed of the possibility of a placement in the architecturally striking All Saints Cathedral in Cairo last year it all seemed so very far away, nebulous, and perhaps even a little out of my reach. I had imagined that there would be enormous interest in the position and I didn't dare to seriously consider the possibility that I would be chosen from among so many. Now, with less than two weeks to go until I fly out of Dublin, it is suddenly  very real  and pressing! To have the opportunity to serve Christ, our Church and whomever I come into contact with in my pastoral role, and in a land as old as time itself, seems almost too good to be true. Nevertheless, time marches on and Cairo draws ever nearer. I will miss all in Rathfarnham Parish as I tr...
Read more