10:30 Sunday mass at Corpus Christi (New Burlington). The eastern side of Corpus Christi, facing Hamilton Avenue, gives the appearance of a large, somewhat imposing church. The western side, however, where the entrance and parking lot are situated, gives a far more accurate depiction of the church. Corpus Christi turned out to be surprisingly small - as the sign on the wall next to me stated, "Maximum Occupancy 482", which, I assume, included the small amount of balcony seating above me. Corpus Christi's church was also - and I hate to say this - drab and, quite frankly, pretty darn ugly, but the good news, as discussed at the end of mass, is that a renovation project is apparently ready to begin. With only a few formalities that still need to take place before "building" gets under way, plans are being made to move all services "downstairs." I feel rather lucky to have seen the "before" church; guess I'll have to return in a few months to check out the "after."
Once I got past the decor, I found a nice Sunday mass. The music group consisted of a dozen men and women, including a mandolin player which added a nice touch. They sounded quite nice. The Call to Worship included a reminder to turn off all cell phones and pagers as well as an "invitation" to remain until the end of the recessional song. I liked that last part, especially the subtlety of it, but I still saw a few rebels slip out early. I got a kick out of the announcement for the upcoming "Blacktop Social" (I liked the name) and the accompanying comment about an abundance of "goose droppings" in the parking lot. Sure enough, when leaving, I never spotted a single goose, but it was more than evident that a huge flock of them had been there.
I will forever remember this mass as "The Cane Mass." Among those attending, I have never seen so many people with canes at one time - even the priest had a cane! The canes didn't bother me in the least. On the contrary, I found it charming, but one small annoyance did. I had taken a seat in a pew towards the rear of the church. I wasn't sitting at the end of the pew but had scooted in enough to leave a "person-width" or two on the end. Let me preface the rest of this by saying, I don't mind changing my first choice of seats when I go to church. Hearing the usual, polite "Is this seat taken?" or "Do you mind if I sit here?" or even the "Can we climb over you?", I'm happy enough to slide left or right to accomodate those looking for a seat. Today, I looked up from my spot to see a young woman, followed by her husband and toddler, glaring at me. No formalities, no smile, nothing. She was just standing there, waiting, looking at me with an angry, blank stare. Translation? "MOVE." Maybe she had a rough night with Junior. Maybe I was in "their" seat (always a hazard as a visitor to a regular Sunday mass). I don't know, but I moved down. Before the end of the opening song, they had left for the cry room.
ATTENDANCE: Comfortably full
DURATION: 50 minutes
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