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The Servers I quite often turn to the internet for inspiration and this time have “googled” the word “acolyte” a term used centuries ago for the modern day altar servers. I was amazed to discover that one little word could mean so many incredibly different things. Acolyte is a companion, attendant or helper but it is also a group of dark jedi in the Clone Wars, the title of a 2008 horror film where teenagers blackmailed a serial killer, a professional wrestling tag team and the title of a book of poems by Nikki Giovanni. I was even more amazed to discover that you can watch (and learn about) acolytes on You Tube and although many of the clips I watched were mainly disfunctional American children messing about in the vestry, there were also some serious factual clips. As a family, we serve many times during the year at church services and throughout the World, there are many people doing the same thing as us and regardless of our religious denomination, we are all serving the Lord. I think it’s good to see how other people organise themselves in a role which you, yourself are very familiar with. Our last summer holiday was spent on the island of Corsica just off the coast of France. On this particular day we were in Porto Vecchio, a beautiful old town full of historic buildings and squares, lovely little restaurants and boutiques and a splendid marina overflowing with boats of all shapes and sizes. The Place de Republique is a sunny square lined with lively bars, shops and restaurants with the imposing granite St. Jean-Baptiste church dominating the southern side of the square. As we sat enjoying our cappuccinos, the bell inside the elaborate belfry came to life tolling a melancholy note across the square. We remembered that it was August 15th, a public holiday in many catholic countries when they commemorate the departure of the Virgin Mary from this life and the assumption of her body into heaven. The day is known as the Feast of the Assumption and as we wandered around the boutiques we decided that we would go and have a look what was happening in the Church. Through the beautiful glass doors we could see that the Church was packed. Undeterred we squeezed in at the back and took a printed sheet outlining the service. It was in French and Italian, neither of which we are fluent in by any stretch of the imagination, but we managed to work out where they were in the service. Even though we didn’t understand very much of what was actually being said, it was a very moving service. We were surrounded by many nationalities, the majority of which were probably catholic, but we still felt part of the service and the magnitude of the commemoration was the same for us all.
At the end of the service an effigy of the Virgin Mary was carried through the Church and out into the sunshine by the acolytes where they stood for several minutes before returning inside the Church. It was great to see acolytes at work in a different country and it very much underlined for me the fact that no matter where we are in the World or how we go about our daily lives and our service to the Church, it’s the same for us all. Whether the words are written in a foreign language or the servers wear different attire, the word of the Lord is the same, wherever you are and whoever you are. Jane Day Page Last Updated 29th March 2010 |
