The crowded pew

I can't quite put my finger on why this was, but Eucharist was particularly moving today. I love that service anyway - being reminded of the sacrifice made for me in the name of love never ceases to touch me. And there's something about worshipping together, sharing communion, being part of this community that stretches back in time, out in space, and forwards to tomorrow that makes me feel held, anchored, safe. I get a sense of peace in the Eucharist that I regularly find only there and maybe a couple of other places. 

That said, one of the nice things about today was the crowded pew I was in. There was a Muslim boy on my left, a Quaker girl on my right (I love you both), and another five of us  - I don't know about the others but the three of us were certainly snuggled up nice and close! Then there were dear, dear friends further along, behind me, and across the aisle - not to mention up at the altar doing the "magic hands" :) So when we were sharing the peace, I just thought how lucky I was that just in this one place there were so many people I love, who love me. So much love, just in this one room - just on that one crowded pew!

And every single week, when everyone else has gone down to lunch, my wonderful friend, EC, stays with me in the empty chapel and we pray. For her, for me, for us, for the people we love, for anything and everything. It is one of the most precious times in my week, this time I spend in prayer with my kind, loving, beloved friend. I know she reads this and I want her to know that. 

So if the pew is a metaphor for my life, I'm never there alone. There are plenty of loving people squeezed on there with me - Jewish, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Muslim, Quaker - and I wouldn't have it any other way. Not for all the elbow room in the world.