Homework

-

I was very good last night and, although it was a day off, I finished my homework - the service sheet for this weekend. So, this morning, I managed to get Emmanuel first thing and gave him the good news.

And so, a gold star and my duty is done, at least for now.

I will be leading and Bishop Mouneer will preach for Pentecost. We're celebrating the Eucharist together, so I'm interested to see how that will work. I'm looking forward to his sermon, and I'll be timing it (just to see if I'm on the right track, of course!). At least the Lectionary is the same as ours, albeit a week behind.

After I met with Emmanuel, I learned that there was a funeral in the Cathedral. A brother of one of the Canons has passed away and his funeral service was this afternoon. 

I arrived promptly just before 12, as that's the time I had been told the funeral was to begin. But, almost an hour later, the service actually began. No RIP.ie here! Emmanuel thought this was quite funny.

'This is Africa' he said laughing. 

I told him we had an expression in Ireland, '12ish...', and he got a kick out of that. But I guess this takes it to a whole new level!

The service was in Arabic, quite long, and noticeably different in structure to ours. All the Canons were present and seated in their stalls/chairs behind the Communion table. 

The Liturgy is not quite the same either, and there were several addresses, one of which was given by Archbishop Samy. But it was quite a lovely service with some hymns in Arabic which sounded quite contemporary. 

As I left, the hearse was waiting outside. Now it wasn't a hearse as we would know and expect, but a minivan quite like one of the ambulances one might see on the evening news anywhere in the region, with some wooden slats on the floor to hold the coffin. 

Quite basic, but it seemed quite natural and to fit in perfectly. It set me thinking...is there any real need for the ostentatiousness and expense on families?

Afterwards, it was time to stock up on water supplies and fruit juices, as the weather here is only getting hotter. And it seems to be on an upward trend for the rest of the week and into the next! 

It also felt more humid today - but I might be imagining it!

Supper was at about 7.30pm, just as the sun was going down and it was still 31c, but I do like to sit outdoors in Granita as the atmosphere is lovely. The food is also very good, and very reasonable indeed. I'm leaning towards Italian again this evening!

Tonight I'm going over the service for tomorrow, and I'll bring my BCP for the various seasonal variations. It's nice to have it to hand! 

I might also look at going over to Ma'adi in the Southern suburbs this Sunday for a service, as several of my clergy colleagues here are over that direction.

Now where did I put that sparkling water?

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