Así lo haremos

In nearly 25 years of priesthood I have had the privilege and honor of experiencing so much.  And being in a new country, in a new culture, means that some experiences have become totally new to me.  For example, although I have attended many ordinations, been honored to be a presenter for several persons, and even had the blessing of preaching at an ordination, I've never been to an ordination in Mexico.  Before this weekend, that is, when Christ Church was host to the ordination of a (transitional) deacon at noon on Saturday.

As typically happens for an ordination, clergy from around the diocese gathered to offer their prayers, presence, and support.  Here we are, gathered before the service. 



The ordinand, Ricardo, used to worship here, and also did his field work at Christ Church, so he is known to many of the parishioners. 

 

Like most Anglican/Episcopal services, this one was filled with pomp and pageantry:

 





The Bishop and his Chaplain

Deacon Jorge, acolyte Adolfo, and priest associate Padre Guillermo in the patio before the service , and two more acolytes, Juan and Hiram, who are currently students at Seminario San Andrés.

 

It was, of course, a particular honor to be asked to be a presenter for Ricardo's ordination, but it was especially moving to experience a familiar service in another language.  The nuances of meaning are always a little different in every translation, and I found that I was especially touched by answering the question which in English is - Will you support him in his ministry? The answer in Spanish is Así lo haremos, which is somewhat stronger than the English-language "We will," but more literally translates to "Thus will we do," which I believe is stronger, since it contains the VERB 'haremos' -- We will do. 

 

Lest all of the above photos lead you to conclude that only men are ordained in the Anglican Province of Mexico, this next photo shows La Madre Sally Sue who was minister of ceremonies and also preached the sermon.

 

 

The newly ordained, vested in dalmatic, receives his Bible, and sets the table for communion.

Pomp and pageantry -- we are Anglicans, of course.  But the ordaination wasn't the only bit of pageantry that day.  You see, it was also the Independence Day weekend, so the parish hall was festively decorated, and  many parishioners were dressed in festive garb -- not red white and blue, but red white and GREEN, which are the colors of the Mexican flag. 

 Those who had not come in the traditional colors of the Mexican flag were invited (encouraged?) (coerced??) into donning the colors.