A Little Step Taken

Yesterday was the feast of SS Simon & Jude; it's been the custom at Swanvale Halt to mark the Prayer Book feast days with a eucharist, so I decided to keep that up while experimenting with moving the customary time from 9am to 6pm. We had seven people there, which I think is a success. I also tinkered with moving it from the Lady Chapel to the old high altar at the east end of the church, which meant celebrating ad orientem; if I can accustom people to occasionally worshiping in this way it will be good work done. I even found in the chest an old red Gothic set of vestments made by Wippells, which can't have been worn for years. It wasn't entirely easy as I'm not yet completely familiar with the physical layout of that part of the church, but to be using the old altar with its pretty reredos and the gorgeous Victorian tiling on the floor was lovely.