The Danger of loitering in the Church porch..

Tom had a lovely experience of a new beginning this week. One he hadn’t planned.

He was loitering without intent in the church porch after mass and suddenly realised the priest was there too. As he didn’t really feel like talking to him at that point – Tom not being one for chatting when he doesn’t have something particular to say – he decided to pretend to look intelligently at some chart on the wall and hoped Father would wander off. Fr Pascal though, not being one for wandering off when there is a parishioner to talk to, came up to him and said, “Oh Tom, I see you’re planning on starting some volunteering with the homeless! That’s an excellent idea. What day would you like to start?”.

To which Tom replied “Errr” and looked again at the chart and of course realised it was a volunteering rota. So either by grace or a slight lack of desire to disappoint Fr Pascal’s happy and expectant expression, he said “oh um, Wednesday morning”.

He rang me on Thursday full of joy. He was just so happy about the experience of the volunteering. The sweeping, the folding the blankets, the learning what to do from a kind elderly lady in the parish. The exchange of a few words with one of the men who had slept in the hall. Everything had not only filled him with an unexpected delight, but left him feeling lighter and quite free from any trace of anxiety.

He’s been working all this morning on a sonnet and has taught me how to write one too, as I’d quite forgotten (see sarahdenordwall.blogspot.com – Sonnet Catwalk)

He’s really looking forward to next Wednesday. Another window on Light.

Be careful how you loiter without intent, if you’re standing in the porch of a watchful Priest.. and under the aegis and grace of the Heilige BardFest. Kairos matters.

It was Louis who mentioned in one of the Bardschool meetings that a priority of every bard in training should be a dedication to some specific regular service to others, that had no obvious bearing on one’s art. This seems to me to be a perfect example of the fruit of such a choice.

Happy BardFest and Happy new beginnings!