A Palm Sunday Like No Other

Here is the lectern and the altar area, decorated for Palm Sunday.  These enormous arrangements of palms and red carnations are all done by the church sexton.  This picture shows what the church looked like before the beginning of the service.  The whole congregation gathered in the parish hall to begin with the Liturgy of the Palms and the Procession. 



What would Palm Sunday be without Palms, right?  And here in Mexico City, they are ubiquitous.  The clergy were given the most enormous palms I have ever seen in my life.  Mine was an entire branch that must have been at least 6 feet long.  (Oh, sorry!  Here in Mexico  I should say it was over 2 meters long.)  To the  left is the deacon, Jorge, whom everybody calls George, and on the right is Adolfo, who is a life-long member and serves faithfully as acolyte and crucifer. 

So ... Why was this Palm Sunday like no other?  Below you can see one of the reasons -- The Pipe Band (bapipers and drummers) of the St. Andrew's Society of Mexico City, which practices in the Parish Hall, led our procession from the Parish Hall, out the front entrance, around the side of the church and into the side entrance.  It was truly festive.  To the left in this photo is Rafael, ('Rafa') who is a vestry member and one of the leaders of the band. 





They say that this is the most beautiful time of the year in Mexico City, and the weather was clear, warm, and dry -- perhaps almost 70 degrees fahrenheit (I don't know what that is in Celsius).  With a crowd of people of all ages, languages, and races marching together around the block, then gathering for worship in the church, it is an event I will not soon forget. 

The service seemed to go very well -- Palm Sunday with its lengthy Passion Gospel reading can feel interminable, but this one seemd to move along.  One aspect that helped was the music, which was truly splendid.  Juan Ernesto, the choir director, teaches at (? the national conservatory, I think?) and is able to bring in many students of his, so he was able to marshall about 25 choristers.  They sang a selection from the Schubert Stabat Mater,  which was lovely.  But the real highlight was the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei from the Fauré Requiem -- beautifully done, and very moving. 

A good beginning to Holy Week. 

Here the acolytes (Jaime, left, and Prince, right  -- a Nigerian and lawyer at their embassy) are poised to lead the recessional hymn at the end of the service.