I wanted to get to Church yesterday (Maundy Thursday), but getting to St. Christopher’s would have disrupted the evening. Unfortunately, the Episcopal Church downtown did not have a noon service. So I went to St. Olaf’s Roman Catholic Church.

First impression: All these people! That Church was full–and I think it has at least twice the capacity of St. Christopher’s. Young, old, male, female, various races. I have never seen that kind of crowd in an Episcopal church for any weekday noon service.

There was a procession, with cross, candles, and bells. They also had music–a small choir, but definitely present, and with instruments. Rather modern, and not exactly my style, but I was still impressed. Better yet, the celebrant sang the Collect and the Preface, and a few other bits. We rarely get any of this at St. Christopher’s even on Sunday. He wore a white chasuble–that is current Roman Catholic policy to emphasize that this is a celebration. Nobody else wore vestments.

The lessons were the propers for the day: The Passover story (Exodus), the Institution of the Eucharist (1st Corinthians), and the Foot Washing (Gospel of John). The first two are very straightforward, a little bit spooky in their simplicity. I wasn’t quite ready for the wordiness of John’s Gospel and my mind wandered a bit there. These were followed a very appropriate homily.

They also had a Foot Washing ceremony. Only a few selected representatives from the congregation got their feet washed. In past I have felt that everybody who so wished should get a chance to participate. However, that would have been quite impractical this time–it would have taken all afternoon.

The priest used the modern Roman canon. I am still enough of a liturgy geek to note that the epiclesis came before the Words of Institution, as I think was the case in the Tridentine Mass. Most Episcopal liturgies place it afterwards, following Laud’s Book of 1637 and Cranmer’s of 1549. These differences are of historical and perhaps esthetic interest, but not theologically significant.

Communion was well done. A squad of lay ministers quietly appeared near the celebrant, received the sacrament themselves, then fanned out to set up communion stations throughout the nave. Very smooth, no congestion.

I came back today for the Good Friday Liturgy, I think the Church was even more crowded. The celebrant wore a red chasuble today, and the two lay readers were wearing albs. The first two lessons were, as expected, from Isaiah and Hebrew, followed by the Passion from John. The lay readers took the parts of the narrator and the characters other than Jesus, while celebrant took that part. It was done well. A sung passion would have been even better, but that takes a lot of talent and practise. The celebrant did sing the prayers for the Church.

They had the same choir and instrument as yesterday, but the music worked better for me this time. I don’t know if it was me, or the particular selections, or the occasion.

Good Friday is the day of the Cross, and St. Olaf’s could hardly be beat for drmamatic impact. It was about 11 feet all and 7 feet across. Four men carried it in, visibly laboring. It was made of two pieces of rough wood (think telephone pole) of semicircular cross section. The two pieces met in what looked like a half-lap joint, lashed together by rope. It was about as period-correct as I have ever seen. It was easy to imagine it being used for the original purpose.

I did not receive communion on either day. While I certainly could have “passed”, I did not wish to break the rules on this occasion. This seemed particularly appropriate after hearing the verse about obedience from today’s Epistle. However, I did join in the Veneration of the Cross.