We've been home one week, as of tonight, from our four month Sabbatical, and our two months of overseas travel. Unfortunately, Loretta only spent the first of those nights at home. Last Wednesday, her labs indicated that she needed medical care, and she has been in Averra McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls since then. I thought I'd get to bring her home today, but the doctor wanted to keep her one more day. Loretta's blood chemistry was quite out of whack after the multiple infections she had on our trip. Thankfully, the doctors' search for other, more serious reasons for her blood abnormalities were all negative, and they too have concluded that it must be due to the infections she had. And her blood tests are becoming more normal daily without major interventions, others than some tweaking of her medications.
So this week I have been making trips to Sioux Falls daily to see Loretta and trying to find my way back into my work here as well. Sunday the church had a nice "welcome home" dinner for us. I'm sorry Loretta missed it. After dinner I was able to share a sketch of our past four months away.
It is so hard to believe that just a week ago we left the beautiful island of Crete. I cherish the opportunities I had to walk in the Cretan countryside this past Spring. The landscape of Crete, especially in this season, is breathtaking, as I've said before, with mountains and sea, olive groves and vineyards, flocks of sheep and goats. Despite being on a scale one can easily see, there is a vastness as well, especially in the vertical dimensions of the landscape. So I will hold in my memory the Spring of 2008, when I could walk the countryside of Crete.
I've written before about the landscape of home, and for the past week, I've also been enjoying the Turkey Ridge Valley, spread out before me even as I write from this computer. As I wrote several years ago, this is the landscape of home. When I see Turkey Ridge, I know that I am home.
It is quite a different landscape than Crete. It is far more vast of course. Here the dimensions are continental, and there is room for the landscape to spread out to the horizon. Yet in this Turkey Ridge Valley there is an intimacy as well. The vally brings into view the farms up and down the country roads. The valley defines a human space, a human community.
This intimacy I feel in both the Cretan and the Turkey Ridge landscapes are to me what make them both so special to me. Both are too big to grasp entirely, and yet living or walking there brings the landscape into human view, and highlights the connection between the people, the land, and their Creator.
I noticed that our congregation in its final Bible Study during my Sabbatical was reading chapters for Kathleen Norris' book, DAKOTA: A SPIRITUAL GEOGRAPHY. It is a book that has been influential in shaping my own view of the connections between land, people, and the Creator. These are connections I hope we can deepen and strengthen in the future.
Roy
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
We're home!
Yes, we walked into our house here around 8:00 PM last evening, Tuesday! We left Crete Monday evening on a flight to Athens, had a short night (I stayed in the airport with luggage and Loretta, Joanne, and Kaitlyn had a room at an airport motel for the short night). We flew to Frankfurt at 6:00 AM, and then had our long flight to Chicago, where we left Joanne and Kaitlyn to fly home to Colorado while we flew to Sioux Falls where Craig met us and brought us home. Kaitlyn was a real trooper on the long trip and slept quite a bit, to the relief of her mother!
Our first order of business this morning was to get Loretta to the Freeman Hospital for her blood work and labs. As we suspected from her lack of energy the past weeks, the labs indicated she needed medical attention. So we saw our nephrologist in Sioux Falls today who recommended she spend some days in the hospital, at McKennan. They suspect a residual infection may still be affecting her body chemistry.
We are very relieved to have her in familiar medical care. As you probably picked up in earlier blogs, I was quite worried about Loretta since her hospitalization on Crete earlier in April. She could function, but wasn't really herself and didn't have much energy. When she was released from the Iraklion hospital, I asked the doctor if we should come home early, but he didn't think it was necessary.
In any case, I was able to finish the Sabbatical as planned, and did most of the things I had hoped to do these past two weeks. However, I am keenly aware that a Sabbatical experience is not worth Loretta's health. So we are grateful that she is in medical care now, and trust that nothing serious will be found and that she can be helped back to the health she had before we left.
