So, I just realised that when I posted this yesterday, I forgot to say where to go to join us for Choral Evensong. The answer is to go to my Facebook page: here.
Here is the original posting again in case you missed it the first time.
These are difficult times. As I sit at home in what feels at times like a state-enforced secular penitential retreat, I have been thinking about how I can contribute to help the situation (beyond complying with the guidelines for self-distancing).
This is what I do. First, I daily analyze my resentments and fears as I was taught in the Vision for You process and ask God to forgive my sins, voluntary and involuntary, known and unknown. This removes the sources of all my unhappiness. Then I will be more ready to offer something positive, whatever that may be in response to anything that happens in the world around me. I don’t want to give the devil his chance to use me, which is more likely if I am anxious or prone to despair. As St Paul puts it, ‘Do not let resentment lead you into sin; the sunset must not find you still angry. Do not give the devil his opportunity.’ (Eph 4:26, Knox translation)
Second, I try to cultivate gratitude. Every day I write a gratitude list in which I itemize the blessings that God gives me - for example, I woke up today and was able to draw breath, I have food, and a roof over my head. I also thank God for permitting bad things in my life. Objectively I know that God loves me and even the Wuhan virus is permitted by God so that a greater good can come from it. It is not my natural reaction to think like this. My instincts are to focus on myself and think, ‘Why is God doing this to me? Why is he doing it to my loved ones?’. So every day, perverse though it may seem, I thank God for the Wuhan virus and ask Him to show me the good that will come from this. I also do repeated prayers of gratitude for blessings known and unknown.
Then I try to look for opportunities to be of service to those around me, as best I can. My best is not good, I am ashamed to say, I am not a cheerful giver by nature, and again I have to develop the habit by giving regardless of how I feel so that incrementally I can move towards that ideal. I was asked to give until it hurts by David, who took me through the Vision for You process over 30 years ago. I often joke that this is easy for me because I’m so selfish it hurts me just to give someone the time of day.
So here is part of the service that myself, and Ben, who lives in the same building as me, have committed to fulfill as best we can. Each day we are going to make a ‘sacrifice of praise’ and sing Choral Evensong as a prayer for our community and for all, as part of the mystical body of Christ. At times we are joined by others, even including some kids (I live in an old convent building which is shared by families and single adults). We are putting it out live on Facebook at around 4.45 pm so that anyone who is isolated can pray with us. If anyone wants the basic materials for this, then please feel free to contact me and I will get them to you via a link to a Google Docs folder.
Every person in the world is in relation, in some way, to every other, directly or indirectly. By contributing positively, as best I can, to those relationships that I am aware of, then by the network of personal relationships in the Body of Christ and the whole human race, I am adding, by degrees to the good of all.
Note, we are not choristers. We endeavor to pray, not to perform, but I hope we are at a basic level that we can add to the world with our efforts. If like me you work on the maxim that if you think you can do it least as badly, then you might as well do it yourself, then think about this: at the very least join in with us at home. The music is part gregorian chant, part Anglican chant, part Byzantine chant. The style with which we pray is influenced by Byzantine (Greek Catholic) chant - we sing at a clip and wherever possible add a drone. This means at the very least you can ummm or arrghh the ison (drone) with us!
Hope to see you in the coming weeks! Facebook:
