Happy New Year

It's the beginning of the Church Year today, so happy new year to all you Orthodox nuts out there.

The weather is nice--high 70s and low humdidity [sic]. This feels like *gasp* SUMMER! Oh my. I've forgotten what summer feels like.

The house is still a mess but we're working on it. We've unpacked about half of our stuff so far. There is lots of storage in the basement, attic, and garage, but not as much in the living area of the house, so finding a home for everything is a chore. Luke is enjoying the house, as he has plenty of room to run around and bang on the hardwood floors. He also has a big backyard that he rules, and a big apple tree that provides him with plenty of snack food. He enjoys taking one or two bites out of an apple, then dropping it on the ground and going to the next apple. He's probably gonna hate apples when he's older but he won't know why.

We went to our parish assignment yesterday, St. Paul Antiochian Church in Emmaus, PA. Took us an hour and a half to get there, but two hours to get back (thanks I-80---I hate you so much). The priest, Fr. Ted Mikovich, is very nice. He's about a year from retiring, so he's pretty laid back. For example, Anastasia came forward to kiss the cross after Liturgy and was last in line. Fr. Ted starting talking to her, then when he was done talking to her, he turned around and walked into the sanctuary. So Stasia never got a chance to kiss the cross. Come to think of it, neither did I.
Anyway, the point of the parish assignment is to learn Antiochian liturgics and to help the priest in any other way he sees fit. The funny thing is that Fr. Ted has Bulgarian or Serbian background, so he follows the Russian Typicon for some things, like the procession for the Elevation of the Holy Cross (in two weeks). Fr. Ted said he tries to choose the best liturgical practice for his people, and the ones that make the most sense. What's ironic is that Fr. Marc does this too, so I won't be learning the "strict Antiochian liturgical practices" that apparently are so necessary. Heaven-forbid we learn how the Russians do things; egads, no. So I think I'll get along well with Fr. Ted. He was very concerned about us being comfortable at the church. Shouldn't be a problem after a couple weeks, though, as the people are very friendly and they all speak English. Interesting tidbit: Fr. Joseph Allen's dad, George, sings in the choir at St. Paul's.

Time to keep unpacking boxes. Hablo la vista.