Prayers on the Wind

 Synod 2021

I arrived home in time to pick up Molly at the Country Aire Pet Resort and get my car unpacked before the clouds burst. As I type there is a wonderful Spring rain pouring down on my thirst plants.

After screaming through the apartment letting me know how happy she was to be home...Molly has settled in her crow's nest. 

The 2021 Synod for the Dioceses of the Western States was held at St. Augustine of Canterbury in Chico this past week. The Anglican Provence of Christ the King Synod was hosted by our neighbors to the south from Tuesday through Saturday morning. This was my first Synod and I had an amazing time.

On Wednesday morning I dropped Molly off at the Country Aire Pet Resort  where she was boarded for three nights. She had a nice little two room apartment and a play area to visit with her keepers. I arrived in Chico just before noon as my 2015 Camry rolled over 56,000 miles on the odometer. 

    Our group had rooms reserved at the Hotel Diamond. My room was on the second floor and I used the stairs all week to burn a few extra calories. After checking in I used my phone to find the church. I felt a little silly when I realized the church was caty-corner across the street from the parking garage. My car did not have to move from Wednesday until I left Saturday morning.

  

Throughout the week we had Mass and prayer services in the beautifully restored 1905 church. I also was able to attend a reception and workshop in the basement fellowship hall. It was such a refreshing experience after over a year of not being within elbow reach of people. We were all conscience of distancing and grouping by church groups. However, I enjoyed meals with a number of new friends. 

The Anglican Church Women (ACW) had a luncheon and meeting in the Hotel Diamond Steak House. This was perhaps the time I saw the greatest impact that Covid had left on Chico and our ACW. The steak house is closed, but as guest of the hotel they allowed us to use the room. This photo is stock online. The room looked very different on Thursday. We had catered lunch boxes on the counter from a nearby diner. The tables had been made into one long table along the windows at the left. It is hard to hold a meeting at a long table, but our president did a great job. Unfortunately, we had 1/3 of the women that had attended in past years. We were not daunted by our circumstances and everyone had a good time.

    I met many of the people I have been taking Bishop Ashman's classes with online this past year. Through Zoom the Bishop has been teaching and holding services for over a year. It was exciting to see these people who are more special to me than meeting television celebrities. These are the celebrities that are on my computer every Tuesday evening. 

On Thursday night there was a Clergy and wives dinner and as I am neither of those I found my way to Allie's British Pub. The British Bulldog Brewery started their own pub. They had outdoor dining with a couple playing live music from the 60's and 70's. I had a Shepheard Pie and a dark ale with hints of chocolate. The couple played until dark and we walked less than a block back to the hotel.

Friday was the big day. I was a delegate representing my local parish. There were 20 lay delegates and about as many clergy delegates. I was honored to count the ballots, so I knew how many were there. (I guess it is my spatial brain that always counts all the people around me.) At least four Bishops were in attendance. Three of them had come to exam my local rector who was consecrated to be a Bishop on Friday afternoon.

    The photo above was of Bishop Upland blessing me as he walked out after the consecration. I personally feel that the Bishops are the most humble men I have ever meet. The tradition that they follow which dictates their clothing is historical accurate back 1,500 years. They are all well educated and most of the priest I meet are either professors, law enforcement or attorneys, many with doctorates. Most of them share my love or art history and music. 

    The wives of these men are also well educated. One of the lay woman that I was honored to meet is a professor in a California University.

     Another bonus was  to meet other women that cover their heads in worship. Over a year ago I felt lead to cover my head in worship, but was attending a church that I knew that would not be well received. When I first attended St. Luke's Anglican in October of 2019 I felt I had come home. 

    Molly and I have unpacked our bags and gotten prepared for the week ahead. However, it will take me weeks to unpack all I learned and study the books I purchased. It was a honor to serve my local parish as a delegate and meet so many people that share my faith and style of worship.