4:00 Saturday afternoon mass, St. Mary's, Hyde Park. There's something rather Anglican about St. Mary's church. I'm not sure exactly what made me think this. The high ceiling? The incredibly detailed stained glass windows? The abundance of rich, dark wood? No. Nothing really strikingly different there from several other Catholic churches. There was just something about the arrangement of those items, the presentation that made me think . . . Hogwarts. Not a bad thing given that St. Mary's really is a beautiful church. Ornate in the most classic sense. It's definitely striking when you get that first glimpse of the interior. Of course, on this chilly, blustery, overcast Saturday, I suppose it was only natural that that first impression also made me feel that there should have been a vicar presiding over the service. I'm pretty sure that one of things that made me go British here was the prominent display of large coats of arms throughout the church. Big and colorful, all of the big names and crests were repesented on these banners - Tommy Hilfiger, Izod, Ralph. Not really, of course, but with the church's central location in Hyde Park, I suppose I wouldn't have been surprised if they were. What did surprise me was the real lack of prep among the congregation. Other than the embroidered polo player on my daughter's shirt, I don't think I caught a glimpse of any other fashion status symbols. Oh, I suppose the rumors could be true - "no logo" is the new logo. I did notice several Burberry plaid accessories, but my fashion savvy daughter again enlightened me, telling me that what I had assumed was a "real" Burberry purse carried by the woman next to us was, in fact, a knockoff. Don't ask me how she knew. I, on the other hand, one-upped her by pointing out an obvious Target fashion purchase. Take that.
Of course, the fashion trends of this congregation were largely determined by the number of seniors in attendance, and there were a lot of them. I had to circle the block twice waiting to reach the parking lot because a small Metro shuttle bus was blocking the road as it dropped off quite a significant number of seniors for mass. Once I finally got into the church, my timing was just right that I got to play doorman for several little ladies and their rollators (or, as my children lovingly refer to them, "the little engine that could"). Walking up the center aisle to receive communion, I couldn't believe the area between the front section of pews and the back section. It was a virtual parking lot of canes, walkers, rollators, and wheelchairs. I don't know how they ever sorted them out when it was all over. How many seniors were there? Well, let's put it this way: St. Mary's had one eucharistic minister designated just to troll the pews looking for those unable to make their way on their own to receive communion. That was nice. Soooo, the very weekend I chose to visit St. Mary's, an apparent mecca for the senior set, was the same weekend I received my first AARP membership card. Coincidence? Or something greater? Troublesome, either way.
Mass at St. Mary's was uneventful. My only complaint fell with the music. A definite lack of music leadership left the crowd mumbling unsuredly through the hymns. I'm not sure what the problem was because a young girl, prominently situated behind the priest, was clearly intended to fill that position. Sound system problems that were noticeable at other times in the mass may have been partly to blame. Still, I don't know if I was more embarrassed for her because of the lack of audible words coming from her clearly visible efforts . . . or the fact that, well aware of her position on the altar, she had still chosen to wear jeans and a t-shirt. Oh yeah, I'm a card-carrying AARP member.
ATTENDANCE: Half full
DURATION: One hour
No comments:
Post a Comment