This Day

I heard some good news today. Fr. Victor had a full body scan last week. The tumors are smaller. He said, "It looks like we are going to be together for longer than we thought." I can not begin to tell you how happy I am! God is so good.

We had a deacon visiting from San Diego today. I wish our parish had a deacon all the time, but we don't. Oh, well. But it does seem that at least once a month a deacon is visiting for some reason or another. I'm thankful for that. (Note for my protestant readers: Deacons in the Orthodox Church are part of the ordained clergy. They are distinguished by a stole that hangs on their left shoulder (called an orarion), and parts of the liturgy are reserved for them. For instance, proclaiming the Gospel and doing the incense are the deacons jobs during the divine liturgy. He is also the divine minister who leads the people in prayer during the Liturgy.)

After today's Divine Liturgy there was a concert of of the St. Petersbug Men's Quartet in the parish hall. It was a lot of fun. We all clapped after the first song and earned a shocked rebuke from Fr. Victor. I didn't know this, but it is wrong to applaud recitals of church music. But I am telling you, I have never heard church music sung so beautifully. The concert was in Russian, but everyone knows the hymns of St. Nicholas. So, they sang in Russian, and I heard in English. I had goosbumps. But the last half of the concert was Russian folk music. Lots of clapping then. The little boy sat on Father Victor's lap during the first half of the concert but he had to dance during the second half. If you get a chance, give a listen of a recording of the Russian folk-song "Kalinda" (spelling?).