St. Mark's

Last Sunday I was up in Northern Virginia to see my mother, and had the too-infrequent privilege of worshipping at St. Mark's Church, Deb's church, across the river in Maryland. And it seemed so wondrous I thought I should write a whole, long post about it. But when I sat down to put it on paper, it really came down to just a couple of things: peace and joy.

Worship at St. Mark's, unlike worship in some places, is not just an exercise in piety. Nor is it (still worse) something to be got through. I wouldn't want to reduce it to anything as banal as a "celebration," but it was indeed a joyous offering to God from His children. And even though the Divine Liturgy structures this offering in detail, it is somehow the perfect vessel for worship that is joyous, heartfelt,and -yes! - spontaneous. And just natural.

Oh, yes, and it was especially wonderful to see Deb again, and to get at least part-way caught up with one another afterward.