I will be balancing care and concern for Loretta with getting back into my work here at the church, which I am very eager to do. I may still have some blogs in the next few weeks reflecting on aspects of our experience these past four months. For now, we are grateful to be home and for Loretta to be receiving the care she needs. Thank you for all your prayers and concerns for us these past weeks. It was meant so much to us.
Roy
Our first order of business this morning was to get Loretta to the Freeman Hospital for her blood work and labs. As we suspected from her lack of energy the past weeks, the labs indicated she needed medical attention. So we saw our nephrologist in Sioux Falls today who recommended she spend some days in the hospital, at McKennan. They suspect a residual infection may still be affecting her body chemistry.
We are very relieved to have her in familiar medical care. As you probably picked up in earlier blogs, I was quite worried about Loretta since her hospitalization on Crete earlier in April. She could function, but wasn't really herself and didn't have much energy. When she was released from the Iraklion hospital, I asked the doctor if we should come home early, but he didn't think it was necessary.
In any case, I was able to finish the Sabbatical as planned, and did most of the things I had hoped to do these past two weeks. However, I am keenly aware that a Sabbatical experience is not worth Loretta's health. So we are grateful that she is in medical care now, and trust that nothing serious will be found and that she can be helped back to the health she had before we left.
I will be balancing care and concern for Loretta with getting back into my work here at the church, which I am very eager to do. I may still have some blogs in the next few weeks reflecting on aspects of our experience these past four months. For now, we are grateful to be home and for Loretta to be receiving the care she needs. Thank you for all your prayers and concerns for us these past weeks. It was meant so much to us.
Roy
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday!
It is noon here on Easter Sunday. We just came back from a late morning brunch at the Orthodox Academy, where we joined a group of French botanists staying here and studying the plants of Crete.
We haven't been in church since morning broke. Our church began last night at 11:00 PM and lasted (for me) until 2:30 AM, as I stayed for the whole service. The Easter Festival began with prayers at 11:00 last night. Then all the lights in the church were turned off and the priest came out from the altar area with one lit candle, announcing that Christ is truly risen. The light spreads from that candle to all the candles we were holding, and out into the packed courtyard where Loretta, Joanne, and Kaitlyn were also waiting. There are some hymns and prayers in the courtyard as the church is completely emptied of people. When the Easter hymn announcing Christ's resurrection is sung, the bells of the church peal into the night air in a cacophony of sound and light!! Then it is time for the Easter liturgy itself to begin. The priest goes to the door of the church, and reading from Psalm 24 asks who is worthy to enter the gates of the sanctuary. Then the priest and people reenter the church and the service proceeds. Most people leave at this time, wishing one another a "Kalo Pascha" (Good Easter) and "Chronia polla", (many years), and greeting one another with the words, "Christos anesti," "alythos anesti", (Christ is risen! Truly risen). Perhaps 20 to 30 people stayed in the church for the completion of the liturgy sometiime after 2:00 AM. Of course, this is repeated in every Orthodox parish church, as well as monastery churches like the one we attended last night. With some 98% of the population being Greek Orthodox, literally everyone turns out for some of the Holy Week and Easter observances, and this makes for packed churches at these times.
This is our last full day here on Crete, and it dawned rainy and cool. While it isn't as "nice", I am always thankful for rain, and it rained most of the morning here. At 1:00 PM, we will join everyone here at the Academy for a traditional lamb Easter dinner.
This also happens to be our daughter Joanne's birthday, so we are thinking of her birth some years ago when we lived on Crete as a young married couple. We are pleased to be able to celebrate her birthday with her and Kaitlyn here on Crete this year. Actually, we had a family birthday dinner for both Joanne and Susanna (born April 29) while we were still altogether here a week or so ago, Friday, April 18.
The sun is just breaking through the clouds.
We are looking forward to being home and worshipping with our own church next Sunday! This will probably not be my last blog entry, but it may be my last entry till we get home early Tuesday evening! Wish us safe travels! We are traveling with Joanne and Kaitlyn as far as Chicago on Tuesday afternoon.
