Why Don't You Call???

OK, I know everyone gets busy, and things get dropped through the cracks. But I have waited all weekend to find out what the results of my bone biopsy were. By the time our afternoon staff meeting ended, I decided to call the cancer clinic and remind them of their promise, jiggle their memory.

Once again, the receptionist deflected me to the nurse. When she called me, she could find no record of my Friday conversation and I was definitely not on anyone's radar screen. I was pleased that I did not hear any stress or anger or blowing up in my voice as we calmly reviewed the facts. She said she would talk with the doctor and call me back. I believed her.

It took an hour, but she did in fact call. My doctor is a very considerate person, and had told the nurse to give me a straightforward answer even though she wanted me to come in for an appointment to get the results. So here's the good news: it's not rectal cancer metastasized to the bone. It's not a new bone cancer. It is, however, the follicular lymphoma metastasized to the bone (not the marrow, the bone).

What are the ramifications of that? I won't know until I get an appointment and talk with my oncologist. Unfortunately, by the time I got that far, they had gone home for the day, so hopefully, I will hear from Lisa tomorrow with a time and date. Sigh. Good thing this is not an aggressive cancer. But I understand. There are a lot of people way sicker than I am, and I am happy not to be deathly ill like I was before.

Meanwhile, can you believe it's supposed to snow tonight!

Communion

Our church does a cantata on Palm Sunday, and this year we worked under a bit of a handicap since we still had not hired a permanent musician to accompany services when we needed to start thinking about what music we would do. At first, I had thought perhaps we should cancel the cantata, but on second thought with a bit of encouragement from the choir, I selected music.

Thank God, we hired a marvelous pianist in time for rehearsals. She most definitely helped us work towards presenting the Easter story in song with excellence. We rehearsed heavily the two weeks beforehand, and scheduled our usual dress rehearsal on the Saturday beforehand.

Saturday was the first time we heard the narrator read the segues from song to song, heard the story connecting the musical dots. It was the first time we saw the powerpoint pictures that two members of our choir selected to match the texts and the songs. I could tell it was going to be powerful even then, but I didn't realize how much it would touch people.

As the service unfolded, there was a palpable anointing, a sense that hearts were connecting with the truth of God's sacrifice, the extent of His love and His gift to us. When we reached the part of the story about the Last Supper, we invited the congregation to participate in communion. There was a picture of the Last Supper scene on the screen as people came forward. One of the college students sang two moving solo pieces as people came to receive the bread and the wine.

There was a certain quiet seriousness as familiar faces made their way forward, a tenderness in the ministry of the elements. It is rare that we are all drawn into the presence in such a gentle way. As the story continued, the truth of the words and the pictures melded into a manageable reality.

We ended with "O Sacred Head Now Wounded." Our picture was of Christ's head with the crown of thorns, gazing upwards to God. We filed silently out of the sanctuary, carrying with us all the paraments - the Bibles, the basin, the candles, the Cross, the hanging - everything, leaving the altar stripped bare.

People sat for a bit, reflecting, taking it all in. Everyone commented on how special the service was for them. In this time of uncertainty, you hang on to what is solid and unchanging. This service was a fixed point of comfort and grace. It was real. I know I will hold onto the memory of it for a long time.

Prep and Pack

Golisano Library has adopted the Charles Finney School Library as a sister institution. We intend to come alongside the struggling resource center and assist in whatever ways we can.

So far we have put the books in order and cleaned and straightened, reinstituted their online catalog, gotten new books barcoded and stirred up interest. Our bookfair will provide them with some additional books. But right now the room needs a thorough scrubbing and cleaning.

I put out a call, and some volunteers stepped up. We spent the morning covering bookshelves that are bolted to the wall and unloading the movable shelves, packing the books. It was all I had time to do before I needed to be at a cantata rehearsal followed by an afternoon at the Reference Desk.

Fortunately, more volunteers came in the afternoon and washed the walls (they were grimy), removed hardware from the walls, and taped edges, removed wall outlet plates, etc. We are in good shape.

Next Friday (yes, on Good Friday) we will prime and paint the walls which have not been done in a good long while. We are trying to match the brown in the carpet and hope to have the proper shade before the actual day of painting.

Then the following weekend we will put it all back together. An ambitious project, but with enough hands, we can make it work just fine. The boys are helping (despite their druthers), and after we finish painting, we plan to go to an Easter production in the evening.

I debated about doing such a thing on Holy Friday, but I figure if ever there is an appropriate time to do something good, this would probably be it. So we do it unto the Lord with joy. I know the people at the school will be happy to have a clean room and perhaps the sprucing up will lift their spirits straight into spring.