The zone LWML prayer breakfast was scheduled for our church this morning. Most of the attendees would be in their 60s to 80s, and most would be coming from 10-25 miles away. The breakfast was canceled.
Gary could not be here for church tonight, so a couple of weeks ago the elders asked the circuit counselor to preach. He's coming from 25 miles away. The ladies from our church didn't want to come out in the daylight this morning before the storm worsened. They certainly weren't going to come out in the dark when the drifts had worsened and the snow had deepened. And it would be really rotten to ask the substitute preacher to drive 4 hours to come here (because 4 hours is what it would take -- I know -- I've been out in this today).
The one that stunned me was my father-confessor's church. He canceled. He NEVER cancels. He even made a humongous point last winter to say why church is never never never canceled. Well, I guess it's not really canceled. It's postponed. We'll be having the first Ash Thursday service I ever heard of.
I think I might have to call Philip and tell him not to come home but to find a motel. I know there are people in the nearest part of Milwaukee who would give him a room to sleep in, but I don't want him driving even that far tonight.
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Susan,
ReplyDeleteWhile the rest of the world was either watching Super Tuesday results, or having Fat Tuesday parties, here in Glenrock we were in ashes and repentance. Our congregation is part of a dual parish about 30 miles apart. Pastor said he felt wierd about having an Ash Thursday service (maybe because it shortens the penitent season by a day). But, hey, we prayed, we worshipped, we celebrated the Lord's Supper, and other than the day of the week, it was an Ash Wednesday service.
Hoping the storm isn't too hard on you and yours!
Wendi - hooked up to the internet - FINALLY - in Wyoming!
Hey, Wendi, it's gonna be so good to have you back online! I hope the move went superbly.
ReplyDeleteSusan, we've had Ash Thursday in our Dual parish here for 5 years now. DD #3 requested we drive the 30 miles up to the Wednesday service this year for two reasons; it is on Wednesday and the building is an actual stone church building..not a polebarn church building complete with paneling.
ReplyDeleteMy point is it
feels weird until you are in the service, then it is not weird.
And dh cancels church sometimes. Truth be told, whenever he hasn't..it has been just our family. I remember one time (in our southern Illinois dual parish)when he did not cancel and tried to drive in the snow those 7 miles and had to get an elder to come pull him out of a snow drift. (those were pre-cell phone days!) No one went to church..just him...actually, he never made it as I recall. We had church/family worship in our living room.
Oh, Lauri, I'm not worried about it feeling weird. In fact, this morning, knowing that there was no way I would make it to church tonight, I was wondering about asking Pastor if he could do a "repeat service" tomorrow after Bible class. (I figured I wasn't going to be the only one of the Bible-class regulars to miss Service. And school was canceled today, so the kids too would be able to come on Thursday instead of Wedn.) But then things began to get convoluted with my job mixed into tomorrow's other commitments, so I decided not to ask. But what I wanted was what Pastor ended up choosing to do anyway!
ReplyDeleteHi, Susan-
ReplyDeleteWe have both Ash Wednesday and Ash Thursday services every year, mainly because our midweek services are on Thursdays as opposed to Wednesdays and people would show up on Thursday anyway. I finally remembered this year that we do indeed have Ash Thursday service -- I would forget every previous year (only 7 other years ;-) My sister's church postponed Ash Wednesday to the following Wednesday, which I thought a tad odd. How do you postpone Ash Wednesday?
Jacqui