Roy
It is noon here on Easter Sunday. We just came back from a late morning brunch at the Orthodox Academy, where we joined a group of French botanists staying here and studying the plants of Crete.
We haven't been in church since morning broke. Our church began last night at 11:00 PM and lasted (for me) until 2:30 AM, as I stayed for the whole service. The Easter Festival began with prayers at 11:00 last night. Then all the lights in the church were turned off and the priest came out from the altar area with one lit candle, announcing that Christ is truly risen. The light spreads from that candle to all the candles we were holding, and out into the packed courtyard where Loretta, Joanne, and Kaitlyn were also waiting. There are some hymns and prayers in the courtyard as the church is completely emptied of people. When the Easter hymn announcing Christ's resurrection is sung, the bells of the church peal into the night air in a cacophony of sound and light!! Then it is time for the Easter liturgy itself to begin. The priest goes to the door of the church, and reading from Psalm 24 asks who is worthy to enter the gates of the sanctuary. Then the priest and people reenter the church and the service proceeds. Most people leave at this time, wishing one another a "Kalo Pascha" (Good Easter) and "Chronia polla", (many years), and greeting one another with the words, "Christos anesti," "alythos anesti", (Christ is risen! Truly risen). Perhaps 20 to 30 people stayed in the church for the completion of the liturgy sometiime after 2:00 AM. Of course, this is repeated in every Orthodox parish church, as well as monastery churches like the one we attended last night. With some 98% of the population being Greek Orthodox, literally everyone turns out for some of the Holy Week and Easter observances, and this makes for packed churches at these times.
This is our last full day here on Crete, and it dawned rainy and cool. While it isn't as "nice", I am always thankful for rain, and it rained most of the morning here. At 1:00 PM, we will join everyone here at the Academy for a traditional lamb Easter dinner.
This also happens to be our daughter Joanne's birthday, so we are thinking of her birth some years ago when we lived on Crete as a young married couple. We are pleased to be able to celebrate her birthday with her and Kaitlyn here on Crete this year. Actually, we had a family birthday dinner for both Joanne and Susanna (born April 29) while we were still altogether here a week or so ago, Friday, April 18.
The sun is just breaking through the clouds.
We are looking forward to being home and worshipping with our own church next Sunday! This will probably not be my last blog entry, but it may be my last entry till we get home early Tuesday evening! Wish us safe travels! We are traveling with Joanne and Kaitlyn as far as Chicago on Tuesday afternoon.
Roy
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Oranges to die for!
To this South Dakota farm boy, the rugged, stony landscape of Crete hardly seems like a likely agricultural environment! So it must have seemed also to the Mennonite Central Committee PAX men who came to the Agricultural Demonstration Farm here in Kolymbari in the 1960's. They attempted, partly at the request of the local bishop, to recreate a Midwestern American farm, complete with a Holstein dairy herd.
When you've been on Crete for awhile, you begin to perceive the rich agricultural, rural heritage of this place. Most of the Paxmen did as well during their stay here, and probably ended up realizing that they had at least as much to learn as they had to share, in terms of agricultural knowledge and expertise.
Loretta and I remembered with delight the oranges we ate on Crete for 2 years, 1969 to 1972. We had trouble stomaching oranges shipped in from Florida or California for several years after coming home. Once again, Crete has not diasppointed us! We have been enjoying Cretan oranges since our arrival the end of March. One big bag we bought as a family, along with freshly squeezed orange juice, from a roadside stand in a valley west of Iraklion which seemed to be right for citrus. Again when we drove up to the Plain of Omalos from Chania, we drove through miles of citrus groves. We noticed that the orange trees are bearing and blooming at the same time, and the air was fragrant with orange blossoms as we drove along.
