Palm Sunday

Hello again, I thought I would share our Palm Sunday celebration with you. As I said in my last post we are blessed to have Fr. Bill Martin visiting us from Palm Sunday, through Holy Week and Easter. It is a blessing for me to be able to sit back and see how Holy Week is celebrated here. Fr. Martin has been coming to Andros for Holy Week for over 10 years so I am watching and learning.


The first thing to understand about Palm Sunday here is that palms are everywhere AND they are a bit different from the single stalk that we use in Boston. Here everyone gets an entire branch of a type of palm that you can really see being used in the bible story of Palm Sunday to blanket the street before Jesus as He entered Jerusalem.



All three parishes had a palm blessing service and an enterance procession. This is a pic of the blessing and procession at St. John Chrysostom in Fresh Creek. Fr. Bill Martin visited us from Vermont. A retired Air Force Chaplain he stayed at the AUTEC Navy Base while with us and led services on Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter.







The procession at Christ the King in Cargill Creek was a bit different from the others in that, down the road a piece, there is a tiki hut so we started there and processed down the street into the church. Rather impressive I must say.









Each church read the passion in four parts, with the people included in the readings. Every time the crowd shouted "Crucify Him" I literally got the chills - every time. I don't know why but that one line of the people shouting Crucify Him really struck home with me this year.



Suffice it to say Palm Sunday on Andros was a wonderful experience for Ginni and I and we are looking forward now to Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and the feast of feasts - Easter Sunday. I am sure I'll have much to say after what will be both exhilarating, and exhausting Triduum.

Chrism Mass

Well in my last post I promised to tell you about the Chrism Mass on Nassau, so here goes.

Suffice it to say, for me, this was a fantastic liturgy.

The Chrism Mass is an annual liturgy where the local Bishop consecrates all the holy oils and chrism to be used over the next year. This includes the Oil for the Sick, used during the Sacrament of the Sick; the Oil of Catechumens used during Baptism, and Holy Chrism used during Baptisms, Confirmations, and Ordinations.

In Boston the Chrism Mass has always been held mid-day, on a mid-week day which meant that Permanent Deacons with jobs pretty much could not attend so while ordained for 7 years I have never been able to attend a Chrism Mass. In the Archdiocese of Nassau clergy must fly in from islands all over the Carribean so they hold it during the evening so all can attend.

I should explain the logistics for those of you who have never visited the Cathedral. St. Francis Xavier Cathedral is a new building, absolutely wonderful, built next to the old cathedral that was built by the founding fathers of the diocese. The old cathedral is a fantastic historic building, still a great worship space, but we used it to vest prior to the procession entering the Cathedral. Here priests and deacons from all the islands were present, and the Archdiocese provided matching gold and white Deacon stoles and Priest chasibles for the liturgy.

Parish choirs from throughout the Archdiocese joined forces and the music was glorious as we processed in. Chairs were set up around the rear of the altar for us and after processing in I was struck by this overwhelming sense of community, or commradarie with the priests and deacons that I now serve with.

Archbishop Patrick Pinder led the worship and, at the appropriate time, the pitchers of oil were presented to him for his blessing and consecration. During his homily he spoke about the significance of the oils and, in particular, the Holy Chrism, used for ordination, would for the 2nd year in a row not be used for that function since there were no priests to ordain in this diocese. "We have the chrism, but no one to ordain", was an incredibly sad moment in the service.

Bringing the oils to the Archbishop

After the consecration of the oils Archbishop Pinder asked all priests and deacons to stand and we re-dedicated ourselves to our ministries by renewing our vows. This was very special to me and I was amazed I had been missing this in Boston. Mass continued with Archbishop Pinder presiding but during the Mass, at the sign of peace, I had an experience that made this liturgy even more special. I hug the deacon on my right, the deacon next to me, shake hands with the priests in front of me and then turn to the altar servers who were standing behind my chair. With them was the Rector of the Cathedral who came over to me, reached across the back of my chair and hugged me and said, "Peace Deacon, I want to thank you for being here, we appreciate all you are doing on Andros, peace". Blew me away.

During all this Ginni was sitting in the community with a friend and a little Bahamian girl began asking Ginni about what was happening and why. Ginni ended up making a new friend as she helped the girl follow the program to understand what was happening.

When it came time to distribute the oils to the parishes each parish in the Archdiocese was called up one by one. Andros was the 2nd alphabetically so I didn't have to wait long. They call "St. John Chrysostom, Fresh Creek, Andros" and up I go to recieve my 3 bottles. As the Archbishop hands them to me they call, "Christ the King, Cargill Creek, Andros" so I stay there and the Archbishop hands me 3 more bottles. Then they call "AUTEC Navy Base, Andros" and he hands me 3 more bottles saying, "You have alot of people out there", and at this point, with me juggling 9 bottles of sacred oils, the Cathedral breaks into laughter.

I made it back to my seat wondering if the people made the connection that the reason I was juggling 9 bottles for 3 churches was the lack of vocations. When I made it back to my chair the Rector of the Cathedral met me and helped transfer the bottles to a side table.

