I was touched that upon entering our pew, we were given a missal by one of the ushers, who also made sure we felt at home and others were given them as well. What a warm feeling to receive that type of attention to detail. The ushers also cracked opened the windows at times to allow proper air flow due to the large amount of people for worship. I noticed that the
During the first reading, as I was listening, I gazed about and noticed that there was such a melting pot of nationalities and people of all ages that came to worship together in God's home. That may be the piece that binds us all together, God. After all, we are a mix of people, perhaps from all over the world, that join our brother and sister in our quest to glorify Him.
The front of the altar was adorned with beautiful palm arrangements. Having done floral arrangements many times before, I couldn't image an arrangement with just green palms, and these were simple and elegant. The contrast of the green with the red cloth on the altar top and the purple cloth below that draped about 15 feet in front. There was a rustic wooden cross at the base of the altar and a gold cloth softly wrapping the cross and moving down towards the many purple candles. The color combination reminded me of elegant jewels - ruby, amethyst, gold and emeralds. There were color matching banners on each side of the crucifix behind altar on the walls, on the left the Alpha & Omega symbols and on the right is the a Crucifix with wheat and light.
After church, I was honored to meet Father James Blaine and Deacon Sunday. These two gentlemen were wonderful to speak with and I explained to them my pilgrimage. Later, after I took photos, I was able to spend more time speaking with Deacon Sunday, who also ministers to St. John of the Cross. What a wonderful combination of gentle and kindhearted men. The same can be said about the people who came up to me and wished me a wonderful and blessed week. One lady, put it quite well, she said that upon leaving church she feels stronger and ready to face the coming week.
The size of a church doesn't matter, it is what's inside that does. It's also the first one I've seen with it's own picnic and playground area. Thank you to Father Blaine, Deacon Sunday and parishioners, for making this Church-Hopper and her husband feel at home. May God continue to bless you all.