In addition to citrus, Cretan agriculture features olives. There are olive trees literally everywhere on the island. I notice that the mountains are terraced with olive trees much more intensively than when we were here 40 years ago. Kolymbari, where we are staying, has a large olive processing plant, as do many villages around here. A few years ago we brought a large tin of olive oil in Minneapolis produced right here in Kolymbari. We've been cooking with olive oil here, as we often do at home, and olives, cheese, and bread make a marvelous breakfast or lunch.
The fruit of the vine is nearly as common on Crete as the olive. Grapes are produced everywhere, many for raisins which used to be dried in the sun, many for wine, and many for table use.
In terms of livestock, sheep and goats are most common, with herds seen everywhere in the countryside as you drive along or walk. Many of them have bells which create a marvelous experience when you are walking in the countryside. Sheep and goats are used for wool for weaving traditional patterns, for meat of course, but also for cheese. Feta and misithra are the names for cheeses made from goat and sheep milk. There are in addition some wheat and small grain fields, usually small. I don't know how much wheat used for bread is produced locally, but I know that freshly baked bread is most common in the local village bakeries.
Last Sunday as I was walking to the village church I passed a freshly mown patch of aromatic alfalfa which triggered memories of South Dakota, except that this patch was probably a quarter acre instead of the 20 to 40 acre fields most often seen on our farms. There are also many greenhouses producing cucumbers and tomatoes especially.
Here in Kolymbari, we daily see small fishing boats heading out to the Mediterranean, and the restaurants here in the village all feature fresh fish and seafoods of all kinds. We especially enjoy "kalamaria" for an appetizer--squid deepfat fried in olive oil!
In addition to all of this, the villages have many small gardens for fresh vegetables. And now in Springtime especially, you see many villagers out on the mountainside picking "chorta", fresh greens used as salads or cooked vegetables. I'm sure there is much nutrition packed into these greens. And of course, step onto any mountainside, and you will be surrounded with herbs used in cooking--thyme, oregano, marjoram, etc. etc.
Perhaps this gives you a small "taste" of Cretan agriculture, and the rich agricultural heritage of the island. Despite appearances, Crete is a most bountiful island, with rich soil and a climate appropriate for growing just about anything. We've met a number of people who though their main income comes from providing services for tourists still maintain an olive grove or a potato field, or have a few animals for their family. Agriculture is alive and well here on Crete!
Roy
When you've been on Crete for awhile, you begin to perceive the rich agricultural, rural heritage of this place. Most of the Paxmen did as well during their stay here, and probably ended up realizing that they had at least as much to learn as they had to share, in terms of agricultural knowledge and expertise.
Loretta and I remembered with delight the oranges we ate on Crete for 2 years, 1969 to 1972. We had trouble stomaching oranges shipped in from Florida or California for several years after coming home. Once again, Crete has not diasppointed us! We have been enjoying Cretan oranges since our arrival the end of March. One big bag we bought as a family, along with freshly squeezed orange juice, from a roadside stand in a valley west of Iraklion which seemed to be right for citrus. Again when we drove up to the Plain of Omalos from Chania, we drove through miles of citrus groves. We noticed that the orange trees are bearing and blooming at the same time, and the air was fragrant with orange blossoms as we drove along.
In addition to citrus, Cretan agriculture features olives. There are olive trees literally everywhere on the island. I notice that the mountains are terraced with olive trees much more intensively than when we were here 40 years ago. Kolymbari, where we are staying, has a large olive processing plant, as do many villages around here. A few years ago we brought a large tin of olive oil in Minneapolis produced right here in Kolymbari. We've been cooking with olive oil here, as we often do at home, and olives, cheese, and bread make a marvelous breakfast or lunch.
The fruit of the vine is nearly as common on Crete as the olive. Grapes are produced everywhere, many for raisins which used to be dried in the sun, many for wine, and many for table use.
In terms of livestock, sheep and goats are most common, with herds seen everywhere in the countryside as you drive along or walk. Many of them have bells which create a marvelous experience when you are walking in the countryside. Sheep and goats are used for wool for weaving traditional patterns, for meat of course, but also for cheese. Feta and misithra are the names for cheeses made from goat and sheep milk. There are in addition some wheat and small grain fields, usually small. I don't know how much wheat used for bread is produced locally, but I know that freshly baked bread is most common in the local village bakeries.
