Christ Is Risen!

"Three o'clock comes awfully early." These were my words when I attended the Board meeting for TRAC (Transit Riders Action Council). Obviously, I was not interested in a very long meeting since I had to get up early the next morning to go to New York.

Every year our bishop has a Liturgy in which all the priests of the diocese are invited. This year there were 24 priests, five deacons, and at least 10 subdeacons serving.

We had a group of seven from Baltimore: Fr. John, Xenia, Tamara, Valentine, her son Andrei, Monika, and me. We met at the church by 5:00 and rode there in Fr. John's van. We made excellent time and was there around 8:00.

During the Liturgy several priests were given awards. Our own pastor Fr. John Vass was awarded the gold cross. There was also an ordination to the diaconate.

After the Liturgy we had a procession around the block. The cathedral is in downtown Manhattan. Officers Denicola and Highsmith of the 23rd Precinct were just wonderful. They were friendly and extremely helpful. During the procession an amblance was trying to get through and they directed the traffic out of the way.

After the services, we had a meal in the reflectory. The good was very good. My extremely limited knowledge of Russian turned out to be extremely helpful as some of those there did not speak much English.

When we finished eating, we visited Mercy House. We could not stay very long, but it was still a nice visit. It took us an hour and a half to get out of New York. That thought has been on my mind ever since. What if there is an emergency?

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