25 GKS Annual Meeting
Four interesting bits of news. Firstly, there will be an ecumenical Easter celebration, but on a much smaller scale than the one last year which used up much of GKS’s reserves. Secondly, the subscription to churches outside the Church of Sweden will be doubled, so we shall have to pay 1000 kr – or 2000 kr if the new membership register puts us in the group of churches with over 200 members; we have about 200 including children, though only about 70 on the electoral roll. Thirdly, the committee have agreed to look into GKS’s relationship with “foreign” churches like St Andrew’s. And finally, for the first time since I came, the Chair is not a member of the Church of Sweden. I came away feeling happy about (3).
28 Church Cleaning
I excused myself from the spring-cleaning morning (organized by the Ladies’ Evening Group) in order to go on a pilgrimage walk organized by the Pilgrim Centre with two visitors from Germany, but I am told they had a good team.
29 Palm Sunday
Small congregation, whether because the clocks went forward or because it was raining. The rain stopped in time for our procession around the block singing “All glory, laud and honour” twice through. As usual, we read the Passion Gospel (Mark this year) in dramatized form. After the service, we began selling lottery tickets, and the Church Committee met to approve the accounts and look at forthcoming events.
31 Chrism Mass in Paris
This was the second Chrism Mass I attended in the Diocese in Europe. The first one was in Brussels. I thought I should stock up on holy oils before I leave. Actually I would go to these more often if it wasn’t such a long and expensive journey. At least Paris is there and back in a day, and a fun place to visit, but cheap it isn’t. About 40 of us were there, to renew our ordination vows and collect the three oils, for healing, baptism and chrism. When I went to pick mine up after lunch, the only ready-filled bottle left was for healing, and the flasks for the other two were almost empty.