Last Sunday as I was walking to the village church I passed a freshly mown patch of aromatic alfalfa which triggered memories of South Dakota, except that this patch was probably a quarter acre instead of the 20 to 40 acre fields most often seen on our farms. There are also many greenhouses producing cucumbers and tomatoes especially.
Here in Kolymbari, we daily see small fishing boats heading out to the Mediterranean, and the restaurants here in the village all feature fresh fish and seafoods of all kinds. We especially enjoy "kalamaria" for an appetizer--squid deepfat fried in olive oil!
In addition to all of this, the villages have many small gardens for fresh vegetables. And now in Springtime especially, you see many villagers out on the mountainside picking "chorta", fresh greens used as salads or cooked vegetables. I'm sure there is much nutrition packed into these greens. And of course, step onto any mountainside, and you will be surrounded with herbs used in cooking--thyme, oregano, marjoram, etc. etc.
Perhaps this gives you a small "taste" of Cretan agriculture, and the rich agricultural heritage of the island. Despite appearances, Crete is a most bountiful island, with rich soil and a climate appropriate for growing just about anything. We've met a number of people who though their main income comes from providing services for tourists still maintain an olive grove or a potato field, or have a few animals for their family. Agriculture is alive and well here on Crete!
Roy
Friday, April 25, 2008
Good Friday on Crete!
Today is Good Friday in Greece, referred to in Greek as "the Great Friday," just as every day in Holy Week here is referred to as the "Great Day."
I attended the Maundy Thursday service at the Monastery Church just up the road last night. It consisted of twelve Gospel readings, the first being the entire Last Supper Discourse of Jesus from John 13-17. (Some of the other readings weren't that long, but the service lasted from 7:00 to 11:00 PM, and I stood the whole time, as did some others. I was able to follow the entire service in my Greek prayer book, holding a candle in one hand and the book in the other.)
At the beginning of the service, a candleabra with twelve candles was lit at the front of the church, and as each Gospel was read, a candle was extinguished, just as in our Tenebrae Good Friday service.
At the point where Jesus was crucified in the narrative readings, a wooden cross with candles on it was carried out of the front of the church and processed throughout the sanctuary among the people. Then it was taken to the front of the church and an wooden icon of Jesus crucified was placed on the cross and nailed on it. This cross was then placed at the front of the church. Between every Gospel reading, people came forward to kiss the cross and make the sign of the cross. Many of these people came just for this and didn't stay for all the readings. But when a Gospel was being read, everyone stood quietly and listened carefully. In between Gospel readings, the priest and chanters sang hymns commenting on the Gospel readings. Many of these readings focussed on Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial, and on the roles of the different characters in the story, entreating the congregation not to be like these people who all participated in some way in Jesus' passion.
Tonight the service will again be very dramatic. The wooden image of Jesus placed on the cross last night will be taken down and placed on a bier. This bier is then carried in a funeral procession throughout the courtyard of the church and even down here to the Academy grounds, I understand.
Saturday night features a midnight liturgy beginning at 11:00 PM and continuing past midnight to celebrate Christ's resurrection. The church which all week has been shrouded in darkness will then have every light and candleabra lit and burning brightly! Sunday morning Greeks break the 40 day Lenten fast, and I understand we will have a lamb roast here at the Academy on Sunday evening!
We are all doing pretty well here. The director's wife gave us an octopus the other night to prepare. We have eaten octopus and enjoy it, but cooking it is another matter, so we shall see how we do at this!
So much for this time.
Roy
I attended the Maundy Thursday service at the Monastery Church just up the road last night. It consisted of twelve Gospel readings, the first being the entire Last Supper Discourse of Jesus from John 13-17. (Some of the other readings weren't that long, but the service lasted from 7:00 to 11:00 PM, and I stood the whole time, as did some others. I was able to follow the entire service in my Greek prayer book, holding a candle in one hand and the book in the other.)
