All in the end is harvest


Yesterday, within the space of half an hour, I was assailed by a cold which left me sneezing and nose wiping.  By 6:30 p.m. I could not even face the prospect of eating.  So I did not eat dinner. Instead I took a couple of anti-histamine pills before taking myself to bed. Then I slept through until 5:00 a.m.  I have been snuffling and sneezing all day, but the anti-histamines are at least mitigating the symptoms.


In the absence of the Rector (he and his wife are in Germany to visit family members who live in Leipzig), I had double duty at St. Boniface Church this morning.


I facilitated the 10:15 a.m. Bible Study.  It was an energising time.  The 25 attendees were fully engaged with the texts. That led to some truly useful dialogue.  

I love to teach the bible, and my teaching was enriched by what I learned from the “students”.


It also fell to my lot to Preside at the 11:15 a.m. Eucharist. One of the choir members (Rachel) sang after we’d all received communion. She has a rich contralto voice. Her solo was “O rest in the Lord” from Mendelssohn’s Oratorio “Elijah”.  Rachel sang it so beautifully.

I was “all ears” since this was one of my Mum’s favourite pieces. I thought of all the times she and I had heard it on the “wireless” back in England.   We most frequently heard the piece as recorded by the legendary English contralto Kathleen Ferrier.

See http://www.kathleenferrier.org.uk/kfs.nsf/Pages/Biography

============================================

Music has such a skillful and cunning way of evoking memories (both sad and glad).


Earlier today I came upon this snippet from a poem by Edith Sitwell.  (1887-1964)
Love is not changed by death
and nothing is lost,
and all in the end is harvest.


Damn!  Those 17 words fill me with hope and longing.  Thus they also made me sad.


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