Anyway, Prince Charles and his wife are currently in British Columbia, and I read in the newspaper the following:
On Saturday, they fly to Vancouver to view the Olympic and Paralympic village before attending separate engagements in the afternoon, returning to Victoria for a reception and dinner at Government House, where they’re staying.
On Sunday, they’ll attend the 10:30 a.m. remembrance service at Christ Church cathedral, then on Monday, they’ll visit CFB Esquimalt before flying to Ottawa in the afternoon.
Me, taking note of the fact that I had not attended church in a while, and Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver in a very long time (20 years), I got up early this morning, put on a suit, and travelled downtown to the Cathedral.
Approaching the Cathedral from the North on Burrard Street from the North, I discovered that Burrard Street was blocked. I went around and found a parking space in a nearby parkade. I walked over to the church, went in a found a seat.
My first impression was that the church was a lot roomier than it was on my last visit. I was expecting this, since the church recently underwent major renovations, and in fact 6 years earlier, when the Church was within walking distance of my apartment, visiting it was like visiting a construction site. So I went to another (and closer) church (St Paul's) in that time frame, which remains my "home church", even though I no longer live in that neighbourhood.
Back to today.
The next thing I noticed is that "pews" were few and far between. The old pews (wooden benches) were still there, but clustered at the back. The new seats were padded chairs linked together. After some consternation, I decided it was a very good thing for my aching back.
The next thing I noticed was that the church wasn't nearly as full as I expected from a Royal visit. However by the time the service began, the church was nearly full.
During the service, it was noted briefly that the expected royal presence wasn't happening (partly because a new stained-glass window they were planning to dedicate wasn't ready, and also because the designers thereof weren't on hand).
I found the service deeply moving. I'll explain that another time.
After the service was over, I made for the door, since I had to be at another church in a remote part of the city for a choir practice. As I went down (literally, it's down hill) the street, I still noted a media circus and thought the royal couple would still be on hand.
However, as I made my way around a corner, a man blocked my way and asked me take the other side of the street -- they were shooting a movie!
As for the newspaper quote cited above, it was perfectly accurate: the royal couple attended Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria this morning.
All in all, I learned a thing or today.
No comments:
Post a Comment