At the beginning of the service, a candleabra with twelve candles was lit at the front of the church, and as each Gospel was read, a candle was extinguished, just as in our Tenebrae Good Friday service.
At the point where Jesus was crucified in the narrative readings, a wooden cross with candles on it was carried out of the front of the church and processed throughout the sanctuary among the people. Then it was taken to the front of the church and an wooden icon of Jesus crucified was placed on the cross and nailed on it. This cross was then placed at the front of the church. Between every Gospel reading, people came forward to kiss the cross and make the sign of the cross. Many of these people came just for this and didn't stay for all the readings. But when a Gospel was being read, everyone stood quietly and listened carefully. In between Gospel readings, the priest and chanters sang hymns commenting on the Gospel readings. Many of these readings focussed on Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial, and on the roles of the different characters in the story, entreating the congregation not to be like these people who all participated in some way in Jesus' passion.
Tonight the service will again be very dramatic. The wooden image of Jesus placed on the cross last night will be taken down and placed on a bier. This bier is then carried in a funeral procession throughout the courtyard of the church and even down here to the Academy grounds, I understand.
Saturday night features a midnight liturgy beginning at 11:00 PM and continuing past midnight to celebrate Christ's resurrection. The church which all week has been shrouded in darkness will then have every light and candleabra lit and burning brightly! Sunday morning Greeks break the 40 day Lenten fast, and I understand we will have a lamb roast here at the Academy on Sunday evening!
We are all doing pretty well here. The director's wife gave us an octopus the other night to prepare. We have eaten octopus and enjoy it, but cooking it is another matter, so we shall see how we do at this!
So much for this time.
Roy
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Thoughts turning toward home!
This is turning out to be a long week, as Loretta and I are both eager to be back home. Perhaps our time here was just a little long. But the weather has been very nice the last day or so. Tuesday I did my last (12th) spiritual retreat, spending much of the day outdoors. That was a hot windy day, so not as pleasant as I had hoped, but still a good day.
I've been continuing to attend the daily Holy Week liturgies in the local churches, except I missed yesterday. I alternate between the Monastery Church just up the road from the Academy, and the village church down in Kolymbari. Sometimes I am able to follow the service pretty well, and sometimes I seem to be hopelessly lost. With nearly the whole population being Greek Orthodox and therefore knowing what is going on, you typically don't receive a lot of help in being oriented to what is happening in the church. They simply haven't had any experience in that context in knowing how to be helpful, though the Greeks tend in general to be very hospitable people. I expect the tempo of church activity will pick up with this being Maundy Thursday and tomorrow Good Friday. Then there is typically a midnight liturgy on Saturday night leading into Easter Sunday morning. So we will keep you posted on that.
Yesterday we rented a car for the day for a final time so we could make a final shopping trip in Chania, the nearby city. In the afternoon we drove onto a large peninsula, the Akrotiri, where the regional airport is, and saw some old monasteries. We also visited a Center for the Preservation of Cretan Flora and Fauna, a park with many native plants identified. That was a place I had wanted to see, and I was impressed with how well it was done.
Loretta and I are eager to be home, as I said. I'm looking forward to getting back to work, and we are eager to get into a regular routine and work at planting our garden and doing things at home. We hope Spring has finally come to South Dakota!
Roy
I've been continuing to attend the daily Holy Week liturgies in the local churches, except I missed yesterday. I alternate between the Monastery Church just up the road from the Academy, and the village church down in Kolymbari. Sometimes I am able to follow the service pretty well, and sometimes I seem to be hopelessly lost. With nearly the whole population being Greek Orthodox and therefore knowing what is going on, you typically don't receive a lot of help in being oriented to what is happening in the church. They simply haven't had any experience in that context in knowing how to be helpful, though the Greeks tend in general to be very hospitable people. I expect the tempo of church activity will pick up with this being Maundy Thursday and tomorrow Good Friday. Then there is typically a midnight liturgy on Saturday night leading into Easter Sunday morning. So we will keep you posted on that.
