Around 4:00PM Lauren and I made our way to her home parish St. Matthew's in Chandler. Her ordination was at 5:00PM and we needed to get there with enough time to get ready and of course calm her down. Any ordination is not only a joyous occasion but also produces a lot of anxiety, especially since there is a point in the service when the bishop asks if anyone knows why this person should not be ordained. Almost all the time there is silence, but after three years of seminary and several years prior to that in discernment, this is the last hurdle before what she had been working towards for a long time finally became a reality.
She had the benefit of planning her own service, in terms of music, readers and preacher. Since I will more than likely be ordained with several others and at the cathedral in Boston we do not have the same latitude for decisions. I believe we do get to choose the music but it has to be agreed upon by everyone. Anyways, Lauren asked me to be one of her presenters and I of course agreed. So it was cool to be a part of the service in a way that I had not been before. I vaguely remember serving as the crucifer for my current rector and friend's ordination though I don't remember if it was to the deaconate or the priesthood...I digress.
It was an amazing service and it was an honor to be a part of it, especially in the capacity of sponsor. It was hopefully a preview of my own ordination, of course the good Lord willing and the people consenting. Below you will find pictures of the service so I will not narrate the whole thing but I think you will get a feel for just how powerful this is and how important it is for someone who feels and follows that call to ordained ministry.
The courtyard at St. Matthew's with the entrance to the church just beyond the fountain
Some of the vested clergy that participated in the procession in a side room waiting for the cue to start, all of the people in the room had an impact on Lauren in one way or another
Another picture from the "dressing room" with Bishop Smith of the Diocese of Arizona to the far right
Another picture of us waiting for the service to begin, to the right of Lauren is Phil who is the rector of All Soul's Berkeley, Lauren asked him to be the preacher because of the close ties they developed while she served as deacon at All Souls, I may do my second year of Field Ed at All Souls because he is such an amazing person...yes I am wearing a bow-tie and I tied it myself, I am somewhat of a professional now
All of us gathered in the nave waiting for the music to begin
Members of St. Matthew's participated in the liturgy and the choir sung as well
Another look at the procession
The opening hymn was St. Patrick's Breastplate which was sung at my father's funeral because it was his favorite hymn and ever since then I would lose my voice. No matter how hard I tried to sing nothing came out, but on that day I sang, I know it is a common hymn sung at ordinations so we will see if I can sing it again, but on that day I sang
Yours truly looking spiffy
The Archdeacon for the Diocese of Arizona leading the bishop to the altar
Now that everyone was in their place we finished the hymn
In the first row were members of the congregation involved in the liturgy and then the two rows behind them were Lauren's family, her parents were on the end and the rest were family mostly from Arizona, her sister and nieces from the Bay Area couldn't make it which kind of sucked but it was still cool to see so many family members there to support her, especially since almost all of them are Catholic
The bishop begins the liturgy
The examination
The examination again, from another view
Lauren signing the Oath of Conformity
The bishop and Lauren kneeling in prayer during the Litany that was sung by two members of the choir
Phil delivering the sermon...the service was on a Sunday evening that morning he and another priest Don Brown (Lauren's mentor during her last year of seminary) left the Sunday service at All Souls in Berkeley at the Peace, drove down to Oakland and hopped a plane to Phoenix, Lauren and I picked them up at 3:00PM and then were off to the church at 4:00PM, needless to say it was amazing that both Phil and Don were willing to go through all of that to be there for her, that is how much she meant to both of them
Lauren getting ready for the laying on of hands
Again a few more questions for Lauren before the laying on of hands
Some final prayers
More prayers
At this point all ordained priests present come forth as the bishop prepares to lay his hand upon her head to confer the Holy Spirit
All of the priests and bishop laying their hands upon her head...in that group was Phil and Don as well as the two priests she will be working with at her new parish in Phoenix, Paulson and Licia
Another picture of the laying on of hands
Lauren was then vested with the symbols of her order, a stoll and a chasuble...both of which were made by a friend and then added to by another of her mentors who could not make the trip
The priest vesting her was her home parish priest with whom she is very close to as well as his family
A congratulatory hug from her home parish priest
The bishop introducing the newest priest in the Episcopal Church, and one of the youngest, in fact I think she is as young as one can be for ordination to the priesthood
Lauren with her mother and father, who were both beaming with pride
Lauren and the bishop getting ready for her to do her first act as a priest, offer the Peace
Lauren and the Archdeacon concelebrating the Eucharist with the bishop
Lauren doing her second act as a newly ordained priest, offering the final blessing
The procession getting ready to leave during the final hymn
It is tradition that the new priest offers a blessing upon the bishop and then everyone else that desires one
People receiving a blessing from Lauren
More blessings
And more blessings
I decided to forgo the blessing mainly because I had no idea that was the tradition, so instead I offered her a kiss
Gathering outside after the service for a reception, of course since it was late May in Phoenix it was really really really hot out
People gathered in fellowship, to the left of me was Phil and just to my right was Lauren's mother
Lauren cutting the cake
The bishop talking with people
Just after the service the solar eclipse began and a member of the congregation had a welding mask so that we could view the eclipse without damaging our eyes
An odd collection of Lauren's family including her maternal grandfather on the far right who lovingly refers to me as "jolly", Phil and myself in this picture, though I am partial blocked by Lauren
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