Sign of the Dove

 

"Sign of the Dove"

I am a country chapel girl sitting in a magnificent cathedral

Waiting for a friend’s glorious ordination in which

By some extraordinary grace, I am reading a lectionary Scripture.

The service begins with pomp and pageantry all around:

Pipe organ and choir, vestments and chalices.

It seems so formal that I hope I don’t make a mistake

When I ascend to the lectern at my appointed time.

Then I see, at the front of the grand processional

A sign of divine grace that makes my heart leap:

A man in a robe swirling a beribboned pole  

With a white fabric dove swooping and bobbing 

Fluttering along wherever it will.

That dove is the sign of the Holy Spirit

Who is not at all tethered to a pole with a silken cord.

I instantly know in my own spirit that

The Holy Spirit moves where the Holy Spirit wants to move.

The Holy Spirit does what the Holy Spirit wants to do.

The Holy Spirit is not bound by human plans.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty!

The Holy Spirit sets me free to worship and love and serve

So I am filled to the fullness – alleluia!

I ascend to the lectern with confidence

To speak forth the Word of the Lord (Thanks be to God!)

With exuberance and joy among his holy saints

Knowing that the Holy Spirit who has led us all to this place

Is the Holy Spirit who still moves all around the world

Doing the mighty work of the Lord far beyond

All we could ask or even imagine – alleluia!

~~~~

This is a video of the dove on the pole during the recessional after the ordination. 

In my last poem, Echo of the Sacred Story,  I reflected on an Advent sermon by my dear friend Patricia Orlando. This newest poem is inspired by her ordination on May 22, 2022, at the same place, The Cathedral Church of St. Luke in downtown Orlando.

(In this photo, the people I recognize are Bishop Greg Brewer who is seated, Patricia in the white robe, and her husband Michael in the black suit.)

I was absolutely thrilled when Patricia asked me to read a lectionary passage at the service. She knows how much I love to do this at our "country chapel" which is actually at a retreat center overlooking a lake. Beyond that, though, it is just such huge honor for me to be chosen out of all of the people she could have picked. The Old Testament passage was read so marvelously by Dr. Jeff Frymire, professor of preaching at our own Asbury Theological Seminary. I was assigned to 1 Peter 5:1-11, which is about the responsibility of a pastor to serve a congregation with humility and grace. 

But I did feel nervous! I practiced before the service at the lectern and tried to listen carefully as they gave me liturgical instructions such as, "Bow to the verger before you start reading." Of course, I forgot that entirely once I got up there to do my thing. My mind was only on the Word, my friend, and the rest of the precious saints in the beautiful building. The video below begins when I start my reading.

So it was the dove on the pole -- and the glorious liberty of the Holy Spirit -- which set my mind at ease and reminded me why we were all really there: to worship and glorify the Lord, who is Spirit.

Apparently, the dove on the pole is often used during the season of Pentecost (which marks the descent of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2) in liturgical churches. This service was just before Pentecost, so I guess they broke theirs out early at the cathedral. The video above is from the recessional. Our small Episcopal chapel (below) had a dove on a much shorter pole on actual Pentecost Sunday.

A word about alleluia in my poem: I wrote this in there first because it seemed so fitting in worship, but then I realized that it's also an inside joke. In our liturgy, we don't say the usual alleluias during the season of Lent, saving it for Easter. But I'm a bit of a rebel, so most weeks I would still whisper it loudly at the regular spots, and Patricia would nudge me and whisper it back to me.

So, ALLELUIA! And congratulations, Mother Patricia!