Yesterday we rented a car for the day for a final time so we could make a final shopping trip in Chania, the nearby city. In the afternoon we drove onto a large peninsula, the Akrotiri, where the regional airport is, and saw some old monasteries. We also visited a Center for the Preservation of Cretan Flora and Fauna, a park with many native plants identified. That was a place I had wanted to see, and I was impressed with how well it was done.
Loretta and I are eager to be home, as I said. I'm looking forward to getting back to work, and we are eager to get into a regular routine and work at planting our garden and doing things at home. We hope Spring has finally come to South Dakota!
Roy
Sunday, April 20, 2008
It's Holy Week in Greece!
About a month ago, March 16, Loretta and I participated in the enormous Palm Sunday processional in Jerusalem, from the Mount of Olives into the old city of Jerusalem. Today I walked the mile or so from the Orthodox Academy of Crete where we are staying to the village church in Kolymbari, in order to participate in the Palm Sunday services here in Greece. Holy Week begins today here, and next Sunday is Easter Sunday. I was determined to get there for the whole service today, so I arrived at 8:00 AM. The priest and choir were already chanting Psalms and prayers, but the Divine Liturgy itself did not begin until 9:00 AM. The church was fairly empty the first hour, but began to fill up as the service continued, as is customary in Greek Orthdox worship. There is a lot of coming and going through these services. By the end of the service the church was quite full, with lots of families and children.
The service had the same liturgy enacted every Sunday, which I could follow easily with my Greek/English parallel copy of the liturgy. There were some special hymns and prayers for the Palm Sunday observance, and the Gospel reading was from John 12:1-19. The priest gave a short homily in which he talked about how popular Jesus was because of the raising of Lazarus, but that the same people who were marveling at this miracle now would be calling out for Jesus' crucifixion later in the week. Everyone attending received a small palm leaf folded into the shape of a cross, with a carnation tucked into it. Later today, and throughout the week, there will be special services in all the churches following the events of Holy Week. I still have to find out where and when and how to get to these, but I hope to participate as much as possible.
With the amount of walking involved to the churches, I'm letting Loretta here in our apartment with Joanne and Kaitlyn for most of these services. Loretta continues to be OK, but her energy level isn't so good. Last evening was bitter sweet for us as I took Dora and Susanna to the airport and dropped off the Fiat Scudo van we had been driving for the past two weeks. It was hard to break up the family circle again, but I was so thankful the girls managed to get two weeks off work in order to join us for this time. We had a very good time together, and enjoyed the archaeological sites we visited, the nature hikes we took, and all our other activities.
Roy
The service had the same liturgy enacted every Sunday, which I could follow easily with my Greek/English parallel copy of the liturgy. There were some special hymns and prayers for the Palm Sunday observance, and the Gospel reading was from John 12:1-19. The priest gave a short homily in which he talked about how popular Jesus was because of the raising of Lazarus, but that the same people who were marveling at this miracle now would be calling out for Jesus' crucifixion later in the week. Everyone attending received a small palm leaf folded into the shape of a cross, with a carnation tucked into it. Later today, and throughout the week, there will be special services in all the churches following the events of Holy Week. I still have to find out where and when and how to get to these, but I hope to participate as much as possible.
With the amount of walking involved to the churches, I'm letting Loretta here in our apartment with Joanne and Kaitlyn for most of these services. Loretta continues to be OK, but her energy level isn't so good. Last evening was bitter sweet for us as I took Dora and Susanna to the airport and dropped off the Fiat Scudo van we had been driving for the past two weeks. It was hard to break up the family circle again, but I was so thankful the girls managed to get two weeks off work in order to join us for this time. We had a very good time together, and enjoyed the archaeological sites we visited, the nature hikes we took, and all our other activities.
Roy
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