Reminders.

Yesterday Christa and I were preparing the seminary's chapel for the Ash Wednesday service. We replaced the white and gold paraments from Transfiguration to the rich purple paraments for Lent (and also Advent, for any liturgical fans out there). Christa and I decided on the sole purple parament for the main altar, which is purple with a circle of thorns. We decided not to place paraments on the high altar and the ambo, as we were hoping to be as minimal as we could in using paraments for chapel during Lent.

Christa and I were finding kneelers for the service. The odd yet cool thing about PLTS's chapel is that the "pews" are actually wicker seats. The space is open, so there are multiple ways to set up the chapel for worship. It's a wonderfully flexible space. Anyway, we were searching for kneelers to place with every seat when Christa gasped. She found a dead bird in the chapel. We heard from a couple of students that a bird may have nested itself in one of the pipes of the chapel's organ. Christa and I were trying to figure out how to evacuate the bird without hurting it. But in looking for kneelers for a service that reminds each of us, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return," we saw firsthand of the mortality of the day. Yes, while we may have joked about the dead bird in the back of the chapel, it was also a stark reminder that we will return to dust. But the ashes will clear away, looking forward to a new creation. Little bird, I'm sorry you met your demise in PLTS's chapel. But you have returned home.