If we were in a room and the bishop entered we would stand up – and we would not think of sitting down until he took his seat. This is true of all dignitaries from the President to a Governor to a Mayor, etc. However, somehow we have developed the practice in our parish of sitting during the time when the King of All, our Lord Jesus Christ, is carried forth to His people so that they may partake of His Body and Blood in Holy Communion. Of course this does not make sense – why would we stand for the bishop but not for God? The fault with this habit taking hold in our parish lies squarely on my shoulders. Honestly, I have never noticed that people sit during this time until it was pointed out to me recently. So we will begin to move, with love and understanding, towards standing during this important time of the service. We will light the two outside of the three lampadas beginning with Sunday, January 3, and ask that those who are aware that we should stand lovingly point this out to those who are sitting. It will take some time to work this through, but with God's help we will get where we need to be. Of course, as always, those who are unable to stand for physical reasons are welcome to sit.

Please forgive me for not having noticed this earlier. However, the Lord has given us an opportunity here to educate and support each other in appropriate worship practice with love for our fellow parish family members at the core. Let us move forward with Christian Love. If we do that all will progress and end with peace.

Please contact me with questions or concerns about this or any other issue.

Fr. Gregory

What are the three lampadas? Learn more here:

http://stvladimiraami.org/flyers/lampad ... ldoors.pdf