As the liturgy ended we began to process out and the Rector caught my eye and told me to hurry back and get my oils, else the altar servers would gather them up and put them away. It dawned on me that once we got to the rear doors of the church I'd be battling to crowd to return to get the oils. But I wasn't about to let them be picked up by someone else.

The Recessional Procession

When we reach the door of the church our line of priests and deacons go outside but in an orderly line formed a circle in a covered area right in front of the Cathedral doors. After we are all outside the Archbishop comes out as part of the procession and goes to the center of the circle and stands there with his eyes closed as the last 2 verses of the recessional song are song (Bahamians sing every verse of every song). When the song ends he opens his eyes, looks at all of us, blesses us, and says "My brothers, have a holy and blessed Easter", THEN we disperse to disrobe and head home.

I, of course, dive back into the crowd now pouring out of the Cathedral to get back to retrieve my oils. It was like a salmon swimming upstream but I did it and juggled my 9 bottles back to the old cathedral to disrobe and then connect with my ride.

An absolutely wonderful experience for me, for Ginni, and for anybody I could get to listen to me. I think I must have told anyone who would listen for days about how great it was. We returned on Friday where I was to lead a holy hour at Christ the King in Cargill Creek and we were 20 minutes late starting because someone asked how my trip to Nassau went!

Hope you enjoy the pics. Thanks to Jeanie McLean from Rochester who was with us and emailed them to us once she got home. GOOD JOB JEANIE!

Inter-Island flights

Well we're in Nassau and last night we participated in the Chrism Mass, which was absolutely wonderful - that's a blog entry all by itself. What I want to tell you about in this entry, however, is our flight from Andros to Nassau Wednesday morning.

Usually we fly a small airline called Western Air. They fly to and from Nassau daily and are pretty reliable, however the last few times they've been late so we decided to try one of the smaller flights. GlenAir (owned by Glen), has daily flights as well, but its a 5-seater or a 10-seater plane. From what I'd seen though, they always were on time so we took the plunge.

We arrived at the airport at 6:30 for the 7:00 flight and the plane was waiting. We met the other passengers, handed our one bag over to Johnnie, who carried it to the plane (no radar machine or baggage exam here), and all 5 of us walked onto the tarmac to board (it was the 5-seater plane).

The pilot stood by the wing and took our $60/person fare (cash only please but $10 cheaper than Western). Then came the task of getting into the plane. There was a step sticking out of the side of the plane, then the next step was the wing, then into the plane. There was no aisle, those in the rear 2 seats stepped over the first 2 seats to get to their seats. The pilot wisely had the two more athletic-looking men climb into those seats. An older woman struggled with the stepping on the wing deal, but she did it and got into the first seat, then Ginni was next - up onto the wing, ducking into the body of the plane and into the last of the 4 seats in the body of the plane. It was then I realized my seat would be the co-pilot's.

The pilot looks at me and says, "let me get in first." He needed to get in first because there is only 1 door and his seat was on the far side of the plane. So in he goes, then I follow, plopping myself into the co-pilot's chair, complete with steering wheel, pedals, and the windshield right in front of me.

I tried to close the door and he told me to leave it open so we'd have some ventilation. Propellor #1 gets cranked up (on his side of the plane), then #2 (on my side). I try to close the door with the prop spinning about 4 feet away and he says, "Not yet, leave it open", and I do while we taxi down the runway. So we taxi, and taxi and taxi and I am holding onto the door by the arm rest, leaving it open a few inches with the sound of the prop, and the associated breeze, filling the plane.

Once we finally reach the end of the runway and turns the plane into the wind, reaches across my body and pulls the door tight, pushes down the little button to lock it (just like your car door lock), then off we go into the sunrise. I a few minutes we're flying through clouds, I'm trying to read the altimeter and speed and compass and the tiny GPS screen - and 15 minutes later we're descending into Nassau. As we taxi toward the terminal the pilot's phone rings and its Johnnie back in Fresh Creek. I hear the pilot say, "Yeah, I can get back to Fresh Creek this morning, how about 9:30?" and I wondered if the Western Air flight had been cancelled again and Glen Air was going to pick up the slack.

Getting out, this time I am first and the whole boarding procedure takes place in reverse, with me helping everyone go from the wing to that little step sticking out of the side of the plane, and then the ground. The door at the nose of the plane is opened and we all take our bags and head out to the taxi stand to go into town.

As we walked across the tarmac I look at Ginni and say, "Its just one little adventure after another isn't it" and she laughed and said "I just prayed really hard the entire flight".

Bottom line - we were on time without a hitch and our visit to Nassau was off to a flying start - literally.

More about our visit here and the Chrism Mass in the next post.

So much to type, so little time

Well we are back in cyberspace after almost a week with no internet and 3 days with no telephone. It seems like such a short time but so much has happened I think I could write a book. Just a few topics so you see what I mean.

My father and mother visited us for several days, spending a weekend with us. Consequently they got to hear the same sermon 3 times, experienced life on the US Navy base - a joy for my Dad, and the 40 mile ride south down to Cargill Creek. They came to realize that island life may mean doing without until the mailboat comes in on Wednesday, and that if the water pressure in the shower is less than adequate, you make do. All in all they seem to have had a great visit and we enjoyed having them with me.

