Ordination

Ordination Day, 5 December 2010

 PREPARATION
In June of 2008 I was ordained a deacon by Bishop (now Archbishop) Robert Duncan.  Knowing I was leaving for my second trip to Uganda in just a few weeks, Bishop Duncan direct me to ask Bishop George Katwesigye of the Diocese of Kigezi (where I would be serving) whether I should come as a priest, or wait and be ordained in Kabale.  Not surprisingly, the latter and wiser option was chosen.

I have therefore had the rather unusual honor of being a deacon for 2 1/2 years prior to "being priested," as they say in Anglican circles.  I am grateful for this time as it has ingrained in me the foundational and unchanging role of being a servant to God's people.   ("Once a deacon, always a deacon," is the reminder given to me -- and to many others -- by my friend and former colleague, Archdeacon Mark Stevenson.)

More recently, I have come to these first few intensely difficult months in Uganda as a significant and deep part of my preparation for ordination.  It has been a sustained season of radical self-emptying and utter, desperate reliance on God, and a deep yearning for the presence of Jesus and infilling of his Spirit.  Here my weaknesses loom large and my strengths seem paltry.


To aid in my preparation, Bishop Katwesigye "attached" me to St. Peter's Cathedral.  For about a month I participated in leading the English services, under the guidance of the Revs. Amos, Obed, and Joshua.  These are men I would love to know better, and men worth following.

In the weeks leading up to the ordination, I kept listening to and singing two songs in particular, both by an artist named Randall Goodgame introduced to us by one of Leslie's brothers (thanks James!): John 11 and The Wind (Ignore the video on this one, and just listen to the music).  Both pieces sing simply and poignantly of our weakness and brokenness being met by the grace and quiet power of Jesus.  I also received several emails from family and friends with prayers and wisdom, and I printed many of them out and carried them around in my pockets as reminders and prayers.  One sentence in particular resonated with me:  "The goal of worship is to bring the gathered into the transforming presence of Jesus" (Bishop Doug Weiss).  That's the kind of priest I want to be.

David with me at the retreat

In the last few days, I participated in a retreat with the other 17 (yes, 17!) ordinands, with almost every word of the retreat being spoken in Rukiga, the tribal tongue of this region.  Regardless of the language barrier, I love being surrounded by these men and women.  This time gave me a strong sense of being brought into a community of clergy.  The teaching (translated in bits and pieces for me by a fellow ordinand and his wife) covered a wide range of topics, but kept circling back to 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (God choosing the foolish and weak to shame the wise and strong) and Romans 8:26-39 (nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ) -- words I needed to hear.  Leslie was also able to join us from time to time, and toward the end my long standing, deeply loyal, dear friend David Sunukjian arrived from California to be with me.


ORDINATION

I am so glad we have video and photos to capture this day, but they lack the smells, the emotion, the sounds of robes and murmured conversations, the intensity of the sun, the discomfort of the rash forming on my neck, the gradual filling of the cathedral with people and they energy they brought, the breath of the translators in our ears and noses, the weariness of the long service, the quick and inadequate glimpses of our kids in the congregation, the kaleidoscope of face, with flashes of black and brown brilliance....

If I tried to recount the entire experience -- well, it's better just to share some highlights:

Leslie with me, sitting behind me, kneeling beside me, present throughout the entire service.  We entered this together, when so much of this process has only been piecemeal in its togetherness.

Taking my vows before the bishop, in Rukiga!  Bishop George would ask the question, then one-by-one  we answered in Rukiga.  I was grateful to be standing in the middle, because I was able to listen to about 8 people respond first! I stumbled a bit, felt very hot and self-conscious, but loved the whole experience.  And it went straight to the heart of the people.  They laughed, clapped, and cheered each time I responded. I was told later that this was in surprise and joy, not only that I was reading Rukiga, but that they could understand me!

The weight of the hands. I wish I had a picture of this moment. Moments before I had been taking vows, declaring true words that convey the source and shape of my life, of our lives.  Then, as I stand before the bishop, Subdean Amos unties the deacon's knot of my stole, drapes the stole around my neck and shoulders, adjusting it until it is appropriately "smart" (is what he whispers in my ear).  Leslie and I kneel in front of the bishop, and he places both hands, warm and strong, on my head.  Then comes the weight, a weight my neck muscles strain painfully to hold. 30 or 40 priests have surrounded us completely, joining their hands to those of the bishop's.  It is hot, very hot.  The bishop prays in Rukiga.  I know the content of the prayer from my reading of the 1662 Prayer Book, and I follow it loosely in my mind, then into slip my own prayer.  There's no strong emotion for me; just a quiet yearning, a steady readiness, an openness, a quiet mind, gratefulness, contentment.

The hands lifted, and my head lifted, dizzy from the sudden lightness. The bishop placed in my hands a bible sent and signed by Archbishop Duncan, and he charged me to preach the whole counsel of God, and to administer the sacraments.  I stood a priest, Leslie by my side, and took my place with my brothers and sisters, adding my hands and prayers to theirs as each of the other 17 were ordained.

And then the dancing.  No way this picture captures it.  Watch the video at the end of this blog for the real deal.  A Rukiga chorus was sung repeatedly, hands clapping in alternating rhythms, voices in harmony.  Leslie and I were in the throng before the Table, enjoying the joy.  Then the dancing began -- a few of the new priests' wives bent over in their white dresses with blue sashes, took off their shoes, then hands and arms began pumping, moving rhythmically, then the feet began dancing, then jumping!  Soon the men joined in, then members of the congregation.  Suddenly the bishop was behind Leslie and me, pushing us firmly and urging us loudly, "You dance with them. Go!"  And we went!  We tried!  We move, we jump, we laugh -- we are with them, still very different, very apart, but with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is so much more I could add about the service --- the sermon by retired Bishop William Rukirande on walking with our older brother Jesus as forgiven men and women, David being called to the front to greet the congregation, serving communion, the experience of the kids (not so glorious as mine), the recessional in which we walked hand in hand with the bishop's wife -- but I'll leave it for the more curious.

There was also the wonderful post-ordination celebration!  Leslie and I invited members of the community who had been particularly significant not only in the ordination process, but in welcoming us to Kabale.  It was a time of giving thanks to them and to God for all the goodness we have received.  We shared a wonderful dinner with these friends at Birdnest, our new favorite restaurant and hotel in Kabale, on Lake Bunyonyi.  Gitta and Raf, the proprietors, did a marvelous job hosting us, and Chef Paul continued to impress us with the best food we've had yet in Uganda.  Among the great joys of the evening was having friends together in one place who normally wouldn't be together, especially having our workers with us!

My friend David asked me the following day whether I felt more spiritual now that I'm a priest.  "No," I answered, "but I feel grateful and content."  I'm content -- we are where God wants us, growing ever more into the people he wants us to be, younger siblings of Jesus relying on the Father's grace, joining with his Spirit in drawing people into the transforming presence of the Son.  I'm grateful -- look what the Lord has done.

Stay tuned for a brief but wonderful reflection from Leslie on the ordination.