Prior to their arrival the local Drug Enforcement Agency did a sweep of our end of Andros and to our surprise a prominent parishioner was picked up and taken away. On an island like ours this type of news spreads fast and, often is more rumor than fact. Bottom line, however, is that our drummer, and maintenance man, was arrested along with some of his friends. So far officials have found over a ton of marijuana with a street value of $3M and his bail was set at $100K. It will definitely create a few problems for us but life goes on so we are trying to find others to pick up his roles within the parish, while hoping we can be supportive of him when he returns. Doing both will be a challenge.

Throw in CCD (which has now grown to over 60 kids), RCIA, Holy Week, the weekly addition of praying the Stations every Friday in Lent and we really feel we're far far behind where we should be. I keep thinking of all the work our Director of Liturgy did at St. Tims and know I should have alot of that planned already and here we are Monday heading into Palm Sunday and I don't have extra lectors yet to read the passion at our 3 churches (never mind planning a rehersal), not to mention 12 people to get their feet washed on Holy Thursday and all the other minutia of Holy Week.

Just to make life interesting - WED we need to go to Nassau for the Chrism Mass and recieve the holy oils and chrism to be used on our island for the next year, and while we are away a priest will be arriving to celebrate Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter with us. He is a retirmed Catholic military chaplain so he will stay on the Navy Base. Coordinating a lengthy Holy Week 'To Do' list will be a priority once we get back.

Suffice it to say we're a bit overwhelmed. Friday I met with a young couple who want to be married, but of course he needs a prior marriage annulled; and yesterday two families called to tell me of family members who had become ill and had to fly to Nassau for treatment (we'll try to see them while we are in Nassau, meet with the Tribunal Office, as well as swing by the prison and try to buy a few things we can't get on Nassau).

Please, please, please keep us in your prayers - we definitely need the Holy Spirit by our side and your prayers are part of this ministry

Knocked out of cyber-space

Hi winds have knocked us off the internet for the forseeable future. No phone, no internet, no email, no blogging.

Right now I am in the driveway of a friend, using my wireless modem and piggy-backing on his satellite dish.

Hope to be back soon, but for now our Lenten fast includes cyberspace.

HO HO HO

Well its become clear to me that the children on Andros have decided I am Santa Claus! I haven't trimmed my beard that much since arriving and that, plus my portly status, has resulted in a new identity for me among the kids.

Last week I was parked outside the Primary (read elementary) School to pick up our CCD kids and the other kids would walk past the van and give me a sideways glance and say "Ho Ho Ho', then keep walking. I figured it out pretty quickly and every time someone did it I'd "Ho Ho Ho" right back, and its caught on. At the Bowen Sound Primary, about 20 minutes south, two little girls actually asked if I was Santa and just did my "Ho Ho Ho" routine and they fell to the ground laughing! I laughed right along and it seems to be going over big.

The next day I'm cleaning out the garage and come across old Christmas lights and decorations AND (you guessed it) a Santa Hat! Ginni says its not something I should wear until Christmas but I am dying to wear it the next time I pick up the kids.

It'll be a hoot whenever I do finally wear it - being nicknamed Santa Claus is alot better than other names they could be calling me, that's for sure.

Add another church - maybe!

So here we are on Andros - and I have learned we are in Central Andros. If you've followed the blog for any time you know we have 3 faith communities, one where we live in Fresh Creek, one about 10 minutes away at the US Navy AUTEC base, and a third about 40 minutes south in Cargill Creek. Well a few months ago a Nigerian Doctor who has a clinic in Mastic Point (read North, North, North Andros - far, far away) attends Sunday liturgy in Fresh Creek. After Mass tells me that, while Catholics up north had moved away and the Archdiocese had to close that church decades ago, over the last few years others have moved back. He told me he knew of several Catholic families that would love to have Catholic liturgy if I'd drive the 2 hours north.

Well, juggling 3 liturgies on the weekend is a challenge, but adding a 4th seemed unrealistic so I told him to go see how many people would actually come and, if he could find anyone I'd make the effort to go north. So off he goes and I really don't expect to hear from him anytime soon. Enter the Holy Spirit.

A woman calls to get a Baptismal Certificate and after digging out 3 huge ledger books of names I find a tiny one - yup, the baptismal register of Mastic Point. So I call the good Doctor and tell him I actually have a book of names - the Catholic families of Mastic Point. Well he is thrilled and I fax off the names of those baptized after 1960, figuring these are all about 50 or younger.

This past Sunday he shows up again and has found 12 families, all who want to meet. So on Sunday, after the 8:30 in Fresh Creek, then driving 40 minutes South to Cargill Creek for the 11, then doing sick calls to the locals, THEN we'll load up the van and drive 2 hours North and see if we can find the clinic in Mastic Point. Yup, we're going to gather together for the first Catholic liturgy in decades in North Andros at the Mastic Point Clinic. Hopefully this is the start of something very exciting.

Will this end up in adding a new church on Andros? Well if you believe WE are the Church, then the Church is already there! Praise God. I'll let you know how it all works out.